How to play Go Fish

Go Fish rules in short

• With two or three players, deal 7 cards each. The rest go face down in the middle as the pond.
• On your turn, ask another player for a rank you already hold: "Have you got any 7s?"
• If they have any, they must give you all of them, and you ask again.
• If not, they say "Go fish!", and you take a card from the pond. If it's the rank you asked for, show it and ask again. If not, your turn ends.
• Four cards of the same rank make a book. Put each book down in front of you.
• If you run out of cards, take one from the pond.
• When all 13 books are down, the player with the most books wins.

What you need

An ordinary pack of 52 cards, without the jokers, and two or more players. It's best with two to six. You don't need a pencil or paper: the books you collect are the score. Our game is for two, so you can play the computer or a friend on one screen.

Dealing the cards

Shuffle and deal the cards one at a time, face down:

• Two or three players: 7 cards each.
• Four or more players: 5 cards each, so the pond doesn't run out too soon.

Spread the rest of the pack face down in the middle. That's the pond, also called the ocean or the stock. With two players, 38 cards are left in it.

Pick up your cards and sort them so the cards of each rank are together, and keep them hidden: the whole game is about guessing what the others hold. If you're dealt all four cards of a rank, put them down straight away. The player on the dealer's left goes first, and the turn moves to the left.

In our Go Fish game, the cards are dealt for you and your hand is sorted by rank. The first turn switches between the players every game.

How to ask for cards

On your turn, ask another player for a rank: a number, or aces, jacks, queens or kings. Name the player and the rank, such as "Gus, have you got any 7s?"

1. You can only ask for a rank you already hold, at least one card of it.
2. If the player you ask has any cards of that rank, they must hand over all of them, whether that's one, two or three.
3. Then it's still your turn. Ask again, for the same rank or a different one, and keep going as long as you get cards.
4. If they have none, they say "Go fish!"

Everyone has to answer truthfully. If you're asked for a rank you hold, you must hand it over, even if it breaks up your own set.

In our game, tap a card to choose its rank, then press Ask. The cards you're given fly into your hand.

Go fish!

If the player you ask has no cards of that rank, they say "Go fish!", and you take the top card of the pond:

• If it's the rank you asked for, show it to everyone and take another turn.
• If it's any other card, keep it in your hand, and your turn ends.

Either way, if the card you fish gives you all four of a rank, put the book down. Our game takes the card from the pond for you and tells you when you've fished the rank you asked for.

Making books

A book is all four cards of one rank: four 9s, four queens, and so on.

• As soon as you hold all four, show them and put them down in front of you. They stay there to the end of the game.
• A book can come from cards you're given, from the pond or straight from the deal.
• There are 13 ranks, so there are 13 books to win, and every book counts the same: four 2s are worth as much as four aces.
• Once a rank has been booked, nobody holds it any more, so it can't be asked for.

A turn, start to finish

Here's how the first turns of the game in the pictures could go, with Pip's hand from the deal:

1. Pip asks Gus for 7s. Gus has two and hands them over, so Pip asks again.
2. Pip asks for 9s. Gus has one, the 9 of spades, and hands it over. Pip now has three 9s and asks again.
3. Pip asks for kings. Gus has none: "Go fish!" Pip takes the top card of the pond, a 4, and the turn passes to Gus.
4. Gus has a queen, and asks Pip for queens. Pip has to give up the queen of hearts, and Gus asks again.

Pip now holds 10 cards and Gus 5, but nobody has a book yet. Gus also knows that Pip holds 7s, 9s and kings, because Pip asked for them.

Running out of cards

Cards change hands all the time, so sometimes a player's hand is empty:

• If your hand is empty when it's your turn to ask, take one card from the pond, then carry on with your turn.
• If the pond is empty too, you can't ask, and your turn passes.
• Once the pond is empty, play carries on without fishing. If the player you ask hasn't got the rank, your turn simply ends.

How to win

The game ends when all 13 books have been made. The player with the most books wins. With two players there's always a winner, because 13 can't be split evenly. With three or more, two players can tie for the most books and share the win.

Our game keeps count of the books beside each player's name, and the bar at the top counts the games each of you has won.

Common mistakes

• Asking for a rank you don't hold. You need at least one card of a rank to ask for it.
• Handing over just one card. If you're asked for 8s and you have two, give both.
• Saying "Go fish!" when you have the rank. Every answer has to be true.
• Stopping after a good answer. When you get what you asked for, or fish it, your turn carries on.
• Not showing a lucky catch. Show the card you fished, so everyone can see why you're going again.
• Keeping a book in your hand. Put it down as soon as you have all four.

Tips for beginners

• Listen to every question. When your rival asks for queens, they're telling you they hold one. Ask them for queens on your next turn.
• Remember every "Go fish!" If your rival just said it to your 5s, they have no 5s. Don't ask again until they've picked up more cards.
• Ask for your biggest sets first. With three 7s in your hand, one more makes a book.
• Every question gives something away. Asking for 7s tells your rival you have a 7, so they may ask you for it next.
• Count the cards near the end. When the pond is small and most books are down, you can often work out exactly what your rival holds.

Go Fish with more players

With three or more players, everything works the same way, except that on your turn you can ask any player for a rank. If you get cards, you can ask the same player or someone else next. When you have to go fishing, the turn passes to the next player on your left, unless you fish the rank you asked for. Keeping track of who asks whom for what is the best way to win, and the most fun.

Other ways to play Go Fish

Families have played Go Fish for a long time, and plenty of them have their own rules:

• Pairs instead of books. A favourite with young children: put down any two cards of the same rank as a pair. The player with the most pairs wins.
• No extra turn for a lucky fish. In some families, your turn always ends after you go fishing, even if you catch the rank you asked for.
• Whose turn is next. In some versions, the player who said "Go fish!" has the next turn, instead of the player on the left.
• An earlier end. Some players stop the game as soon as one player runs out of cards, or as soon as the pond is empty, and count the books then.
• Asking for one card. In a close relative called Authors, you ask for one exact card, such as the 8 of hearts, and only get that card.

Questions

Ready to play Go Fish?

Try the rules out now: play a friend on one screen or the computer at four levels. It's free, with no download and no sign-up.

Play Go Fish now

Updated 8 November 2026