The Finest Fish
The Finest Fish Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 4 Goldfish game boards
- 1 Chipboard fishbowl
- 1 Progress board
- 1 Wooden progress marker
- 1 Goldfish advantage token
- 180 Goldfish scales (6 colors x 30 each)
- 45 Pattern cards
- 1 Cloth bag
- 1 Scoring pad
- 1 Rule book
Game Setup
Each player should choose a goldfish game board and place it on the table in front of herself. Place the fishbowl and progress board in the center of the table and place the wooden fish progress marker on the orange start position of the appropriate ring according to the number of players. The ring for two players is on one side and the rings for three and four players are on the reverse. Put all the fish scales into the bag and place it on the table. Shuffle the cards and place them in the center of the table within everyone's reach. Deal one card face-down to each player. Reveal three cards and place them face up next to the deck.
Whoever has most recently raised a pet goldfish should go first! Give that person the chipboard goldfish advantage token.
Gameplay
The game is played in a series of rounds in which players draw and place scales on their fish, attempting to create patterns and clusters of adjacent colors in order to score points. In the end, the player with the highest score wins.
Begin each round by creating sets of scales from which players will draft. Each set should contain three random scales and should be placed in the center of the table within reach of everyone. There should be the same number of sets as there are players. A single random scale should also be placed in the fish bowl.
The player with the goldfish advantage token should go first.
On your turn
Begin your turn by choosing one of the sets of scales from the center of the table. You must then place or spend those three scales in order to finish your turn. Each player should take a turn choosing from the remaining sets of scales and placing or spending them. Once all players have finished their turns in order, the round is complete. Notes about starting a new round can be found in a later section.
The scales you take on your turn may be 1) placed on your goldfish game board, 2) spent to purchase new pattern cards, or 3) traded for other scales found in the fish bowl.
Placing scales
Scales should be placed on your own fish game board in the recessed area following the printed outlines. Scales must be placed beginning at the front end of the fish working toward the back. Specifically, a scale may only be placed on your board if it is either placed in one of the three left-most positions, or if at least one of the concave (left) sides is adjacent to another scale. Once a scale is placed on your fish it cannot be moved unless it is spent according to the rules of spending scales.
Scales score more points when they help complete a pattern, or are adjacent to other scales of the same color and design. Because calico goldfish are so admired, black scales are special and are always worth an additional point each. Choose your scales and placement carefully to maximize your score in the end.
Note: It is possible to follow these rules and still have holes in your fish design. There's no penalty for holes or unfinished patterns.
Spending scales
On your turn you may spend scales to purchase face-up pattern cards on the table. Each card costs one scale. You may purchase more than one per turn. To purchase a card, place one of your fish scales in the fish bowl and take the card of choice. Do not immediately replace the pattern card; wait until the end of your turn. To purchase cards, you may spend scales acquired during your turn or scales from your own game board. In order to spend a scale already placed on your board it must not have any other scales to the right of it (along its convex side). In other words, the entire right-hand side of the scale must still be exposed in order to be eligible to remove and spend. To spend a scale, simply take it off of your fish board, put it in the fish bowl and take your desired pattern card from among the available face-up cards.
Pattern cards should not be revealed to other players and are only counted if their requirements are met at the end of the game. That is to say, once you complete a pattern card, be careful to keep that pattern intact until the end of the game! Incomplete patterns do not count against your final score.
At the end of your turn, if you have taken any pattern cards, slide the remaining ones toward the right and add new cards from the deck to the left of those until there are three face up. If the deck ever runs out of cards, finish the game with the ones you already have!
Trading scales
Any number of scales acquired during your current turn may be traded with any scales found in the fish bowl. The number of scales available in the fish bowl grows throughout the round in order to balance the advantage of playing first.
Note: Since you may place scales, spend them, and trade them in any order, it is possible to spend one of your own scales and then trade to get it back.
Example turn
On her turn, Kate takes the first set of scales. 1) She places the gold dotted scale next to a group of other gold scales forming a cluster of three and 2) places the black scale next to that. She then 3) trades the orange scale with three swishes for the light orange one in the fishbowl and 4) places it on her board to complete the pattern on her pattern card.
End of the Round
Once each player has taken her turn drawing a set of scales and placing/spending them, the round ends. Pass the goldfish advantage token to the player to the left and move the wooden fish progress marker clockwise one space on the circular progress track.
If the wooden fish marker lands on a refresh space (an orange space with a circular arrow icon) do the following:
- Clean the fishbowl. Discard all the scales in the fishbowl and replace them with a single random scale from the bag.
- Remove the right-most card from the face-up pattern cards and place it on the bottom of the deck. Slide the remaining cards to the right to fill in the space and reveal a new pattern card, placing it face-up to the left of the others. This should result in three face-up pattern cards.
To prepare for the next round, choose random scales from the bag to create new sets of three to draw from. There should be the same number of sets as there are players. The next round begins with the player who has the goldfish advantage token. Note that in a two player game, changing the starting player every round results in players taking two turns in a row. This is by design–use it to your advantage!
End of the Game
When any player completes her goldfish by filling every available space with scales, the game ends. If that player is unable to place or spend some of the scales taken on her final turn, she places them in the fishbowl. The round is completed as usual with the remaining players taking their turns. At the end of that round the players tally their scores. Note that some players may not complete their goldfish. There is no penalty for having an unfinished board–only missed opportunity!
Scoring
There are three ways to score points: by completing pattern cards, creating clusters of same-colored scales, and adding the coveted black scales to your goldfish. Use the scoring pads to tally the scores for each player.
Each completed pattern card adds three points to your score. Incomplete pattern cards do not add to nor detract from your score. Each scale on your goldfish may help accomplish multiple patterns. Careful planning will allow you to efficiently fit many patterns into a small space.
Add one point for each scale that is part of a same-color cluster of three or more scales. For instance, if you have a cluster of three white scales, you earn three points. If you have a cluster of eight gold scales, you earn eight points. A cluster of one or two scales earns nothing. A cluster of scales is defined as a group of contiguous scales of the same color. Scales that are touching on their corners only are not considered contiguous. Note that clusters of black scales are also counted.
Add one additional point for each black scale on your goldfish board (regardless of whether it is in a cluster or not).
Your final score is the sum of the points you earned for completed patterns, clusters, and black scales. The player with the highest score wins.
Scoring Example
Jack has five pattern cards. He scores three points for each of the four he completed for 12 points. Note that the pattern for each of his cards can be found on his goldfish game board except the last card. Some of his patterns overlap.
He has a cluster of 4 orange scales with the scale print (on the right of his board), and another of 3 (on the left side). He has a cluster of 7 white scales, a cluster of 3 black scales, one of 5 orange scales (at the bottom), and one of 3 gold dotted scales. His score for clusters is 25.
Jack has 6 black scales and earns one more point for each.
Jack's total score is 43.