* Go Fish *

These games are closely related. The object is to collect books, which are sets of four cards of the same rank, by asking other players for cards you think they may have. Whoever collects most sets wins. The basic idea is very simple and they are often thought of as children's games.

Go Fish:

This game is often just known as Fish, but the name "Fish" (or Canadian Fish or Russian Fish) is also sometimes used for the more complex partnership game Literature. Go Fish is best for 3-6 players, but it is possible for 2 to play. A standard 52 card deck is used. The dealer deals 5 cards to each player (7 each for 2 players). The remaining cards are placed face down to form a stock.

The player to dealer's left starts. A turn consists of asking a specific player for a specific rank. For example, if it is my turn I might say: 'Mary, please give me your jacks'. The player who asks must already hold at least one card of the requested rank, so I must hold at least one jack to say this. If the player who was asked (Mary) has cards of the named rank (jacks in this case), she must give all her cards of this rank to the player who asked for them. That player then gets another turn and may again ask any player for any rank already held by the asker.

If the person asked does not have any cards of the named rank, they say 'Go fish!'. The asker must then draw the top card of the undealt stock. If the drawn card is the rank asked for, the asker shows it and gets another turn. If the drawn card is not the rank asked for, the asker keeps it, but the turn now passes to the player who said 'Go fish!'.

As soon as a player collects a book of 4 cards of the same rank, this must be shown and discarded face down. The game continues until either someone has no cards left in their hand or the stock runs out. The winner is the player who then has the most books.

Variations of Go Fish:

Some people play that rather than asking for a rank, you must ask for a specific card. You must already hold at least one card of that rank. For example, you say: 'Tom, please give me the seven of diamonds'. If Tom has it he gives it and you get another turn. If he doesn't, he says 'Go Fish!' and you draw from the stock. In the unlikely event that you draw the seven of diamonds you get another turn; if you draw anything else it is now Tom's turn.

If you play this variation, you need to agree whether it is permissible to ask for a card which you already hold in your hand. Obviously you'll have to fish and your turn will end, but you might do this deliberately to mislead the other players into thinking that you didn't hold that card.

Some people play that when the stock runs out, you carry on playing until all the cards have been made into books. Obviously after the stock has run out there is no 'Go Fish!'. If the person you asked doesn't have the card asked for, the turn passes directly to them.

Some people play that when a player runs out of cards, the play does not end, but the player draws a new hand of 5 cards from the stock (or the whole stock if fewer than 5 cards remain there).

Some people play that after a player fishes unsuccessfully, the turn passes to the left, rather than to the player who said "go fish".

There are various ways of scoring. For example, you may play a series of hands, scoring one point for each book you make. The game continues until someone wins by reaching an agreed target score - for example, 10 points.

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