How to play Go Fish
Go Fish is the friendly card game almost everyone learned first. Collect sets of four cards of the same rank, called books. Whoever has the most books when all thirteen are down wins. It’s a lovely game to play with grandchildren, and a relaxing one on your own.
The deal
- With two or three players, everyone gets seven cards; with four, five cards.
- The rest go face down in the middle: the pond.
Your turn
- Ask another player for a rank you already hold: “West, do you have any Sevens?”
- If they do, they must give you all of them, and you ask again.
- If they don’t: “Go fish!” You draw a card from the pond. If it’s the rank you asked for, show it and ask again. Otherwise your turn is over.
- When you collect all four cards of a rank, the book is laid down in front of you.
- If you run out of cards, you draw one from the pond. When the pond is empty and your hand is too, you sit out.
How to play here
- Tap a card in your hand to choose its rank.
- Tap a player to ask (with one opponent, they’re chosen for you), then tap Ask.
- Tap Hint for a good ask, based on what everyone has asked for so far.
Tips
- Listen! When someone asks for a rank, they have at least one. Ask them for it later.
- If a player just said “Go fish” to a rank, don’t ask them for it again until they’ve drawn a card.
- Ask for the ranks you hold the most of: three of a kind is one card from a book.
Questions
Does the computer see my cards?
No. It only knows its own cards and what everyone has asked for, like a person at the table. On Hard it remembers everything; on Easy it asks at random.
Is it free? Will my game be saved?
Yes and yes: it’s free with no sign-up, and your game is saved in this browser after every move.