FISHLING · GAME 1
Fishling Battle
Physical deck: 2–4 players. Website: you against the computer.
First to 10 points wins a round. Win two rounds to win the battle (up to three rounds).
Set up
Remove the rules card. Shuffle the 59 fish cards. Pick a caller. Everyone starts on zero points.
Each cast
- Everyone draws one card and looks privately.
- The caller chooses Fight, Catch Difficulty, Rarity, Weight or Length. Reveal together.
- Apply mascot bonuses first. Otherwise the highest value wins one point. Fight and Catch Difficulty: highest /10. Weight: heaviest in lb. Length: longest in inches. Rarity: use the order below.
- If the highest values are tied, nobody scores. Discard the cards and pass the caller clockwise. On the website, the caller alternates between you and the computer. Reshuffle discards as needed.
Shout “Fishling!”
Official Pike 001 or Perch 002? Call “Fishling!” after revealing, before scoring. One claimed mascot wins the cast despite ties. Both claimed? Nobody scores. Allow everyone time to call. Personal catch cards do not have this power.
On the website, press the Fishling button to claim your mascot. The computer claims its mascot automatically; there is no reaction timer.
Rarity: low to high
Common < Popular < Coastal < Uncommon < Iconic < Rare
These labels have a fixed game ranking. Card numbers identify cards; they are not battle scores. The printed length and weight values are game values, not scientific maximum-size claims.
Win the battle
First to 10 points wins the round. Reset points and reshuffle. First to win two rounds wins the battle. In this website version, you call first in rounds one and three; the computer calls first in round two.
Optional: Rough Waters
Agree before playing: any tie in the called category means nobody scores, even if another player has a higher value. Mascot bonuses still override. With two players, this has the same effect as the normal tie rule, so the website needs no separate switch.