rules to play go fish

Rules to play Go Fish

1. Know the objective
The goal in Go Fish is to collect as many books, or sets of four cards of the same rank, as possible. The person with the most books at the end of the game is the winner. An example of a book would be having all four queens in a deck the queen of hearts, the queen of spades, the queen of clubs, and the queen of diamonds. A book doesnt have to be composed of face cards. You could have a book of nines the nine of hearts, the nine of spades, the nine of clubs, and the nine of diamonds.
2. Know how to build a book
Players collect complete books by taking turns asking each other for a card they need to make a set of cards complete. For example, if a player is dealt a two of clubs and a two of hearts, she will ask another player if he has a two. In this way she adds cards to the book until it is complete.
3. Know what it means to fish
If a player is asked for a card she has in her hand, she is obligated to hand over all cards of that rank. If she does not have the card, she replies, Go fish. The player who requested the card then fishes a card from the pile of extra cards called the draw pile. This gives her an extra chance to obtain a card for one of the books she is building.If a player receives the card she asked for or draws it from the pile, she gets another turn.If a player doesnt end up with the card she asked for, her turn is over.
4. Understand how the game ends
Players continue to go around the circle, asking for cards, drawing cards and creating books, until either someone has no cards left in his or her hands or the draw pile runs out. The person with the most books is the winner.
5. Nominate a dealer
In Go Fish, one person starts out as the dealer, the person who distributes the first hand of cards and gets the game started. The person who had the idea to play the game usually plays the role of the dealer. The other players arrange themselves in a circle extending from both sides of the dealer.Some people like to follow certain rules to figure out who the dealer should be. For example, the dealer could be the youngest or oldest person present, or the person whose birthday is coming up the soonest.If you end up playing more than one game of Go Fish, the dealer of the second game is usually the person who won the first game.
6. Shuffle the deck
Any time youre about to start a card game, shuffle the deck to redistribute the cards from the last game. This ensures the cards arent organized in a predictable pattern and shows the other players that no cheating is involved.
7. Deal 5 cards to each player
Start with the deck of cards face down, so they cannot be seen by any of the players. Give the topmost card to the first player on the left, the next card to the next player in the circle, and so on. Continue dealing cards one at a time around the table until everyone has five cards.If you are playing with just two players, deal 7 cards to each player instead of 5.
8. Make a draw pile or pool
Place the remaining cards face down in the center of the circle or table so that they are within everyones reach. They dont have to be orderly, but they should all be face down. This is the pool from which everyone fishes.
9. Examine your cards
Hold the cards in a fan so that the other players cant see them, and take a look at what you were dealt. If you have two or more cards of the same rank, you may want to plan to pursue more cards of that suit to build a book. If you dont have any cards of the same rank, you may choose to pursue any of the cards in your hand.
10. Start gameplay with the player to the left of the dealer
This player chooses someone else, it doesnt matter who, to ask whether he or she has a card of a specific rank. For example, the player might say, Moirin, do you have any threes?If Moirin has threes, she is obligated to hand them over, and the player gets another turn.If Moirin has no threes, she says Go fish. The player then draws a card from the draw pile. If its the card he or she asked for, another turn is granted. If not, game play moves to the next person on the left.