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Players: 3-6 (ages 10+)
Playing Time: approx. 30 minutes
Twisted Fish takes the game of Go Fish to a whole new level—one that challenges the older child and adult. In Twisted Fish, instead of matching pairs, you need to collect all five cards in a set (e.g., red, green, blue, yellow, and purple starfish). In order to do this, you need to ask a player for a specific card (e.g., a purple starfish) or hope that you pick it up from the pile. The competition gets fierce as you try to complete a set without losing your cards to another player. If another player has part of the set you’re trying to complete, he or she can ask for your cards and complete the set before you.
Throw in some Zinger cards, and you’re in for a hilarious game. The Dead Scuba Diver, for example, lets you complete a set by substituting the Dead Scuba Diver in for the fifth card. The Glass Bottom Boat allows a player to pull one random card from his hand, look at it, and give it back. Divine Intervention can be used to make another Zinger card have no effect.
The game ends when a player completes a set and is out of cards. Players then count the number of points they receive from their complete sets and subtract the value of cards still in their hand. The player with the most points at the end of a round is the winner, or you can play to a pre-determined amount.
I wasn’t sure if this game would be challenging enough for adults, but it definitely was. It made for a great night, especially when we caught on to the idea of stealing each other’s incomplete sets. Some hands came down to correctly guessing which opponent had which card. If we guessed wrong, the next player was usually able to obtain the rest of the cards to complete the set. The only drawback we found was that it was difficult to hold so many cards.
If you’re looking to add some laughs to game night with your family or friends, I’d recommend picking up a copy of Twisted Fish. Remember all those hours you spent playing Go Fish—now you can start a new tradition.
