Go Fishing

Contributed by Kate and Jess - this game is sort of a cross between Hand and Heel (also known as Hand and Foot) and Go Fish.

Object: To get from your head to your tail and go out.

You Need: 2 decks of regular playing cards with jokers (total 108 cards)per person.

Set up

Mix all the decks together and shuffle the cards well! Deal 2 stacks of 15 cards to each person face down. Do not look at them yet! Each player chooses one of their two piles, puts it off to the side, and picks up the other pile. The pile you choose to pick up is your head. The one you set off to the side is your tail. Place the remaining undealt cards face down in the center of the playing area. This is the Bait Pile. Be sure to spread them out.

How to Play

The youngest player plays first, and the turn to play passes clockwise around the table.To begin your turn, draw two cards from the Bait Pile.You may then ask any other player for a card that you need. The object is to collect sets of cards of the same rank, known as fish. Aces and Jokers are wild, and can be used in a fish to represent any rank. In order to ask for a card, you must have at least two cards in your hand of that same rank, or one card of the same rank plus a wild card. You may ask any of the other players for a card, but you may not ask anyone for wild cards. For example if you want to ask a person for a 6, you must have at least two sixes or a six and a wild card in your hand.

• If the person you ask has that card he or she must give you just one card of the rank you asked for. Then you discard one card face down in the bait pile. Be sure to mix it into the pile.
• If the person you ask does not have the card you ask for, they say 'Go Fishing!' and you have to pick up 3 cards from the bait pile. If you have to go fishing, you do not discard.

If you have four or more cards of the same rank you may lay them down at your turn.You lay down one card on another vertically, but overlapped, so that all the cards in the column are visible.In subsequent turns you may add more cards of the same rank to this column. A column of less than 8 cards can contain one or two wild cards.

If you get 8 of cards of the same rank in a column, then you put it into a stack, with only the top card visible. These stacks are called Fish.You may have up to 3 wilds in a fish. A fish with in it is known as a Male Fish. You need two of these Male Fish to go out. If your stack happens to be a Male Fish, you put a black card of that rank on top (spades or clubs).

If there are no wilds in your fish, it is a Female Fish. You also need two of these to go out. If it happens to be a Female Fish, you put a red card of that rank on top (hearts or diamonds).

You also need a Baby Fish to go out. A baby fish consists of 5 wilds. When you have those 5 wilds you may lay them down in a stack with any wild in that Fish on top.

When you have laid all of your cards in your head down, you may pick up your tail. You may not play any of the cards in your tail until your next turn. Once you have all the fish you need, you may go out. To do this, you must get rid of all the remaining cards in your tail by laying them down in valid columns of four or more cards, and if necessary discarding your last card. This ends the play, but the player who goes out does not necessarily win.

How to Score

The person who has the most Fish when the play ends is the winner.