Go Fish

Last updated
Go Fish
4coloraces1.jpg
Four cards of the same face value are known as a "book", and the aim of the game is to collect these.
Alternative nameFish
TypeMatching
Players2–10
SkillsMatching and pairing, memory [1]
Age rangeAll ages
Cards52 (54 counting Jokers)
Deck French
PlayVariable sequence
Playing time5-15 minutes
ChanceLow-Medium skill [1]
Related games
Happy Families

Go Fish or Fish is a card game usually played by two to five players, [2] although it can be played with up to 10 players. It can be played in about 5 to 15 minutes.

Contents

The game

Five cards are dealt from a standard 52-card deck to each player, or seven cards if there are only two players. [3] The remaining cards are shared between the players, usually spread out in a disorderly pile referred to as the "ocean" or "pool". [3]

The player whose turn it is to play asks any another player for their cards of a particular face value. For example, Ed may ask, "Peter, do you have any eights?" Ed must have at least one card of the rank he requested. [4] Peter must hand over all cards of that rank if possible, and is responsible for delivering the cards to the player no matter their location. If he has none, Peter tells Ed to "go fish" (or just simply "fish"), and Ed draws a card from the pool and places it in his own hand. Then it is the next player's turn – unless the card Ed drew is the card he asked for, in which case he shows it to the other players, and he gets another turn. When any player at any time has four cards of one face value, it forms a book, and the cards must be placed face up in front of that player. [5] [6] Play proceeds to the left. [7] When all sets of cards have been laid down in books, the game ends. The player with the most books wins. [3]

Variations

There are a number of variations of these basic rules:

Strategy

If, when fishing, a player draws a rank they did not have, they should ask for it on their next turn. Otherwise, they should rotate among the ranks that they already hold. In the more difficult variants, strategy often requires memorizing which cards each player possesses. Unlike many card games, Go Fish depends on the honor system; lying about the contents of one's hand is difficult to prevent.

It is often beneficial for the player to conceal the cards they hold in order to prevent other players from knowing which cards they can ask for. This can be accomplished by consistently asking different players for the same rank of card.

Special card decks

Instead of using a standard 52 playing card deck, various specialty decks have been manufactured including the 169 count playing card Kids Classic Go Fish Card Game by U.S. Games Systems. Other specialist card packs which can be used to play similar games have also been produced including the Safari Pals packs which use animal characteristics to form the sets and packs which use personalized names to form the sets.

There is a similar game called Quartets.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canasta</span> Card game

Canasta is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 Rum. Although many variations exist for two, three, five or six players, it is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with two standard decks of cards. Players attempt to make melds of seven cards of the same rank and "go out" by playing all cards in their hands. It is "the most recent card game to have achieved worldwide status as a classic".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concentration (card game)</span> A memory based card game

Concentration is a round game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joker (playing card)</span> Playing card

The Joker is a playing card found in most modern French-suited card decks, as an addition to the standard four suits. Since the second half of the 20th century, they have also been found in Spanish- and Italian-suited decks, excluding stripped decks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">500 rum</span> Card game

500 rum, also called pinochle rummy, Michigan rummy, Persian rummy, rummy 500 or 500 rummy, is a popular variant of rummy. The game of canasta and several other games are believed to have developed from this popular form of rummy. The distinctive feature of 500 rum is that each player scores the value of the sets or cards they meld. It may be played by 2 to 8 players, but it is best for 3 to 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheat (game)</span> Card game

Cheat is a card game where the players aim to get rid of all of their cards. It is a game of deception, with cards being played face-down and players being permitted to lie about the cards they have played. A challenge is usually made by players calling out the name of the game, and the loser of a challenge has to pick up every card played so far. Cheat is classed as a party game. As with many card games, cheat has an oral tradition and so people are taught the game under different names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slapjack</span> Card game

Slapjack, also known as Slaps, is a card game of the matching family, generally played among children. It can often be a child's first introduction to playing cards. The game is a cross between Beggar-My-Neighbour and Egyptian Ratscrew and is also sometimes known as Heart Attack. It is also related to the simpler 'slap' card games often called Snap.

