- BGG rank
- BGG #25,526
- BGG rating
- 5.7
Wie Waldi
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2005
- BGG rank
- BGG #25,901
- BGG rating
- 5.6
Fish & Ships
2017
Rules assistance for Fish & Ships
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 10 min
- 7+
- Complexity 1.3/5
Rules assistant for Fish & Ships
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Fish & Ships is a board game released in 2017 for 2–4 players, 10 minutes per game, and ages 7 and up. It was designed by Oliver Igelhaut.
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About the game
Cast off and set sail for the fishing grounds in Fish & Ships! No one knows which ships you're betting on to bring in the biggest haul, but at the same time, you're in the dark as to what the other fishermen are doing, too. At the start of the game, each player receives seven cards from a deck of 28, with each color appearing four times. Players simultaneously pass one card to the left. The four colors of cards match the colors of ships that start in the harbor. Six cards are shuffled and laid in a row from the harbor, with each card having 0-3 fish. Each player starts with one resource cube, and 15 journey tiles are shuffled and laid face down. On a turn, you announce that you're revealing 1-3 journey tiles — gaining a resource cube if you say 1 and paying one if you say 3. You then reveal those tiles, then move one of the ships depicted on one tile one space forward. (Alternatively, if you reveal the pirate tile, all other players must discard a resource cube.) Instead of revealing tile, you can discard one of your cards in hand face down to move one ship forward or backward one space. You cannot move a ship to the final space this way. If fewer than four tiles are face down at the start of your turn, place them all face down, shuffle them, then continue. When a ship reaches the final space, the game ends. Each player then reveals their cards, and each card is worth as many fish as the space occupied by the ship of the same color. Whoever has caught the most total fish wins!
Questions and answers
Fish & Ships supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Fish & Ships is 10 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Fish & Ships for ages 7 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Fish & Ships has a complexity rating of 1.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Fish & Ships belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Children's Game. Categories describe the theme, setting and style of a game rather than its rules. Filter the catalogue by the same category to find similar games when you enjoyed Fish & Ships and want something comparable for your next game night.
The credited designers of Fish & Ships are: Oliver Igelhaut. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Fish & Ships as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.