Alphabetti Spaghetti

Published July 03, 2019 Updated June 19, 2022

Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978.

1978 United Kingdom Advertising Food & Cooking Card Games Happy Families

Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978. Most of the family names relate to food production (Farmer, Fisherman, Gardener, Grocer, Milkman, etc) and each family has a differently coloured border. The game doubles as a pack of playing cards.

Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978
Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978

Above: cards from Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game made for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978. 52 cards + 2 jokers + extra card + rules leaflet in box.

Alphabetti Spaghetti Happy Families game for Crosse & Blackwell c.1978
avatar
307 Articles

By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

Related Articles

1891 Scientific Whist

Scientific Whist

“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...

2012 Shin-Tōmei Expressway Opening Commemoration

Shin-Tōmei Expressway Opening Commemoration

Promotional playing cards for the Shin-Tōmei Expressway, a major Japanese expressway that opened in ...

2021 Nimbus playing cards

Nimbus playing cards

Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.

2025 Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...

2006 The Decadent Deck

The Decadent Deck

Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.

1893 Historic Shakespeare

Historic Shakespeare

“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.

1925 Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...

1893 Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

1991 Intersigma

Intersigma

A Czech advertising deck for a company dealing with pump technology.

1926 Rap Rummy

Rap Rummy

Rap Rummy made by Parker Brothers in 1926, only 4 years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s to...

1989 Batman® playing cards

Batman® playing cards

Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.

1984 Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.

1910 Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind

Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind

The “Pastime” Playing Cards for the Blind manufactured by Goodall & Son Limd., c.1910.

2022 The European Interchanges Quartets

The European Interchanges Quartets

A card game based around motorway intersections from European countries.

1730 Songs with Flute accompaniment

Songs with Flute accompaniment

Eighteenth century English engraved cards with music for voice and flute.

1930 Love Tests

Love Tests

Vintage novelty “Love Test” cards of a slightly saucy nature but all in good fun!