FISH PITCH – A Card Game for Everyone

Welcome to Fish Pitch, an exciting trick-taking card game designed for 4 players. The objective is simple: your team must reach a score of 21 before your opponents do. Ready to dive in?

In this game, you’ll be forming partnerships. You and your teammate will sit across from each other, working together to achieve victory.

Fish Pitch is a fascinating twist on the traditional game of Pitch, and I’ll guide you through all the rules you need to know. If you enjoy Pitch, you’ll love this game too. So, let’s get started!

Getting Started – SETUP

To begin, the first dealer is chosen randomly. After each round, the dealer position passes to the next player on the left.

The deck of cards is shuffled thoroughly and then each player is dealt 12 cards. Here’s where it gets interesting – 6 of these cards are placed facedown on the table in front of each player. No peeking allowed! The remaining 6 cards are kept in the player’s hands.

Understanding Card Rankings and Point Values

Did you know that playing cards have different ranks and suits? It can be a bit confusing at first, but don’t worry, I’ll explain it to you. The suits are ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.

When you’re playing a card game, there are certain criteria that can earn you points. These criteria are called bidding. Points are awarded to players who win specific cards or meet certain conditions during the game.

There are different types of scoring in card games. Let’s take a look at them:

1. High: This means that the team that wins a trick with the highest trump card in play scores 1 point.
2. Low: On the other hand, the team that wins a trick with the lowest trump card in play scores 1 point.
3. Game: The game point is awarded to the team that scores the most points overall. This is determined by adding up all the points earned during the game.
4. Jack: The jack point is given to the team that wins the jack of trumps in a trick.

In total, there are 4 possible points to be won in a round. So, as you can see, there are many ways to score points in a card game. It’s all about strategizing and making the right moves!

When we play the game, we tally up our score based on the cards we’ve won in tricks. Every ace is worth 4 points, every king is worth 3, every queen is worth 2, every jack is worth 1, and every 10 is worth 10 points.

The Bidding Round

Now that we all have our hands, it’s time to start the bidding round. The player to the left of the dealer starts first, and then we take turns bidding higher than the previous bid or passing. We bid on how many points we think we can win in a round, using the values mentioned earlier.

The minimum bid is 2 points, and the maximum is called a “Smudge” bid (or 5 points). A Smudge bid means that we have to win all four points mentioned earlier, as well as all 12 tricks in the round.

If all the other players pass, the dealer has to bid at least 2 points. And the dealer even has the option to match the highest bid and take it for themselves.

In the game of Smudge, the bidding ends when all but one player passes or when a bid of Smudge is made.

How to Play

At the start of the game, all players must play cards from their hands for the first trick. However, after the first trick, players have the option to play either from their hand or from one of their unrevealed 6 cards.

The player who is designated as the pitcher will lead the first trick. The suit of the card they play will determine the trump suit for that round. The other players must follow suit if they can or play a trump card if they cannot. If they can’t follow suit or play a trump, they can play any other card from their hand.

After the first trick, players can always play cards from their unrevealed cards, regardless of whether they can follow suit or have trumps in hand.

The winner of each trick is determined by the highest-ranked trump card played or, if no trumps were played, the highest card of the suit led. The winner collects the cards from the trick and leads the next trick with a card of their choice.

The round is over when all 12 tricks have been played. It’s like finishing a chapter in a book, you get to take a breath and reflect on what just happened.

SCORING

Scoring comes after each round, just like a little reward for all your hard work.

Now, here’s the exciting part. You, as the pitcher, have the power to determine if you succeeded in completing your bid. If you did, you earn points equal to the number you bid. But here’s the catch – you might end up earning even more points than you expected! However, if you weren’t successful, you have to subtract the number you bid from your score. And yes, it is possible to end up with a negative score. Don’t worry, though, because the opposing team also gets to add any points they earned to their own score. It’s like a high-stakes game of tug-of-war!

END OF GAME

The game keeps going until one team reaches a score of 21 or higher. That team becomes the ultimate champion, taking home the glory and bragging rights.

Hey there, I’m Amber! I’m an Austin-based writer and a connoisseur of all things gaming. You could say I’m a gaming master, but even masters need breaks! When I’m not deep in a gaming session, you’ll find me hanging out with my dogs, tending to my plants, or getting lost in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.