• Players: 2+
• The pack: 52 card deck

OBJECT OF THE GAME

To win the most “books” of cards. A book is any four of a kind such as four jacks, four aces, and so on.

STARTING THE GAME

Pick someone to shuffle and deal the cards. Take turns being the dealer so that one person doesn’t get stuck doing it every time. The dealer cuts the deck and deals cards clockwise, one at a time, starting with the player to the left. For 2 to 3 players, you deal each player 7 cards. If there are more than 3 players, deal 5 cards each. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the players. This is called the pool of cards.

HOW TO PLAY

The player to the left of the dealer goes first and asks another player (goes fishing) for a card of a particular rank, for example “Do you have any kings?” The player they ask must give them all the cards of that rank that they have, if any. If the player does not have any cards of that rank, they say “Go Fish” and the first player must draw a card from the pool. Remember, the player who is fishing must have at least one card of the rank that they ask for.

Play continues with each player taking a turn asking one of the other players for a card. If the player gets a card from another player, they get to take another turn. If they draw a card from the pool, their turn ends.

If a player gets a book of four cards of the same rank (such as four kings), they must lay the book down on the table.

The game ends when all thirteen books have been won. The winner is the player with the most books. During the game, if a player is left without cards, when it’s their turn to play they may draw a card and ask for cards of that rank. If there are no cards left in the pool, they are out of the game.

STRATEGIES

• Try to memorize what cards the other players have and want.
• If you pick up a card rank from the pool that you didn't have, it can be good to guess that rank on your next turn.
• Try to Go Fish more at the start of the game. This gets you more cards and a better chance of getting more books and matches later.

On signal from the dealer, each player simultaneously lifts their card, placing it on their forehead so that all of the other players can see everyone’s crD, but the player cannot see his own. There is a single round of betting and then a show down.