Go Fish rules

Each player is dealt a hand of cards, usually five. On your turn, ask another player for a rank you already hold at least one card of. If they have cards of that rank they must hand them all over and you go again. If they do not, they say "go fish" and you draw from the deck, ending your turn. Whenever you collect all four cards of a rank you place them face up. The game ends when the deck and all hands are empty, and whoever collected the most sets wins.

The deal

With four or more players each gets five cards. With two or three, many families deal seven each, so that the game does not end almost as soon as it starts. The rest of the deck is spread face down in the middle as the pond.

Running out of cards

An empty hand does not put you out. While the pond has cards left, you draw one when your turn comes and play on. Only when the pond is empty as well does your turn pass you by.

Winning

There are thirteen sets in a deck, one for every rank. When the last of them has been laid down, whoever has laid down the most wins.

Listening

Every question is asked out loud, so the table always learns something. When a player asks for sevens they hold at least one, and if you draw a seven later, asking that player for theirs is usually the surest catch in the game.

Go Fish: an example game

One game of Go Fish followed from the deal to the finish, move by move, with the reason for each choice.

The deal

Three players — you, Ada and Bo — are dealt five cards each, and the rest of the deck is spread out face down as the lake. Your hand: 7♠ 7♥ K♦ 3♣ 9♠. Ada holds 7♦ Q♣ Q♥ 2♠ 5♦, and Bo holds K♣ K♥ 9♦ 4♠ J♣ — but of course you only know your own.

You start. On your turn you ask one player for a rank you already hold. If they have any, they hand them all over and you ask again. If not, you go fishing, and your turn is over.

Your first turn

You hold two sevens, so you ask Ada for sevens. She has one and gives you 7♦. Now you have three, and you ask again, this time Bo for sevens. Bo has none: go fish. You draw 2♥ from the lake and your turn ends.

Everyone heard both questions, so everyone now knows you hold sevens — and that Bo had none a moment ago.

Listening to the others

Ada asks you for queens. You have none, so she fishes, and draws Q♠ — a queen. Here, going fishing ends your turn whatever you draw, so it passes to Bo. What you have learned: Ada is holding queens.

Bo asks you for kings, and you hand over K♦. He asks again, Ada for nines, and fishes. So Bo holds kings and at least one nine. Without anyone seeing it, he has drawn 7♣.

A long turn

You hold 2♥, so you ask Ada for twos, and she gives you 2♠. You ask again. Bo fished a moment ago and may have drawn anything, so you try Bo for sevens — and he hands over 7♣. That is all four sevens, and the set goes face up in front of you.

You go again. Bo asked for nines, so he must hold one, and you have 9♠: you ask Bo for nines and get 9♦. You ask Ada for threes, and she has none. You fish and draw J♦, and your turn ends with one set down and pairs of twos and nines in your hand.

How the game ends

Play goes on like this until all thirteen sets have been made. A player who runs out of cards is not out: they draw from the lake when their turn comes and carry on.

In this game the sets end up split you 5, Ada 4 and Bo 4. You win — largely because you remembered who asked for what.

What the game shows

Every question tells the table something. Ada's question gave away her queens, Bo's gave away his kings and his nine, and your first question told everyone you held sevens.

The best asks were the ones based on what somebody else had just said. Asking Bo for nines was not a guess — he had asked for them himself.