Nice Games Jam: "Evil Games Jam: Casino Go Fish"

GOAL

Patrons want to create more sets of matching 4 cards than the Dealer before the deck runs out. A set = 4 cards of the same number.

Heads up! Here are some important notes:

• The Dealer's rules are slightly different than the Players' rules. The differences are noted below in line with the regular rules.
• The discard pool is not the same thing as the discard pile. A discard pool is created during each round and then merged into the discard pile at the start of the Dealer's turn each round.

PLAYER TURNS

On each player's turn, they will take the following steps in order:

1. Draw cards
2. Switch cards
3. Discard

(Dealer only) Before you draw cards, move the cards in the discard pool from that round into the discard pile.

1: DRAW CARDS

On their turn, each player takes one of the following actions:

• Draw up to 2 cards from the deck and place it face up in front of them 
• Draw up to 2 cards from the discard pool and place it face up in front of them 
• (Dealer only) If the player is the Dealer, they can pick up to 2 cards from any of the Patrons' hands and put them face up on the table OR put them directly into their hand

2: SWITCH CARDS 

The player may then swap cards from their hand for cards they just drew, maintaining a hand of 5 cards. Patrons can only switch "like for like"—cards of the same color or number. Examples:

• Swap the Queen of Spades for the Five of Clubs
• Swap the Four of Diamonds for the Four of Spades

The Dealer doesn't have to follow the "like for like" rule. They can switch whatever cards they want. Unfair? Yep! That's the point.

3: DISCARD

The player should now have 5 cards in their hand and 2 cards leftover—either ones that were switched out, or ones that were drawn and not switched. The player must do one of the following before the end of their turn:

• Discard the leftover 2 cards into the discard pool.
• (Dealer only) Hand the leftover 2 cards to the Patron from which you drew your cards in step 1 of this turn.

MAKING A SET

A set is created when a single player holds 4 cards of the same number in their hand. When a player creates a set, they place all four cards on the table, then draws back up to a 5 card hand. 

PLAYING TO WIN

Players take turns, clockwise, until the deck is expended. If the Dealer has made the most 4-card sets by the end of the game, the Dealer wins. If the Patrons have more 4-card sets than the Dealer, the Patrons win!

SHARING INFORMATION

Patrons can share information about their hands with each other by placing their hands face-up on the table. If you do this, know that the Dealer will get to see what's in your hand, too!

That's all the rules that we're allowed to talk about. If you try out the game, let us know what you think!