Gone Fishing! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview and Goal
• Contents
• Preparation
• Playing a Game Round
  • 1. Angler player must move one angler figure
  • 2. Fish player must offer one lake tile
  • 3. Angler player may catch a lake tile
  • 4. Fish player may move up to three lake tiles
• The Special Tiles
• End of a Fishing Day and Scoring
• New Day, New Fishermen
• Game End and Determining the Angler King

Overview and Goal

One player takes the role of the two anglers and tries to catch as many fish as possible. The other player takes the role of the fish and with bluff and skill tries to hinder the anglers from catching fish. The angler player decides where to fish, but must do so in the dark (that is, he cannot really see where the fish are), as the fish cards are placed face down. Because of this, he does not know whether he is catching a fish or garbage. Also, when he is lucky enough to catch a fish, he will not know until he lands it how valuable it is. With clever movement of his fish, the fish player tries to get garbage and small fish onto the anglers' hooks.

After one game, the players switch roles. After two games, the player with the most points is the winner.

Contents

• 1 game board
• 2 anglers (red and yellow)
• 16 lake tiles: 10 fish, 5 trash and 1 diver
• 16 plastic stands
• 2 start tiles (red and yellow)
• 12 catch tiles (3 each of 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• 5 special tiles: 2 for the angler and 3 for the fish player

Preparation

• Before the first game, carefully remove the tiles from their frames. Place the 16 lake tiles in the plastic stands. Place them so their backs are all in the same orientation, so the angler player cannot determine which is which by looking at the backs during the game.
• The youngest player takes the role of angler player first. He takes and will control the two angler figures. The other player is the fish player and will control the fish.
• The fish player places the 16 lake tiles on the 16 spaces on the board in any way he wants, but showing only the backs of the tiles (water side) to the angler player.
• Next, the angler player chooses two piers for his anglers and places the two start tiles on those piers. Then, he places the angler figures on the start tiles, making sure he matches the figure colors to the tiles. Tip: place the two figures as far apart as possible.
• The angler player takes the 12 catch tiles and his two special tiles (green border). He places the catch tiles, sorted by value, face-up in his play area (before himself). He has three tiles of each value: 1, 2, 3, and 4. He places the two special tiles face-up next to the catch tiles.
• The fish player takes his three special tiles (blue border), placing them face-up in his play area.

Playing a Game Round

A round consists of four parts, that are always played in the following order:

1. Angler player must move one angler figure

First, the angler player must move one of his two angler figures by at least 1 pier in clockwise order. This will be his active figure for this round. Note: of course, it is often in the angler player's interest, especially later in the game, to move a figure further than just 1 pier.

For each pier, there is a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row of 4 spaces. From each pier, a figure can try to catch a fish from any of these 4 spaces. However, only the active figure can try to catch a fish.

2. Fish player must offer one lake tile

Now the fish player must show one lake tile from the row where the active angler is. He turns the tile so the angler player can see its front side.

The fish player may show the angler player either a fish or a trash tile. However, he may not show the diver, unless it is the only lake tile in the row with the active angler.

3. Angler player may catch a lake tile

• Now, the angler player may catch one lake tile. He can either catch the tile offered by the fish player or any other hidden lake tile in the row where his active angler is.
• When the angler player decides not to catch the lake tile offered by the fish player, he says, "No, thanks!". The fish player then turns that lake tile back so that its back side faces the angler player.
• To catch the chosen lake tile, the angler must play an appropriate catch tile. The catch tile he must play depends on the distance between the active angler and the chosen lake tile. For the lake tile in the space closest to the pier with the active angler, the angler player plays a catch tile with the number "1". For the lake tile in the space furthest from the pier with the active angler, the angler player plays a catch tile with the number "4". For the two spaces in between, the angler player plays a "2" or "3", as appropriate. Example: the angler player catches the lake tile on the third space of the row, using a number 3 tile with his red angler.
• The angler must now "pay" for his catch by moving his active angler figure as many spaces (piers) in clockwise order around the board as the number on the catch tile he played to make the catch. Thus, when he makes a catch on the opposite side of the lake, he must move his angler figure four spaces. Example: the angler player played a number 3 catch tile and must move his angler figure 3 piers in the clockwise direction.
• The angler player then discards the played catch tile from the game, placing it back in the box.
• The angler player places the caught lake tile face up in his play area, whether it is a fish or trash.
• The angler player may always choose not to try to catch a fish in a round. Note: the player may have to do this if he has used all the catch tiles of the number he needs to make the catch he wants. He may also believe there are no good fish in the row.
• When the angler player catches the diver tile, he has bad luck. Like trash, the diver has no value, but, also, he does not leave the lake. The player turns him back around so he is hidden and might be caught again. The diver is never removed from the lake. Note: thus, the angler player should remember where the diver is, so he does not catch him again.

4. Fish player may move up to three lake tiles

• Finally, the fish player may move up to three lake tiles.
• One move of a lake tile is any distance along any number of empty spaces, either horizontally or vertically (not diagonally). A move is not horizontal and then vertical or vice versa. That would count as two moves. The fish player can allocate his moves to 2 or 3 lake tiles, or could move a single lake tile up to 3 times.
• The fish player may divide the movement among several lake tiles, or choose to do no movement at all.

Note: at the beginning of the game, there are few (or no) moves possible, but as more and more lake tiles are caught, the move possibilities increase, allowing the fish player more move options.

The round is now ended and the angler player begins a new round by moving one of his two angler figures. This could be the same figure as the previous round or the other figure, as he chooses.

The Special Tiles

Each player has 2 or 3 special tiles for use during the game to help him in his quest for victory. Neither player may use more than one of his special tiles in a round. Also, each special tile may only be used once, and then is placed back in the box.

The angler player may only use a special tile when he has chosen not to catch a lake tile during this round. Thus, he is playing no catch card this round.

The fish player may only play a special tile at the end of the round, after he has moved (or chosen not to move) his lake tiles.

The special tiles are:

• Look at a lake tile: The angler player turns any lake tile around, looks at it, and turns it back, hiding its contents again.
• Move the yellow or red angler 1 pier: The angler player must immediately move the matching angler figure 1 pier clockwise. This figure cannot try to catch a fish from this pier as he is not yet active.
• Swap 2 lake tiles with each other: The fish player swaps the locations of two lake tiles on the board of his choice. He does so without showing the angler player their contents.
• The fish player may not move lake tiles: The fish player may not move any lake tiles this round.

End of a Fishing Day and Scoring

When an angler figure returns to or passes his start tile, his fishing day is over. The angler player removes the angler figure and his start tile from the board. He may no longer try to catch fish. Note: the last pier that an angler may fish from is the pier just before the one with his start tile.

When both the angler player's anglers have finished fishing for the day, the day is over and the angler player calculates his score. The angler player adds the points of the fish he caught during the day. For each unused special tile for the fish player, he subtracts 1 point from his total. He adds no points for his unused special tiles. The first part of the game is now over.

New Day, New Fishermen

Now the players trade roles with the angler player becoming the fish player and vice versa, and they play a second day.

Game End and Determining the Angler King

When the second day has ended, the winner is the player who scored the most points as the angler player. If the players tie, the winner is the player who was the first angler. Note: the player who is angler for the second day has a very small advantage in knowing how many points he must score to win the game.