Happy Families, Miserable World card game
Happy Families, Miserable World is a self-published card game by Doomates Games that reappropriates the classic Happy Families as a vehicle for climate activism. Players compete to become the “Biggest Polluter on Earth” by collecting complete family suits (Big Oil, Big Tech, Big Bank, Big Fashion, and Big Agriculture), naming and shaming the corporations and individuals most responsible for the climate crisis. Each card highlights a key player, the propaganda tactics they employ (from greenwashing to gaslighting), and a concise fact about their climate harm.
The game is rooted in a deliberate shift of blame: away from consumer guilt, toward systemic accountability. Humor is the weapon of choice. The tone is satirical, sharp, and culturally literate, designed to break through climate fatigue by making polluters’ tactics visible and laughable.
The logo and card titles are in VTC Carrie, chosen for its political DNA. Family member names (The King, The Knight, The Witch, The Heir, The Fool) are set in the industrial-looking script Millie.
Doomates is an hybrid project born from a collaboration between Julie Mallat, founder of The Climate Propagandist, an independent platform that debunks oil propaganda and greenwashing, and Yasmin Knoller-Yrondi, art director and graphic designer.
