Go Fish Variations

This page is part of the Invented Games section of the Card Games web site. It is a collection of variations of the card game Go Fish.

• Go Fish Deluxe
• Split

Go Fish Deluxe

A Go Fish variation invented and contributed by Jonny Groves

1. Play with a standard 52-card deck plus two Jokers. Deal 7 cards to every player. Any pairs in players' hands are put face up on the table immediately.
2. Play like standard Go-Fish except that pairs (not sets of 4) count. Any pairs you form are placed face up on the table, not face down - which is the usual rule for Go Fish. If you ask for a card of a particular rank, you must hold a card of that rank. If your request is successful, you must put the pair on the table.
3. If your request is not successful but you draw a card of the same rank you had asked for, your turn continues. You must put the pair on the table.
4. If your request is not successful but you draw a card of a rank different from the rank you had asked for, your turn ends. If the card drawn creates a pair, you must put the pair on the table.
5. If you run out of cards before the game ends (which will happen if you pair your last card by asking for it or drawing it from the stock), you draw 7 from the stock (or the remainder of the stock if there are 7 or fewer cards in it) to replenish your hand. Your turn then continues.
6. If it is not your turn to ask and you run out of cards (which will happen if a player asks for your last card), draw 7 from the stock (or the remainder of the stock if there are 7 or fewer cards in it) to replenish your hand. That other player's turn continues.
7. If the stock runs out, the game continues until all the cards have been paired. If your request for a card is not successful, your turn ends and the next player's turn begins. If you run out of cards when the stock is gone (whether it is your turn to ask or not), then you cannot play any longer in the hand.
8. The pair of Jokers counts as 2 points.
9. If you collect all four cards of the same rank, count the second pair as 2 points. Thus, a set of 4 gives you 3 points altogether rather than 2.
10. All other pairs are 1 point each.
11. The player with the most points wins.
12. You can keep a cumulative score over several deals and play to a specified number of points if you wish, or just count every deal as a separate game.

Split

Contributed by Jonathan Touchette (leanabeana25@hotmail.com)

For 2-4 players. a deck of 52 cards needed.

OBJECT OF THE GAME: to get 3 of a kind, 3 times.

INSTRUCTIONS: Each player gets 7 cards. You go clockwise to the left of the dealer. Each person can ask someone if they have a card or pick a card from the pile. You play this way until someone has 3 of a kind, 3 times. When there are no cards left in the pile, you have to ask each other for cards. When someone has 3 of a kind, 3 times you have found a winner and the game has ended.

That is how you play the game of split!!