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Happy Families is a deck-constructing formula that aims to build a flexible playable deck around a given selection of vampires. Usually these will all be vampires of one clan. Basically you choose the vamps you want to play with, and the library size you want to use, and then you determine the cards in the library as follows:
20% or so should be master cards

The remaining 80% or so should be minion cards, divided up with respect to discipline in the following way:

Count the number of vampires in your crypt: Call this number p.
Count the number of vampires with the most common discipline in your deck: call this number q.
Count the number of vampires with the second most common discipline in your deck: call this number r.
Count the number of vampires with the third most common discipline in your deck: call this number s.
Count the number of vampires with the fourth most common discipline in your deck: call this number t.

Now if 80% of your chosen library size is a, then you want
[(p/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require no discipline to play
[(q/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the most common discipline to play
[(r/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the second most common discipline to play
[(s/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the third most common discipline to play
[(t/[p+q+r+s+t]) x a] cards that require the fourth most common discipline to play

Of course this is not a totally formulaic method: you can have more or fewer disciplines, and you probably are going to favour particular cards within a discipline at the expense of others, depending on how you visualise the clan, how you like to play, and what cards you actually have. Additionally, a lot of the art of Happy Families comes from choosing what master and non-discipline cards to pick. Basically you have a choice of making these cards strengthen whatever your vamps already do well, or else trying to compensate for whatever they do badly. Personally I tend to go for the latter, but I'm far from sure that's strategically right - it's the old question of focus versus flexibility. Nevertheless this method REALLY WORKS, creating fun decks that are ideal for teaching, that actually work OK at playgroup level and even, sometimes, do surprising and thought-provoking things [Blood Brother Ambush playing Burning Wrath is one that springs to mind].

****Extract from the V:EKN Clan Gangrel Antitribu NewsLetter, January 2000