Fish! Fish!! Fish!
Fish! Fish!! Fish! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
All players are fishermen who try to fish as much as possible. You can do this by attracting the fish to your boat or by sailing to the richest waters. All fish have different values and can also form schools earning a lot of points at once. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
Contents
- 1 game board. The numbers along the red lines are identical.
- 5 pawns in 5 different colours.
- 11 fishing boats in 5 different colours (see also "Constructing the boats" below).
- 11 fishes on a grey background, called "grey fishes".
- 46 fishes on a white background, called "white fishes".
- 44 fishes on a blue background, called "blue fishes".
- 52 movement cards.
- 2 sequence cards.
Game Setup
All fish are placed on the game board according to the picture shown with 1 grey fish in the centre of the board. Each player receives 2 grey fish, 2 fishing boats (3 boats in a 2 player game and just 1 boat in a 5 player game) and a pawn in the same colour. In a game with fewer than 5 players, all remaining grey fish go back into the box. All cards are shuffled, each player receives 3 cards and 3 cards are turned face up next to the board (in the same direction as the board, indicated for example by the yellow beach). The remaining cards are placed in a stack face-down and form the draw pile. The sequence cards are placed beneath the draw pile (see page 8).
The outer squares are always empty. In the centre of the board you will find the top of the bill, an enormous grey fish. It's a really nice catch!
The board shows where to find the most fish. The expensive fish are white, the cheap ones blue.
Start of the Game
A starting player is chosen at random.
The starting player places one of his boats on an outer space of the board after which all other players place their first boat on the board. Then, proceeding clockwise, all players place their remaining boat(s) in the same way on the board. Each player places his pawn clearly visible for all players in front of him indicating the colour he is playing with. The grey fish are kept in front of the players.
Movement Cards
All movement cards are taken in hand. Players should hold their cards so they face the same direction as the board. When a card is played, it is played in a way that all players can clearly see in which direction the movement has to take place. A player may play several cards on his turn, but every movement card counts for just one single space. In other words, if you want to move several spaces, you have to play the same number of cards as spaces. The number of cards in hand is limited to seven, so if you have already 6 cards, you can only draw one more. Each draw, you may choose between a face-up and the top face-down card. There are always three cards lying face-up on next to the board. When one of the face-up cards is drawn, a new card is drawn from the pile and placed face-up next to the board.
Play Turn
In your turn, you may choose either to:
- Move your boats, or
- Move the fish.
It is not allowed to move both boats and fish.
Moving Boats
When you choose to move your boats, you choose one of your boats and play one card for each space you want to move in the direction indicated by the card. You can also choose to move your other boat, too. In that case, you play again one card with the desired direction per space you want to move. Fish lying on the spaces you cross are caught and put in your personal stock, well separated from the grey fish you received at the beginning of the game. The number on the space where you end your turn indicates the number of cards you may draw. For instance, if you move one boat from a 2 to a 3 and afterwards your other boat from a 3 to a 1, you may draw only one card. In this case, it would be better to play in reverse order, so you will end your turn on a 3 and you may draw 3 cards. Only one boat per space is allowed and during the movement, you may not cross a space containing another boat.
Example: the yellow fisherman has chosen to sail and is sailing one space down and another space diagonally down. He catches 2 fish and keeps them in his personal stock, separated from his grey fish. He ends his turn by drawing 2 cards, since this is the number on the space where he ended his turn.
Moving Fish
When you choose to move the fish, you play one of your cards and move a fish one space in the same direction. If the fish moves to a space already containing a fish, these fish are stacked to form a school and will move as a school during the rest of the game, till they are caught. The number of fish in a school is unlimited. You may move this school by playing again one or more cards. Of course, you may also move another fish. The number on the space where you end your turn indicates the number of cards you may draw. If you move one or more fish to a space containing a boat, you must end your turn immediately by drawing the indicated number of cards. All fish on this space containing a boat are caught and kept in the personal stock of the owner of the boat. You are not allowed to count the total value of the fish in the school until you have catched the school.
Example: the green fisherman chooses not to sail and he throws out the anchor, hoping the fish will swim into his direction. Today, he is lucky. The grey fish swims one space up and forms a school with the white fish. This small school swims another space up and picks up the blue fish. Now just another space diagonally up. Uh oh, they just avoided swimming into the green fisherman's nets. Unlucky for him, he cannot sail to catch all these fish because he may not sail this turn. Let's hope the school is still there in his next turn, because the yellow fisherman is nearby and really wants to catch all these lovely fish. The green fisherman finally draws 3 cards as this number is indicated on the last space where the school ended its turn.
Grey Fish
The game starts with just one grey fish in the centre of the board. This fish is worth 5 points at the end of the game. Each player also has two grey fish which he may use during the game. To bring a grey fish into play, you place him on the board after your moves but before drawing cards. However, unused grey fish earn five penalty points to the owner. Grey fish may only be placed on a space with at least one other fish. The grey fish will form a school with all the fish on this space and will swim together. So, you can catch this grey fish at earliest during your next turn. But other players can catch them too. You may place only one grey fish during your turn, but there is no maximum of grey fish in a school.
Example: the green fisherman sees a small grey fish in a freshly formed school. This will be a nice catch for his next turn! A huge school in just one boat! Life really can be wonderful!
Scoring
A grey fish earns each player 5 points, a white fish 2 points and a blue fish 1 point. All unused grey fish in a player's supply are worth 5 penalty points each.
The winner is the player who has caught the most points at the end of the game. In case of a tie, the player who has caught the most fish, not counting the points, is the winner. However, penalty points do count in case of a tie.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately as soon as the last card from the pile is drawn by a player or placed face-up next to the board. This happens:
- with 2 players when the cards are played twice (the deck is shuffled once);
- with 3/4/5 players when the cards are played for the third time (the deck is shuffled twice).
Sequence Cards
At the beginning of the game, put. the sequence card(s) under the deck of cards. In a 2 player game only the card with the "1" has to be used. In a game with more players both cards have to be used. These cards will help the players to remember how often the deck of cards has been shuffled.
Constructing the Boats
The printed page 8 shows a numbered diagram (steps 1 to 5) for constructing the boats from their parts. The diagram carries no text, so it is not transcribed; see the printed rulebook page.