Merchant of Goldfish
Merchant of Goldfish Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Quick Start Guide
How to play Merchant of Goldfish
- First, remove a certain number of cards according to the number of players and deal everyone a set number of cards.
- Create a market with the remaining cards.
- Once you decide the starting player, the game begins. Turns go clockwise.
- On your turn, you can either play a card or pass.
Play a card
- Place a card face-up from your hand onto the table.
- → Go to "How to play a card".
How to play a card
- When playing a card, you can play one card or a set of multiple cards with the same value.
- If there are no cards in the play area, you can play any single card or set.
- When there are cards on the table, you must meet either a. or b.
- a. The number of cards played is the same as the number of cards on the table and the value on the cards is larger.
- b. The number of cards played is larger than the number of cards on the table and the value on the cards is the same.
- Get rid of all your cards quickly!
Pass
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If you can't play a card from your hand or don't want to play a card, pass.
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A player who passes must exchange cards from their hand with cards from the market. The total sum of the cards they exchange from their hand must be the same as the sum of the cards they get from the market. The total must be 14 or less.
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The start player cannot pass on the first turn!
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If you play a card and everyone else has passed, place the card in play in the discard pile. After that, you may add one card from the market to your hand.
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Then, place all the cards in the discard pile into the market. That player becomes the new starting player and begins their turn.
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If that player has gone out, the card in the market with the lowest number is played.
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Once a player runs out of cards in their hand, they win the game!
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After that, the second place, third place, and so on is decided and the game ends when there is only one player left.
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There is also a longer variant where you play the game three times to determine the overall ranking!
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For detailed rules, see the back of the rulebook.
Game Components
66 Goldfish Cards
Values 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- 1 14, 2 13s, 3 12s and 11s, 4 10s and 9s, 5 8s and 7s, 6 6s, 5s, and 4s, and 7 3s, 2s, and 1s.
1 Rulebook (this sheet)
Setup
When playing with 2 to 3 players, first remove the following cards:
- 2 players: Remove 2 each of cards of value 1–10, and 1 each of 11 and 12.
- 3 players: Remove 1 each of cards value 1–10.
Shuffle all the cards and deal each player a number of cards below according to the number of players. These cards form the players' hands.
| 2 players | 3 players | 4 players | 5 players | 6 players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 cards | 14 cards | 13 cards | 11 cards | 9 cards |
Place the remaining cards face-up on the table, ideally sorting them by number. This is the Market. The number of cards remaining will be:
| 2 players | 3 players | 4 players | 5 players | 6 players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 cards | 14 cards | 14 cards | 11 cards | 12 cards |
Leave an empty space in the centre of the table for the play area as well as the discard pile.
The player who has seen a goldfish most recently will be the starting player, or use any preferred method to determine the starting player.
This completes the game setup.
Example of setup for 4 players: each player holds 13 cards. Space for playing cards (Play Area) and the discard pile are placed in the centre. The Market is laid out face-up beside them. In a 4 player game, there will be 14 cards in the Market.
Flow of the Game
Merchant of Goldfish proceeds clockwise in turn order. On a player's turn they will either:
[B: Pass] or [A: Play a card].
If there are no cards on the play area, you must play a card.
The player who first plays all their cards is the winner!
A: Play a card
Play a Goldfish card from your hand face-up. Follow the
- When playing a card, play one or multiple cards of the same value.
- If there are no cards in the play area, you can play any number of cards.
- When a card is on the table, one of the following conditions must be met:
- a. The number of cards is the same as the number of cards in play, and the values of the cards are greater.
- b. The values of cards are the same as the values of cards in the play area, and the number of cards is greater.
Note: You cannot play a set that is both higher in the number of cards in the play area and also with higher values.
B: Pass
If you cannot or do not want to play cards from your hand, you can pass.
The player who passes can exchange cards from their hand with cards in the market (but they do not have to).
You can exchange 1 or more cards in your hand with 1 or more cards in the market. However, the total value in your hand must be the same as the total value of cards that you exchange for, and this total value has to be 14 or less.
Even if you have previously passed, when your turn comes around again, you can choose either [A: Play a card] or [B: Pass].
Market Reset
When you play a card that causes everyone else to pass, a Market Reset occurs.
When a Market Reset occurs, first, place all cards in the play area on the discard pile. Next, you can add 1 card to your hand from the market (but you do not have to).
Exception: If you currently have 0 cards in your hand, you have gone out and cannot add any cards from the market to your hand.
Then, all cards in the discard pile are now moved to the market. You then become the new starting player and begin your turn.
Since there are no cards, the starting player must play a card and cannot pass.
If the player has gone out, the card with the lowest value in the market is played again, and it is the turn of the player to the left of the player who went out.
End of the Game
When a player has 0 cards in your hand, they have gone out and won the game. The game ends when only one player has cards left in their hand.
The first player to go out wins and the remaining players are ranked in the order in which they went out. The last player remaining is the loser!
Longer Variant
This variant allows you to score points over 3 games. The winner and overall ranking is determined by the player with the most points over the 3 games.
The players receive the following points according to the number of players:
| Players | Placings and points |
|---|---|
| 2 Players | 1st place: 1 point, 2nd place: 0 points |
| 3 Players | 1st place: 2 points, 2nd place: 1 point, 3rd place: 0 points |
| 4 Players | 1st place: 3 points, 2nd place: 2 points, 3rd place: 1 point, 4th place: 0 points |
| 5 Players | 1st place: 4 points, 2nd place: 3 points, 3rd place: 2 points, 4th place: 1 point, 5th place: 0 points |
| 6 Players | 1st place: 5 points, 2nd place: 4 points, 3rd place: 3 points, 4th place: 2 points, 5th place: 1 point, 6th place: 0 points |
After each game, the starting player for the next game is the player who was last in the previous game. The player with the highest total points throughout the 3 games wins.
In the event of a tie, the player with the higher ranking in the third game wins.