Printable Go Fish rules

Go Fish in one page

2–6 players · 1 deck

Deal 7 cards each with 2 or 3 players, or 5 each with 4 or more, and put the rest face down as a pond. On your turn, ask another player for a rank you already hold, like "Do you have any 7s?" If they have any, they hand them all over and you ask again; if not, they say "Go fish" and you draw. Collect books of four of a kind, and the player with the most books at the end wins.

In brief

• Deal 7 each (2–3 players) or 5 each (4+)
• Rest of the deck face down: the pond
• Ask one player for a rank you already hold
• They give you ALL of that rank; ask again
• None? "Go fish!" Draw one card
• Drew the rank you asked for? Show it, go again
• Otherwise your turn ends; play passes left
• Four of a kind = a book; lay it face up
• Out of cards? Draw one and ask for that rank
• Most books when all 13 are made wins

Setup

1. Shuffle a standard 52-card deck. Deal cards one at a time, face down: 7 cards each for 2 or 3 players, 5 cards each for 4 or more players.
2. Spread the rest of the deck face down in the middle of the table, or leave it in a neat stack. This is the stock, which most families call the pond or the ocean.
3. Everyone picks up their hand and keeps it hidden. If anyone was dealt a complete book of four, they lay it face up in front of them.
4. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn, and play moves left around the table.

On your turn

1. Ask one specific player for a specific rank, like "Maria, do you have any queens?" You must already hold at least one card of the rank you ask for.
2. If that player has any cards of that rank, they must give you all of them. You then take another turn and can ask the same player or someone else for any rank you hold.
3. If they have none, they say "Go fish!" and you draw the top card of the pond.
4. If the card you draw is the rank you just asked for, show it to everyone and take another turn. Otherwise, keep the card and your turn ends. Play passes to the left.
5. Whenever you collect all four cards of a rank, show them and lay the book face up in front of you. Completing a book also earns you another ask.

Scoring

Winning

Once all 13 books are on the table, count them. The player with the most books wins. Because 13 is odd, a two-player game can't tie. With more players a tie for the most books is possible; most families declare a shared win or play a quick tiebreak game. Some groups end the game as soon as someone runs out of cards or the pond is empty, as pagat.com describes, and count the books at that point.