🃏 Go Fish

The classic card game

Go Fish is one of the best-loved card games in the world, and here you can play it free in your browser against friendly computer players. All you need to know is how to ask a question: "Do you have any sevens?" If they do, you get them. If they don't, they tell you to go fish, and you draw a card from the pond. Collect all four cards of a rank to make a book, and whoever has the most books at the end wins.

This version uses a standard 52-card deck, just like the one in your kitchen drawer. The cards are big and easy to read, the computer players think for a moment and say what they are doing, and a little sound plays with every card that changes hands.

The rules

With two or three players, everyone is dealt seven cards; with four or five players, five cards each. The rest of the deck is spread face down in the middle: that is the pond. On your turn, choose a rank you already hold, for example kings, and ask another player for it. If they have any kings, they must give you all of them, and you get another turn. If they have none, they say "Go Fish!", and you draw the top card from the pond. If that card happens to be the rank you asked for, it is called fishing for your wish, and you go again. Otherwise the turn passes to the next player. As soon as you hold all four cards of a rank, you lay them down as a book. If your hand runs out, you draw five cards from the pond, or sit out if the pond is empty. The game ends when all 13 books are made.

Three levels of computer players

On Easy, the computer players just guess what to ask for, so they make mistakes. On Medium, they remember some of the cards that other players have asked about. On Hard, they remember everything: every card you asked for, so if you asked for queens and still have them, they will come asking. You can play against one, two, three or four of them, with names like Captain Finn, Mia, Grandpa Joe, Ravi and Luna.

Strategy tips

Go Fish is mostly about memory. Listen to what everyone asks for. If a player asks for fives, they have at least one five: ask them for fives on your turn. When you draw a card from the pond, it can be smart to ask for that rank next time. Ask for ranks where you hold two or three cards, since you are closer to a book. And against Hard players, remember that every card you ask about tells them something too.

Great for learning

Go Fish is often the first real card game children learn, and for good reason. It practises recognising numbers and matching, taking turns, following rules and simple memory and strategy. Playing against computer players means a child can practise any time, at their own pace, and the Easy level is gentle enough for beginners.

From screen to kitchen table

Many families use the online game to learn the rules before a real game with a pack of cards, or to keep practising between games. The flow is exactly the same as at the table: the same deal, the same pond, the same books and the same ending, so a child who has played a few rounds here can sit down with real cards and join in straight away. And when nobody else is around, the computer players are always ready for a quick game.

Play anywhere

Go Fish runs in any modern browser on computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones, with no download and no account. Tap or click the cards. Your wins, games played and best number of books are saved only in your own browser. See the Parents & Safety page for more.

More games like this

For younger players, try Go Fish for Kids, with sea-animal picture cards and pairs instead of books. More classic games are on our Classic Board Games page, and every fishing game, from Tiny Hook Fishing to Lake Fishing Simulator 3D, is on the Fishing Games page.

Frequently asked questions