How to play Go Fish the Card Game
How to play Go Fish the Card Game Rules explained in simple steps. Get your Go Fish card game started quickly.
Go Fish Card Rules FAQs
What are the rules for the card game Go Fish?
Go Fish is played using a deck of 52 standard playing cards. Players are dealt cards who then try to collect the 4 suits of the card ranks in their hand by fishing from other players or taking from the card pool, known as the ocean.
How many Go Fish Cards do you start with?
If there are 4 or less players, deal each player 7 cards. For 5 or more players, each player receives 5 cards.
Go Fish Card Game Setup
A player must be assigned the role of dealer before the game begins. Each player receives one card from a shuffled deck to decide who is dealer. Aces are high and 2’s are low, so the dealer is the player with the lowest card. Dealer shuffles the cards. The player to the dealer’s right cuts the deck and then passes the cards out face down, clockwise, and one at a time.
If there are 4 or less players, deal each player 7 cards.
For 5 or more players, each player receives 5 cards. The remaining deck is placed face down in the middle to form the “OCEAN” or card pool.
How to Play Go Fish Card Game in Simple Steps
The following section outlines the simple steps involved in playing Go Fish card game. You use a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Select a player to start first and play moves clockwise.
Fishing – Ask for specific card rank on your turn
On your turn, ask ANY one player if they have a specific rank of card. You must have at least one of card of that rank in your hand. For example, “Do you have any 10s?”. If the player has the cards, they give it to you. If not, they call out “GO FISH”.
Take a card from the Ocean if Go Fish is called out
When a player you asked calls out “GO FISH”, you take the top card from the OCEAN (card pool in the middle).
Take another turn if you get the card you asked for
If you get the card from the player you asked or the OCEAN, you get to go again.
Put all 4 suits of the same rank down
If you collect all four suits of the same rank, put the cards face up in front of you. For example, if have a nine of hearts, clubs, and spades; and you picked up the nine of diamonds from the OCEAN, place the set of nine cards down in front of you and get another turn.
Winning Go Fish the Card Game
Go Fish game ends when one player runs out of cards or there are no more cards in the OCEAN (pool). The winner is the player with the most suit of cards in front of them.
Materials: 52 Standard Playing Card Deck
