How to Play Go Fish Card Game

Go Fish, or sometimes just call Fish, is a card game usually played by two to six players in about 5 to 15 minutes. The rules are simple and any standard deck of cards will do. It’ll take just a few minutes to learn how to play. So grab some friends or family members, and let’s get to it.

What do you need to play?

A standard deck of cards (no Jokers)
2 to 6 players

Go Fish rules are simple

Go Fish rules aren’t particularly complex. If there are three or more players, each player is dealt five cards. If there are only two players, deal 7 cards to each. The remaining cards are placed in a pile between all the players.

Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, each player takes a turn asking another player if they have a specific card rank (e.g. “Phoebe, do you have any nines?” or “Joe, do you have any Queens?”). If asked for a rank he has in his hand, a player must hand over all of the cards of that rank. The asker then gets to take another turn. If a player has no cards of the requested rank, he responds, “Go fish.” The asker then draws a card from the pile. If he happens to draw the card he was requesting, the asker shows the card to the group as proof and takes another turn.

How do you win?

Players try to form sets of four-of-a-kind. When they do, the four cards are immediately placed on the table face up. Play continues until all books have been made. Winner is the player who makes the most books.