The Hidden Benefits of Go Fish!

We love family game time and one of my son's current favorite card games is Go Fish! It's a classic game beloved by many a 5-year-old and we play it a lot.

Although parents may not want to play Go Fish on repeat the way kids do, it's a good idea to indulge their request for the card game as often as possible because there are actually a lot of hidden benefits to playing Go Fish!

But first, let's get a handle on what the game is, because Go Fish is one of the 10 card games kids should know!

How to Play Go Fish

For the 6 people left in the world who don't know how to play Go Fish, the instructions are very easy. Although many companies like to sell fancy Go Fish specific card decks, all you need is a standard deck of 52 cards.

Number of players

2-5 players

Objective

To collect as many sets of 4 of a kind as you can. In some variations, players only collect pairs.

Set-Up and Deal

Decide who goes first and who will deal. You can draw cards, play rock, paper, scissors, choose the youngest player, or shout "Not It!." The choice is yours.

The dealer deals 7 cards to each player. If playing with 4 or 5 players, deal out 5 cards to each player.

Place the remaining cards in a pile, face down. This is the "Go Fish" pile.

Play

Players examine their hands and decide what cards they might want to "fish" for. The first player, "the fisher," asks any other player if they have a particular number or face card. For example, "Do you have any 5s?" The fisher must already have at least one 5 in their hand.

If the "fishee" has a 5 they must hand over the card or cards to the fisher. If not, they gleefully say, "Go fish!" and the fisher draws one card from the Go Fish pile.

If the fisher gets one or more cards they asked for, whether from the fishee or the draw pile, they get another go and can ask the same player or another player for a card. They get to keep fishing as long as they continue to be given or draw the correct card. If they do not get the correct card, their turn is over and play continues clockwise.

Once a player as a set of four cards, they lay them down face up.

Play continues in this manner until all thirteen face value cards have been collected by players in sets of four.

The winner is the player with the most sets.

Benefits of Go Fish!

Perhaps one of the reasons kids love Go Fish! so much is because deep down they know that it's teaching them valuable skills and prepping their brains for the long schooling years in front of them!

Okay, maybe not, but it's still great for for early math learning and social skills.

Go Fish! teaches:

• recognition of numerals and quantities
• matching pairs and sorting
• listening and memory skills (Last time Mommy had a 5, but I didn't. Now I do have a 5. "Mommy, do you have a 5?"),
• learning how to take turns

... and, of course, Go Fish is a good starter game for parents who are helping kids who hate to lose learn how to be a good sport (we have more helpful sportsmanship tips here).

So what are you waiting for? Go Fish!

For slightly older kids who are practicing early addition skills, don't forget about TENS GO FISH!