A game played by authors with children under the age of 7. To play, follow these simple instructions:
1) Give the child a pop-gun, plastic pistol or toy bow-and-arrow (or, in America, a fully functioning, loaded assault rifle).
2) Tell the child, quite seriously, that you are going Publisher-Hunting together. Explain that this is an important mission and that you need the child's help to hunt down and destroy any publishers that might be in the area.
3) Lead the child around wherever you currently are (it's best to do this in your own home and garden, but the game played in an airport or on public transport can have many interesting repercussions), looking in every corner, nook and cranny, peering under every stick of furniture, searching for publishers.
4) Periodically, point at a hiding place or domestic animal (or, if playing in public, an innocent bystander), and shout PUBLISHER!. This will send the child into a frenzy of excitement, causing it to fire its weapon until the 'Publisher' has disappeared or keeled over dead.
5) Congratulate the child on its performance, move on to the next room and repeat.
As I'm sure you can see, endless hours of fun for, well, all the family. Variants include Editor-Hunting, Illustrator-Hunting, Typesetter-Hunting, Designer-Hunting and Accountant-Hunting. This node is purely objective and has nothing to do with the fact that I was brought up by two writers. Vicious rumours that the game might be harmful to the growing child's psyche, leading to mental problems in later life, are entirely purple.