1: Shuffle a regular 52-card deck and deal out every card, one at a time.Some players may end up with one card more than others. That is fine.
2: Sort your hand by rank. The four cards of one rank make a book.Thirteen books in all, from the aces to the kings.
3: The player on the dealer's left starts.Turns pass to the left.
4: On your turn, ask one player for one exact card: "Ana, the queen of diamonds, please."Name the rank and the suit. You may ask any player.
5: You need a card of that rank in your hand before you ask.To ask for the queen of diamonds you must hold another queen.
6: A player who has the card must hand it over, and you ask again.Ask the same player or another one, for the same rank or a different one.
7: A player who does not have it says so, and the turn passes to the left.Nobody draws. Every card is already in a hand.
8: All four cards of a rank in your hand? Show the book and lay it face down in front of you.Then carry on with your turn.
9: Play until every card is in a book. The player with the most books wins.A player who runs out of cards stops playing and waits for the count.
Show all 36 rows (27 more)
Rulings on asking 6
1: Ask for a card, not a rank. "Any queens?" belongs to the sister game Go Fish.Pagat lets a table ask by rank if it likes. The other rule pages ask for one exact card.
2: One rule sheet: ask for a card you already hold, and you give up every card of that rank.They go to the player you asked. The sheet is the one for the deck of writers.
3: Playing without that rule? Agree whether a player may ask for a card they hold.It ends the turn at once, but it can fool the table about where the card is.
4: Every ask tells the table two things (ours).The asker holds that rank, and the asker does not hold that card.
5: Every answer tells the table where one card is, or where it is not (ours).Remember both. Late in a hand, most cards can be placed.
6: Tied on books? The rule sheet for the deck of writers settles it with another hand.A tied player who wins the second hand takes both. If neither does, the first hand stays a draw.
The drawing-pile game 8
1: Deal each player a short hand and stack the rest face down as a drawing pile.One rule sheet deals four cards each. A card maker's rule page deals seven.
2: Ask for one exact card of a rank you hold, as in the standard game.A card handed over earns you another ask.
3: When the player you ask does not have the card, draw the top card of the pile.It goes into your hand, whatever it is.
4: Drew the very card you asked for? Show it and ask again.Any other card ends your turn, and play passes to the left.
5: A book of four goes down the moment you hold it.Two rule pages lay a book face down. One lays it face up.
6: Pile used up: play on with no drawing. An ask that misses ends the turn.From here on it is the standard game.
7: The game ends when all 13 books are down. The most books wins.The rule sheet for the deck of writers gives this version for two to five players.
8: Two players should use the pile (ours).With the whole deck dealt between two, every card you lack is in the other hand, and no ask can miss.
With an Authors deck 8
1: An Authors deck has 13 writers with four cards each: 52 cards, like a regular deck.Later decks added more writers.
2: Each card is named by the title printed at its top.The three titles under it are the other cards of that writer's set.
3: A book is the four cards of one writer.The writer takes the place of the rank.
4: Ask by writer and title, and name the player you are asking.You need at least one card of that writer in your hand.
5: The small picture in the corner of a card plays no part.Only the titles matter.
6: The rest is the standard sheet: deal every card, ask until you miss, count the books.The drawing-pile game works with this deck too.
7: Decks on the same plan show composers, inventors or explorers.They are played the same way.
8: The game was first published in 1861, in Salem, Massachusetts.Wikipedia calls it one of the earliest games of the Go Fish family.
Head counts and scoring 5
1: Wikipedia seats three to five players. Two card makers' rule pages say two or more.With two, play the drawing-pile game.
2: Cards each when one deck is dealt out (ours): 3 players 17 or 18, 4 players 13.5 players get 10 or 11 cards, and 6 players get 8 or 9.
3: A large group (ours): 8 players get 6 or 7 cards each, and 10 players get 5 or 6.Hands are thin, so more asks miss and turns move fast.
4: One hand can be the whole game: the most books wins.A tie is possible: three players can finish on 5 books, 5 and 3.
5: For a longer game, score a point a book and play to a target you agree on.Pagat gives this way of scoring. Its example for Go Fish is 10 points.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-14, in our own words. Authors is an old card game with no governing body, and rule pages differ in the details. The sheets were checked on 2026-10-14 against four pages. The card game rules site Pagat, which describes Authors as Go Fish without the stock pile: https://www.pagat.com/quartet/gofish.html (every card dealt, asking for a rank or for one exact card, holding a card of the rank asked for, the turn passing to the left on a miss, books of four, play until every card is in a book, the most books winning or a point a book to a target, whether a player may ask for a card they hold, and the name coming from cards that showed writers). English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Authors (card game): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authors_(card_game) (three to five players, first published in 1861 in Salem, Massachusetts, a deck of 13 writers in most editions with more in later ones, one of the earliest games of the Go Fish family). The page Wikipedia cites, which prints a rule sheet for the deck of writers: https://www.djmcadam.com/authors-card-game.html (13 sets of four, the card named by its top title, the corner picture, calling by writer and title, the book shown and laid face down, giving up a set for calling a card you hold, the player out of cards stopping, the second game after a tie, the drawing-pile game with four cards each for two to five players, and the decks of composers, inventors and explorers). Two card makers' rule pages: https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/authors (the whole deck dealt, asking by rank and suit, two players and up) and https://www.denexa.com/blog/authors-go-fish/ (seven cards each with a stock, books laid face up, two or more players, how Go Fish differs). Rows marked ours are this site's own and are not official; the cards each were counted from a 52-card deck. This page is the game for a regular deck. It names no writer, has no tie to any maker of Authors cards, and the game is scored in books only. Licence: own work
How it works
Authors is a card game for three to five players: you collect books of four by asking other players for exact cards. It is played with a regular deck, or with the special deck of writers that gave the game its name.
Read the full guide
Authors card game: how to play one turn
Say you hold the 7 of hearts and the 7 of clubs. Ask Ben for the 7 of spades. He has it, so you ask Cy for the 7 of diamonds. Cy has it too: show the four 7s, lay them down and ask again. Your turn lasts until an ask misses.
How to play Authors, the card game, with two players or the special deck
The drawing-pile game is the one for two players. With an Authors deck shows how cards of writers and titles are asked for. Head counts and scoring counts the cards each for three to ten players.
Questions and answers
How do you play the Authors card game?
Deal out a whole deck. On your turn, ask one player for one exact card of a rank you hold. Get it and you ask again; miss and the turn passes left. Four cards of a rank make a book. Most books wins.
Can a large group of people play the Authors card game?
Yes, within reason. Wikipedia seats three to five, and two card makers' rule pages say two or more. One deck dealt to eight players gives six or seven cards each, so more asks miss.
What is the difference between Authors and Go Fish?
In Authors you ask for one exact card, such as the queen of diamonds, and the whole deck is dealt, so nobody draws. In Go Fish you ask for every card of a rank and draw from a stock when you miss.
Can you play Authors with regular playing cards?
Yes. A regular deck has 13 ranks of four cards, the same shape as an Authors deck with its 13 writers. A book is the four cards of one rank, and you ask by rank and suit.
Why is the card game called Authors?
It was first published in 1861 in Salem, Massachusetts, with cards that showed famous writers and the titles of their works. Players collected the four cards of each writer. The same game with a regular deck kept the name.