Big Fish Lil' Fish
Big Fish Lil' Fish Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Instruction
In this fast-paced, feeding-frenzy card game, players use their Big Fish to eat Lil' Fish. But beware of the prickly PUFFER fish that can't be eaten or you'll wind up with a whole pile of fish cards. First person to get rid of all of their cards wins!
Contents
Before you go fishin', make sure you have a total of 60 Fish Cards including:
- 12 - Blue Fish
- 12 - Green Fish
- 12 - Purple Fish
- 12 - Orange Fish
- 12 - PUFFER Fish
NOTE: Each color fish has several different sizes, from tiny to huge and are numbered from #1 (smallest) to #48 (largest).
Object of the Game
Players try to play all their cards into the Pond Pile in the center of the table without breaking the game rules. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!
Quick Start
-
Shuffle the deck thoroughly and deal the cards to the players until all the cards are dealt out.
-
Players may then look at all of their cards, and may hold as many in their hand as they want.
-
The dealer plays the first card to the POND in the center of the table. Then the feeding frenzy begins.
-
Once the first card is played, put down as many cards as you can as fast as you can, one card at a time. There are NO "turns." ANY player can play at any time - but you must obey the following rules:
- a. Rule #1 - Big fish eat little fish. Only a bigger fish can be played on top of another fish.
- b. Rule #2 - Fish of the same color can't eat each other. Bigger fish must be a different color than the fish they are played on top of.
- c. Rule #3 - PUFFER fish swim with fish of the same color. PUFFER fish can only be played on top of fish of the same color. The size of the PUFFER fish does not matter.
- d. Rule #4 - The fish can not eat a PUFFER fish. Play stops when a PUFFER fish is played because the prickly PUFFER is too tough to eat! Use a PUFFER fish to pause the game. The game resumes only when the person who played the PUFFER plays another card. This card can be a fish or PUFFER fish of any size or color.
Editor's note: the printed Rule #4 text is partly smudged on the source sheet. The wording above is the best reading of the legible words ("because their[...]ckly PUFFER is too tough to eat"); the word before "ckly" is unclear and has been read as "prickly" to match the Instruction paragraph.
-
Any player breaking any of the 4 rules or any player who:
- a. Tries to take a card back once it has touched the POND.
- b. Plays a card next to the POND not in the pond.
- c. Throws a card into the POND instead of placing it.
Frozen Pond
If no player is able to play a card to the POND, the POND becomes FROZEN! The dealer then shuffles the POND cards, deals them out to the players, places a card in the middle of the table to start a new POND, and play resumes.
Hints
- Having too many cards in your hand at one time can slow you down.
- Before play starts, arranging your cards by numbers (from low to high) in alternating colors, can help you play your hand faster.
- If you have to pick up the POND, remember that the cards in the POND are probably already in order from smallest to largest which may help you play more cards more quickly!
Game Variations
For Two Players
For faster play when playing with only two players:
- Remove cards numbered 25 through 48 from the deck.
- Remove one PUFFER fish of each color from the deck.
For Young Children
If remembering and playing with all 4 rules at once is difficult for smaller kids, begin the game by playing with only Rule #1 - Big fish eat little fish. When they are comfortable playing with Rule #1, add Rule #2. Then, as they progress, add Rule #3, and Rule #4 when appropriate.