Go Fish Rules and Simple Strategy

The rules

1. Deal: seven cards each with two players, five each with three or four. The rest form the pond (the draw pile).
2. Your turn: ask one player for a rank you hold at least one card of ("Do you have any sevens?").
3. If they have any, they must hand over every card of that rank, and you ask again (the same player or another).
4. If they have none, they say "go fish": draw one card from the pond. If the card you drew is the rank you asked for, show it and ask again; otherwise your turn ends.
5. Books: four cards of one rank make a book, which is laid down at once and counts one point.
6. Running out: a player with no cards draws one from the pond at the start of their turn if any remain; otherwise their turn is skipped.
7. End: when all thirteen books are made, or when the pond is empty and nobody can ask for anything. The most books wins; equal books is a draw.

Habit 1: listen to every question

The whole game is in the questions. When a player asks for sevens, they hold at least one seven. When the player they asked says "go fish", that player holds no sevens. When the asker then draws and keeps asking, they fished their wish. Keep a running picture of who has what, because:

• If a player asked for sevens and you later pick up a seven, you know exactly who to ask.
• If a player was asked for nines and had none, do not ask them for nines until they have drawn several cards.
• A player who asks for the same rank twice has at least two of it; asking them for it is worth a lot.

The Hard robot remembers all of this. Against it, assume that every rank you ask for is remembered.

Habit 2: ask for what you hold most of

Three cards of a rank need one more for a book. Ask for that rank first, and ask the player most likely to have it. If nobody has shown interest in it, ask the player with the most cards; with more cards, they are more likely to hold any given rank.

Habit 3: protect your pairs

Asking for a rank announces that you hold it. If you ask for jacks and miss, every other player now knows to ask you for jacks, and the Hard robot will. So, when you have a choice, ask for ranks that you can win quickly (three in hand) or ranks that someone has already revealed, and avoid asking for a rank you hold only one of unless you know where the others are.

Habit 4: manage the end of the pond

As the pond runs low, drawing becomes rarer and the game turns into pure deduction. Count the books made and the cards left in hands; the remaining ranks are known, and every "go fish" eliminates a holder. In the last few turns, ask only for ranks you are certain of.

Two players, three or four

With two players the game is mostly memory: there is only one opponent to ask, so every miss is a draw from the pond, and holding pairs quietly until you can win the book outright is strong. With three or four, choosing whom to ask is the skill, and the flow of cards between other players (which you can watch) tells you where the ranks are gathering.

Common mistakes

1. Asking at random. Every question should be based on something you heard.
2. Asking for a rank you hold one of. You reveal it and gain little.
3. Forgetting a "go fish" answer. That player has none of that rank; do not ask again soon.
4. Not watching the other players' exchanges. Cards handed over tell you who is collecting what.
5. Ignoring hand sizes. Big hands hold more ranks; ask them.

Glossary

• Book: four cards of one rank, laid down for one point.
• Pond: the draw pile.
• Go fish: the answer when the asked player has none of the rank; the asker draws a card.
• Fishing your wish: drawing the very rank you asked for, which earns another turn.