How to Play Go Fish

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Go Fish is a matching card game for two to six players, played with a standard 52-card deck. Players ask one another for specific card ranks to build complete sets of four, known as books. It is straightforward enough for young children to follow after a single hand, yet the memory element gives older players something worth thinking about.

It is most commonly played at kitchen tables, on long car journeys, and at family gatherings. Its short play time, minimal equipment, and simple core loop make it one of the first card games most children in English-speaking countries ever learn.

A little history

Go Fish is widely documented as a children's card game popular across the United States and the United Kingdom throughout the twentieth century, and references to it appear in American print from at least the late nineteenth century. Its precise origins are unclear: some researchers link it to a broader family of 'authors' and 'quartet' games popular in Victorian parlours on both sides of the Atlantic, but no definitive founding date or inventor is recorded.

Setting up

1. Remove jokers from the deck so you are working with 52 cards.
2. Choose a dealer by any agreed method, such as cutting for the highest card.
3. The dealer shuffles thoroughly and deals cards one at a time, face down. With 2 players, deal 7 cards each. With 3 to 6 players, deal 5 cards each.
4. Place the remaining cards face down in a central pile. This is the stock, also called the ocean or pond.
5. Each player picks up their hand and sorts it privately. Do not show your cards to anyone.

How to play

1. The player to the dealer's left goes first. Play then proceeds clockwise.
2. On your turn, choose any opponent and ask them for a specific card rank, for example: 'Sarah, do you have any sevens?' You must already hold at least one card of that rank in your own hand to make the request. You cannot ask for a rank you do not hold.
3. If the opponent holds one or more cards of that rank, they must hand ALL of them to you immediately. Your turn continues and you may ask any opponent (the same one or a different one) for another rank.
4. If the opponent holds none of that rank, they say 'Go Fish'. You draw the top card from the stock.
5. If the card you draw is the rank you just asked for, show it to all players, say 'Got one!' and take another turn immediately.
6. If the drawn card is any other rank, add it to your hand and your turn ends. Play passes to the next player clockwise.
7. Whenever you complete a book (all four cards of one rank), immediately place that set face up in front of you. This can happen at any point: when you receive cards from an opponent, or when you draw from the stock.
8. If at any point you run out of cards in your hand, draw five new cards from the stock (or all remaining stock cards if fewer than five remain). If the stock is empty and you hold no cards, you are out for the rest of the game but the game continues without you.
9. The game ends when all 13 books have been completed. Count each player's books. The player with the most books wins.

Winning and scoring

The player who has collected the greatest number of books when all 13 sets of four have been laid down wins the game. There are no points for individual cards, only for complete books. In the event of a tie, the tied players share the win or may play a sudden-death tiebreaker hand by mutual agreement.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether you must name a specific rank or may ask vaguely. The standard ruling is that you must name a rank clearly and precisely, and you must already hold at least one card of that rank. Asking for 'a high card' or 'something useful' is not permitted. If a player asks for a rank they do not hold, the standard penalty is that the illegal turn is forfeited: the asking player goes fish and draws a card, and play passes on without them receiving any cards.

A second common dispute arises when a player forgets to lay down a completed book immediately. The standard ruling is lenient for younger players: the book is laid down as soon as the error is noticed, with no penalty. In more competitive play, house rules sometimes require that an unrevealed book discovered in a player's hand at game end does not count toward their score, so it is worth agreeing this before play begins.

How to win more often

• Track what other players have asked for. Every request tells you at least one rank that player holds, and that information stays useful for several rounds.
• Ask for ranks where you already hold two or three cards. The more cards you have of a rank, the fewer the opponent can possibly have, which improves your odds of a successful request.
• When you draw from the stock and get a card no one has asked about yet, keep that rank quiet until you have built a stronger holding in it.
• Against younger opponents, vary who you direct questions at so it is harder for anyone to build a clear picture of your hand.
• When your turn continues after a successful ask, consider asking a different opponent. Repeatedly targeting the same person helps everyone else map your hand.

Variations

Happy Families style (Suit Books)

Instead of collecting all four cards of a rank, players must collect all four cards of a suit within a defined group, for example all four picture cards (Jack, Queen, King, Ace) in one suit. This variant requires more careful questioning and significantly extends the game, making it better suited to players aged eight and above.

Teams Go Fish

With six players, split into two teams of three sitting alternately so no two teammates are adjacent. Books won by any team member count toward a shared team total. Players may not signal their holdings to teammates, but the shared objective changes the asking strategy considerably, as completing a book may require two team members to co-ordinate requests across several turns.

Reverse Go Fish

In this variant the aim is to collect the fewest books, not the most. Players must still ask for ranks they hold and must still hand over cards when asked, but strategic play flips entirely: you want to give cards away and avoid completing sets. The player with the fewest books when all sets are complete wins.

Double Deck Go Fish

Use two standard 52-card decks shuffled together, and redefine a book as eight cards (both copies of each rank from each deck). Deal seven cards per player regardless of player count. The game suits four to six players well and runs longer than the standard version, giving the memory element more weight as the session progresses.

Go Fish: frequently asked questions