Go Fish Variations and House Rules
Because Go Fish is passed down at kitchen tables rather than learned from a rule book, nearly every family plays it a little differently. None of these versions is wrong. Here are the differences you are most likely to meet, and which of them you can switch on in our online Go Fish game. House rules are under Settings and start with your next game.
How Many Players
Go Fish works with two to six. With two, it becomes a tight duel where every question tells your opponent exactly what you hold. With four or more, there is more to remember and more luck in the pond. In our game choose You and 1, 2 or 3 computer players. Seats are named by their place at the table: West on your left, North across, East on your right. Play passes to the left.
The Lucky Draw: Ask Again or Not?
The most common difference between families is what happens when you are told to go fish and draw the very card you asked for. The usual rule, and our default, is that you show the card and take another turn. It's a happy moment, especially for children.
Stricter households say the turn ends anyway: you keep the card, but play passes on. That makes the game a little less swingy and a little more about memory.
In our game: Ask again after a lucky draw is on by default. Turn it off and a lucky draw is still shown to the table, so everyone knows you hold that rank, but your turn ends.
A third version, rarer, lets you go again whenever your draw completes any book, even if it isn't the rank you asked for. Our game always lays such a book down, but only the asked-for rank gives another turn.
Five or Seven Cards
The common rule is seven cards each with two or three players and five each with four or more, so that a good-sized pond is left to fish in. Some families always deal five, which makes for a longer middle game with more fishing. Others always deal seven, even with four players, which leaves a smaller pond and gets books on the table quickly.
In our game: choose The usual (7 each with two or three players, 5 each with four), 5 each or 7 each under Cards dealt to each player.
When Your Hand Runs Out
Everyone agrees that a player with an empty hand draws from the pond on their turn, but families disagree about how many. The standard rule is one card. A generous house rule, popular with young players who hate sitting out, is to draw five cards, or as many as are left.
Some old rule sets say the game ends as soon as any player runs out of cards. That cuts the game short and leaves books unmade, so it is rarely played today, and our game doesn't offer it.
In our game: under When your hand runs out choose Draw 1 card (standard) or Draw 5 cards. If the pond is empty, you are out either way, and your books still count.
Pairs Instead of Books
A gentler version for small children collects pairs instead of books of four. You lay down any two cards of the same rank, and when you ask for a rank and get it, you've made a pair. The game is faster and there is less to remember. It isn't part of our game, but it's a nice way to start a five-year-old.
Asking for a Particular Card
In some homes you ask for one exact card, such as "the 7 of hearts", rather than all of a rank. If the player has it, they give you that one card. This is closer to the old parlor game called Authors, where the four cards of each rank were four books by the same writer, and players asked for titles. It takes a sharper memory and turns go faster.
Must You Hold the Rank?
The standard rule says you may only ask for a rank you already hold. A few families allow asking for anything, as a bluff. That makes questions meaningless, which takes the memory game away, so most players avoid it. Our game follows the standard rule, and so do the computer players.
Keeping Score Over Several Games
A single game of Go Fish is quick, so many families play a set: first to win three games, or add up books over an evening. You can do the same with our deal numbers: write down the number of a deal you liked and play it again, or challenge a friend to play the same deal and compare books.
Other Names
Across the English-speaking world the game is also called Fish, Go Fishing, Fish for Books or Happy Families, though Happy Families is usually played with special picture decks. The rules on this site are the common American version.
New to the game? Start with the full Go Fish rules, then read the strategy guide. If you like games where memory helps, give Cribbage or Hearts a try.