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Go Fish

Matching and Shedding Card Games

Go Fish is a simple card matching game, most often played by children, in which players ask one another for cards of a specific rank to complete sets of four, and if the player asked does not hold that rank, the asker draws a card from a central stock pile and says go fish. It belongs to a broader older family of matching and asking card games, and while its precise origin and naming history are not well documented, it has long been one of the most commonly taught first card games for young children in English-speaking countries because of its simple, purely luck-and-memory-based rules.

Facts
Classification
Player Count
Two-Player 1
Wikipedia infobox (Go Fish) players field: '2–5+'
Player Count
Small Group (3-6 Players) 1
Wikipedia infobox (Go Fish) players field: '2–5+'
Player Count
Large Group or Variable 1
Open Questions
Originating Region
Italy 1
Wikipedia notes Go Fish might be similar to a game called Andare e piscere played in Italy at the end of the 15th century, but no contemporary description of that game survives, so this origin is speculative and unconfirmed.
Sport
Game Type (category)
Card Game 1
Game Type
Matching card game 1
Connections

Associated With

War, Games

Go Fish and War are both counted among the simplest card games commonly taught to young children in English-speaking countries, requiring no strategic decision-making by either player, in contrast to skill-based card games.

Source The Oxford Guide to Card Games
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Go Fish - Wikipedia
  • Rules section
    It might be similar to a game called Andare e piscere which was current in Italy at the end of the 15th century, of which no contemporary description survives.
  • Infobox, Type field
    Type: Matching
  • Wikipedia, article summary lead
    Go Fish or Fish is a card game for approximately two to five players, often played by children. It might be similar to a game called Andare e piscere which was current in Italy at the end of the 15th century, of which no contemporary description survives.
  • Infobox, players field
    2-5+
View the Source
Wikidata: Go Fish
Wikidata Q928584, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
The Oxford Guide to Card Games
Oxford University Press, 1990Associated With: War

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