Let’s Play a Game! Notable Novelists

We are an avid game-playing family.  When we were given the game Notable Novelists to play and review, we were thrilled!  We have only had the game for about a month, and we have played it over and over and over.  Notable Novelists is a card game, for kids 12+,  which helps kids and adults alike learn interesting tidbits of information about some of the most prominent novelists of the 20th century.  The game contains a deck of 54 cards covering 18 authors.  For each author, 3 cards make up a ‘literary set.’ These 3 cards are an author card (name and caricature picture of the author), a bio card (brief bit of biographical information), and a library card (names of some of the author’s most famous works).  The cards are color coded and the name of the author is on each card, so even a young reader can match up the literary sets with ease.  Honestly, the only thing I had to help my daughter with was the pronunciation of some of the author names, and she only needed help once for that.  Playing the game is similar to a ‘Go Fish’ type game. The object is for a player to collect cards in his/her hand to make literary sets.  The player with the most literary sets once all of the cards are used up is the winner.

     At first we had fun just trying to match the cards into literary sets; but, then I noticed that my kids were actually reading the cards and were retaining the tidbits of information on the cards.  Most importantly, in a non-threatening way, they are being exposed to some basic information about some of the finest authors of our time.  The creators of Notable Novelists have chosen to use only deceased authors for the cards, thus making the game timeless.  According to the Notable Novelist website, there are plans to create additional, supplemental literary sets.  Currently, authors such as Virginia Wolfe, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, and F.Scott Fitzgerald are among the literary sets.  The caricature pictures are really cute – especially for any adult who has studied classic literature and has seen real pictures of the authors. 

     We are really enjoying Notable Novelists.  I can see we will be playing it for many years to come.  I think it is sparking an interest in probing further into some of the authors who are on the literary cards.  It definitely has prompted some discussions.  The library cards have prompted the most discussion because the kids read titles of famous works and want to know what they are about.  Now, I am old (at least to my kids), and I have my degree in English, but I definitely don’t remember the plot of every work of classic literature that I have ever read.  So, we end up researching or checking out the works in question. I absolutely love games that spark an interest in further learning.

    Notable Novelists is a winner in our family. To purchase for $10.95, visit the Notable Novelists website.   Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have been playing and reviewing Notable Novelists as well as other games.  To read their reviews, visit the main crew blog page.

**Disclaimer:  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received the Notable Novelists game at no charge to me in exchange for this honest review.  No compensation was received.**