Go Fish is a card game of chance and skill for two or more players and one that is deservedly popular with families. Younger children will just enjoy the excitement of it; older kids will begin to learn to try to memorize what cards the other players have.
Number of Players: 2 +
Age Range: 7+
Cards: Either a standard deck or a special "Happy Families" pack can be used.
Instructions
The dealing depends on the amount of players participating in the game. If there are two or three, each player is dealt seven card, but if there are more people taking part, they are only dealt five. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle to form the "fish" pile.
The players then have to sort their cards into groups of the same number or picture (i.e. a group of fives; a group of Queens), making sure not to show any other player their hand. Then, to start, the person to the left of the dealer asks any other player for cards of any one of the groups he holds in his hand (for example, if he has two Kings, he may ask the other player for Kings). If the other player has any of the cards he is asked for, he must hand them over. The "requester" can then go on asking the same player for more cards until the player does not have the cards he wants.
If a player who does not have the cards he is asked for, he tells the requester to "go fish". The requester then has to take one card from the "fish" pile and the person who told him to "go fish" becomes the new requester.
Anyone who collects all four cards of a set (i.e. all four Queens) puts them face down in front of him.
The winner is the first person to have nothing left but a collection of complete sets. If two people run out of cards together, the player with the most sets wins the game.
