Expanded Game Instructions

LUDI! Classic Card Games for Kids

Go Fish

For 2-6 players

Object

To collect sets or “books” of four matching cards. Each book is worth one point. When a player makes a book, those cards are taken out of their hand and placed in front of them. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Beginning Play

Play begins by shuffling cards and choosing a dealer. Deal seven cards to each player with the remaining cards placed face down as the stock pile or “fishing pond.” The youngest player goes first and proceeds to the left.

Play

The player taking a turn is called the “fisher.” The fisher may ask any opponent for any card, as long as the player already has at least one of that card in their hand. The second player then gives all the cards of that kind in their hand to the fisher. If the second player does not have the card, they say, “Go fish!” and the fisher draws a card from the top of the pile. Play then proceeds to the player to their left. If a player runs out of cards, they may use their turn to draw a card from the stock pile. If there are no cards in the stock pile, they are out of the game.

Optional Rules

Instead of using a standard stock pile and “fishing” the top card, you can create a “pond” of cards by spreading them out in small circle. Players can choose any of the cards from the pond.

For new players: A book is two matching cards rather than four.

For advanced players: Each fisher’s turn lasts as long as they receive the cards they request, whether that is from another player or from the stock pile.

For 2 Players

Object

To collect all 52 cards in the deck.

Beginning Play

One player shuffles and deals all the cards evenly between players. Each player keeps their cards in front of them, face down, in a stack. Players take turns together.

Play

Each player flips over the top card of their stack. The player with the higher card takes both and puts them on the bottom of their stack. WAR is declared when both players show the same card (for instance, both players play a Dido card). In a war, each player places one card face down and another face up. The higher of the face-up cards wins, and that player takes all six of the cards in play. If the face-up cards match again, the war is repeated until somebody wins the war. The cards collected by the winner of the war are placed at the bottom of the winner’s stack.

Optional Rules

For quicker play, place three cards face down before playing one face up during war.

Play may be adjusted to accommodate more players. When playing with three or more players, a WAR is declared when two players play the same card and that card is the highest card in play. War is not declared when two cards are the same but are beaten by a third card. In this case, the player with the higher card takes all the cards in play.

For 2-4 players

Object

To collect all the cards by being the first to slap any Sacred Chicken cards that are played.

Beginning Play

Play begins by shuffling cards and choosing a dealer. Deal all the cards evenly between the players, though hands may be uneven depending on the number of players. Players do not look at their cards and keep their cards in a stack in front of them. The youngest player goes first and play proceeds to the left.

Play

Each player takes a turn flipping over one card from their deck and placing it in the center of the play area. When someone flips a Sacred Chicken card, the first person to slap their hand on the Sacred Chicken wins all the cards in play. These are shuffled and added to the bottom of the slapper’s deck. Play continues in the same order as before. If more than one player slaps at a time, the player whose hand is on top of the Sacred Chicken wins the cards. If a player runs out of cards, they can rejoin play by slapping a Sacred Chicken and winning the cards beneath it.

Optional Rules

For advanced players: if a player slaps a card that is not a Sacred Chicken, they must give a random card to the person who played the card that was slapped.

For advanced players: Players who run out of cards must slap the next Sacred Chicken that is played or be out of the game.