Spite and Malice, also known as Cat and Mouse, is a relatively modern American card game for two or more players. It is a reworking of the late 19th century Continental game Crapette, also known as Russian Bank, and is a form of competitive solitaire, with a number of variations that can be played with two or three regular decks of cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mau-Mau (card game)</span> Card game

Mau-Mau is a card game for two to five players that is popular in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, the United States, Brazil, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Netherlands. Mau-Mau is a member of the larger Crazy Eights or shedding family, to which the proprietary card game Uno belongs. However, Mau-Mau is played with standard French or German-suited playing cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golf (card game)</span> Type of card game

Golf is a card game where players try to earn the lowest number of points over the course of nine deals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rummy</span> Group of matching-card games

Rummy is a group of games related by the feature of matching cards of the same rank or sequence and same suit. The basic goal in any form of rummy is to build melds which can be either sets or runs and either be first to go out or to amass more points than the opposition.

Macau, also spelled Makaua or Macaua, is a shedding-type card game from Hungary, with similar rules to Crazy Eights or Uno and uses a standard 52 card deck. The object of the game is to be the first player to remove all cards from one's hand. Macau involves bluffing so that the players can save cards for later for a higher point value. Cheating is encouraged to add additional gameplay depth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng ji</span> Card game

Sheng ji is a family of point-based, trick-taking card games played in China and in Chinese immigrant communities. They have a dynamic trump, i.e., which cards are trump changes every round. As these games are played over a wide area with no standardization, rules vary widely from region to region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skip-Bo</span> Card game

Skip-Bo is a commercial version of the card game Spite and Malice, a derivative of Russian Bank, which in turn originates from Double Klondike. In 1967, Minnie Hazel "Skip" Bowman (1915–2001) of Brownfield, Texas, began producing a boxed edition of the game under the name SKIP-BO. In 1980 the game was purchased by International Games, which was subsequently bought by Mattel in 1992. A mobile version of the game for iOS was released by Magmic in September, 2013. There is a new version called "SKIP-BO Mod" that comes in a white and blue case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool rummy</span> Card game

Liverpool rummy is a multi-player, multi-round card game similar to other variants of rummy that adds features like buying and going out. It is played the same as Contract rummy, except that if a player manages to cut the exact number of cards required to deal the hand and leave a face-up card, then the cutting player's score is reduced by 50 points.

<i>Daifugō</i> Japanese card game

Daifugō or Daihinmin, also known as Tycoon, is a Japanese shedding-type card game for three or more players played with a standard 52-card pack. The objective of the game is to get rid of all the cards one has as fast as possible by playing progressively stronger cards than those of the previous player. The winner is called the daifugō earning various advantages in the next round, and the last person is called the daihinmin. In that following round, winners can exchange their one or more unnecessary cards for advantageous ones that losers have.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switch (card game)</span> Card game

Switch is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim of Switch is to discard all of the cards in one's hand; the first player to play their final card, and ergo have no cards left, wins the game. Switch is very similar to the games UNO, Flaps and Mau Mau, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights or Shedding family of card games.

Three thirteen is a variation of the card game Rummy. It is an eleven-round game played with two or more players. It requires two decks of cards with the jokers removed. Like other Rummy games, once the hands are dealt, the remainder of the cards are placed face down on the table. The top card from the deck is flipped face up and put beside the deck to start the discard pile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Rummy</span> Rummy card game

Continental Rummy is a progressive partnership Rummy card game related to Rumino. It is considered the forerunner of the whole family of rummy games using two packs of cards as one. Its name derives from the fact that it is played throughout the continental Europe, the United States, Mexico, Canada, and also in South America. According to Albert Morehead, it was "at one time the most popular form of Rummy in women's afternoon games, until in 1950 it lost out to Canasta."

Last Card is a shedding-type card game popular in New Zealand and Australia. It is similar in most aspects to Uno, Mau Mau or Crazy Eights but several rules differentiate it, for instance the function of a particular card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Reverse</span> Card game

Kings Reverse is a card game for 2 or more players that is played in Iowa, in the United States. For more than 5 players, 1 additional pack of cards may be used. Whoever gets rid of his/her cards first wins the game. Kings Reverse is very similar to the games Uno and Flaps, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights or shedding family of card games. However Kings Reverse is played with regular packs of playing cards.

References

  1. 1 2 Children's Card Games by USPC Co. Retrieved 22 Apr 2019
  2. Game rules Archived April 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 Official Rules of Card Games: How to Play the Go Fish Card Game
  4. "Go Fish Card Game Rules". Bicycle Cards Canada. Archived from the original on 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  5. "Go Fish – Card Game Rules".
  6. "Go Fish - Card Game Rules".
  7. Go Fish Rules