The main objective of players in a Go Fish game is to win as many books of cards as possible. A book of card is when you get four cards of the same suit, and cards are ranked from high to low with ace being the highest and two being the lowest.
A player has to address the opponent by name during their turn, asking for a specific rank of card to build a block in their hand. The requested player has to produce the cards the player was asked for, and if they don’t have all the cards that a player asked for, they proclaim the phrase “Go Fish.”
So, what happens when a player runs out of cards in Go Fish? Players may be left with no cards in the game Go Fish. When that happens, and a player has no card to play during their turn, they will have to draw a card from the stock.
However, if there are no cards left in the stock, the player with no cards will be out of the game.
The Go Fish game ends when all 13 books have been collected. The player who has the most books win the game.
This article discusses what to do when you run out of cards in Go Fish. Answered below are frequently asked questions about running out of cards in the game Go Fish, and what players are supposed to do when they have no more cards in their hand.
How many cards do you start with in Go Fish?
A pack in the Go Fish game has 52 cards that are used, however the remainder of cards are used to form a stockpile. The number of cards dealt to each player depends on how many players are there during the game.
When 2 to 3 players are playing Go Fish, each player receives seven cards. When the game is played with 4 to 5 players, each player receives five cards.
After each player receives cards, all the remaining cards are placed in a face-down position on the table to form a stockpile, which acts as the reserve where players draw a card.
Do you always have 5 cards in Go Fish?
Each player gets 5 cards at the start of the game when playing with four or more players, though each can get 7 cards when two or three players play the game. After cards are dealt, the remaining form the draw pile where players get to go fishing.
The number of cards are dealt based on the number of players in the game, but the player’s hand does NOT remain with that size during the entire game. The number of cards changes by receiving cards from opponent players or drawing cards from the Draw pile when the opponent doesn’t have the cards the player is asking for.
Moreover, a player might find themselves in a situation where they don’t have a card left in their hands. In such a case, they can only draw a card from the draw pile, and then ask for the rank of the card they received.
What happens when your hand is empty in Go Fish? When the active player in the Go Fish game has no cards in their hand, they have to draw one card from the top of the draw pile. On the next go around, they can ask the opponent player for a rank that matches the card in their hand.
However, if there are no cards in the stockpile, the player will have no place to get an additional card. Thus, they will be out of the game and waiting for the others to finish so that the number of blocks can be tallied to determine the winner of the game.
What to do if you run out of cards in Go Fish?
When a player runs out of cards in their turn, and the game has not ended yet, they will have to draw a card on top of the draw pile, and ask an opponent for the rank that matches the card collected to replenish their hands.
When the stockpile is out of cards, the game has to continue until every block of cards have been paired. If the player’s request was not successful, their turn has to end, and the next player in the game starts their turn.
Whenever the player runs out of cards and the stock has no cards as well, that player can no longer be part of the game. Wait until all players empty their hands and then total the score to determine the winner of the game.
No More Cards in Go Fish: Conclusion
The game Go Fish is typically played by two to six players. When played by two or three players, each player receives 7 cards at the start of the game. And when played by four or more players, each gets 5 cards.
A player does not maintain the hand with the same number of cards throughout the game because the hand keeps on changing.
When a player runs out of cards in Go Fish, they will have to draw a single card from the draw pile if there are cards left in the stock.
A player may run out of cards if the opponent player asks for the last cards in the player’s hand. Therefore, if the active player is out of cards, they need to draw a card from the top of the stockpile and ask opponent players for the rank that matches the card they picked from the stock.
A player has to look for a card number from their hand, which they have to ask for opponent players to give them a rank that matches the card. If the opposing player fails to give the card asked, the addresser has to fish the card from the draw pile.
In case the stock runs out of the card, the game continues until each card has been paired into complete blocks.
When the stockpile is out of cards, and the active player is out of cards too, the player technically will be out of the game because they will have no card to give or to match with.
When all the players are out of cards, then the game has ended and the player with the high score of paired blocks is the winner.