Cash-a-Catch
Cash-a-Catch Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
104 Playing Cards - They show six kinds of fresh seafood and fish (eels, sharks, flounders, crawfish, tuna and lobsters), plus a joker (cuttlefish). Each has a set of cards numbered one to three. Also there are action cards called "fish thief" and "canned fish" and cards marked "final phase" and "market end".
Note: The rules use the terms "Fish Cards" and "Fish" interchangeably even when that description includes lobster and crayfish crustaceans and the cuttlefish.
Five Player Mats - every mat shows three slots for the playing cards: two boxes and one ice tub, and in each area only one kind of fish may be stored at the same time. There is also a trash for the spoiled fish, which must be discarded at the end.
- 2 boxes and 1 ice tub
- Trash
Money - in the following denominations: 1 Euro - 2 Euros - 5 Euros - 10 Euros - 50 Euros
Six Price Lists - show the prices which can be earned for the sales of different amounts of fish.
One Bell
One Set Of Rules
Game Setup
Select one player to be the banker. He sorts the money and distributes 30 Euros of start capital to every player (of course also to himself).
In addition, everyone takes a price list and a player's mat, which they lay in front of them on the table.
The bell is placed in the middle of the table, within easy reach of all the players. Take the cards "final phase" and "market end" from the deck, then shuffle the remaining cards well. Place the "final phase" card as the 15th card from the bottom of the shuffled deck. Then, take the last five cards in the deck and shuffle in the "market end" card, and replace these six cards on the bottom of the deck.
Place the deck, now ready for play, face down.
Note: The fishmonger with the biggest hands and the longest arms may have easier access to the bell, so we ask to take special care when playing with smaller players!
Game Play
The oldest player is the start player and is the first auctioneer. After every turn the next player clockwise becomes the new auctioneer.
Actions in a Player's turn as the Auctioneer
The auctioneer can take two actions:
- He may at first sell his own fish to the bank
- Then he must carry out an auction as the auctioneer
Note: For the first auctioneer the sales action is ignored in the first round, because he owns no fish.
Sell his own fish
The player may sell any of his fish on his mat. Each kind is calculated individually and all cards of a kind must be sold. If jokers are in the same field, they are also sold. They count as cards of this fish kind.
The more cards of a kind are sold, the higher are the proceeds. There is no difference in prices between the different kinds of fish, only the amount of the fish matters. The sales amount is read on the price list and is paid by the bank to the player.
The sold cards are discarded into a common pile. Even if more than 10 fish of a kind are sold, there is only the price of 10 fish (30 Euros or 15 Euros at half price).
Example: The player sells five eels and seven flounders. (The three cuttlefish here count as flounders.) For these he gets 22 Euros from the bank (seven Euros for the eels and 15 euros for the flounders).
Note: If there are only jokers in a field, they count as a fish kind and are treated as a sale accordingly.
Spoiled Fish are Placed in the Trash
When fish is sold, all players check whether they themselves have fish of this kind in either of their boxes (fish in the ice tub is not affected). If that is the case, each of the affected players must move the uppermost card of this fish type (even if a joker) to his trash.
Every fish in the trash costs one Euro at the game's end.
Note: Because only cards of one kind may be placed in a field, it is very easy to see who owns the type just sold. Just sold fish cards are moved to the discard pile.
Example: Flounders and eels have just been sold. Now the player (see his mat in the picture) must place the uppermost card from the box with the eels in the trash. But he has some luck: his 3 flounders do not spoil, because they are in the ice tub.
Carry Out an Auction
Now the auctioneer uncovers the uppermost card of the concealed pile and lays it out so that everyone can clearly see it. Then he takes the next card of the pile and places it next to the first card. While laying each card, he announces clearly which and how many fish are on offer. The price for the fish at auction is always 10 Euros, no matter how many cards are revealed. The auctioneer continues drawing cards until a player hits the bell to buy.
With four or five players, the auctioneer cannot bid for the fish. He may bid in a three player game.
Example: "Fresh fish for sale today! An eel and 2 lobsters, everything for 10 euros! No buyers yet? Ok, here are another 3 tunas and 2 cuttlefishes! Get your money ready folks! Ok, here are 3 more eels..." PING! "The fish go to the man with blue cap: 4 eels, 2 lobsters, 3 tunas and 2 cuttlefishes, and everything for just ten Euros. The auctioneer himself receives 5 Euros because he has auctioned 5 cards.
Buying at the Auction
If a player wants to buy the cards being displayed, he strikes the bell and gets the cards. He pays 10 Euros to the bank and gets all the cards from this auction.
Auctioneer Premium
As wages for his role, the auctioneer gets money from the bank. He receives one Euro for every card which he has auctioned.
Sort Fish
The player sorts the fish cards just purchased openly in the fields of his mat such that the values of the cards remain visible. Only one kind of fish is placed in every field. He can select the order of the sorted cards, however afterwards this cannot be changed. If a player has more than three kinds of fish, he must throw any extras in his trash. The player may choose to move all cards from a box or his ice tub to his trash. All cards bought in the auction must be dealt with (a joker cannot be left behind, for example).
Example: After the auction, the player has 4 kinds of fish but room for only 3 on his mat. He lays his one shark in the trash to make room for the 2 lobsters.
Example: After sorting the fish bought at the auction, the mat of the player looks like this.
Joker Cards
If one gets joker cards (bought at an auction or by the fish thief), they may be placed in any field. If they are placed next to other fish kinds, they count as cards of this kind. A joker on its own has no "fish type" attribute until it is next to another fish card.
Action Cards "fish thief" and "canned fish"
The use of these cards is optional. The player that buys the fish thief from the auction may take the uppermost card of any field from any other player, before sorting the fish cards bought at the auction.
Should nobody have fish cards, the "fish thief" comes away empty-handed. The action card is discarded in either case at the end of the turn.
Note: The "fish thief" cannot take cards from the trash. He steals only one card from one of three other fields.
The "canned fish" card allows a player to search his trash after the sort and pull out up to two fish cards free of charge. The cards selected are placed on the discard pile. Because the card is used after the sorting, it can be beneficial even if the player begins with no trash.
Note: Action cards (fish thief and canned fish) may not be kept, as they are activated always in the turn in which they were bought at an auction. Even if they have no effect, they are discarded.
Final Phase Card
If the "final phase" card is uncovered (at an auction), this is put aside and the auction goes on as usual. For this card the auctioneer gets no premium.
From now on the player who buys at the auction may also sell immediately. He must sort the fish cards at first on his mat (and if necessary throw fish in the trash), then he may sell as if it was the beginning of his turn. These sales also force other players to move their fish to the trash.
Game End
The play ends as soon as the "market end" card is revealed. The auction is not finished. The auctioneer receives no money. Now every player still sells all fish on his mat at half-price. No fish go bad as a result of these sales.
Then every player pays for the fish cards in his trash. Per fish (this can be up to 3 on a card) he must pay one Euro to the bank. The player with the most money after this is the game winner!
Example: These 4 cards in the trash cost seven Euros.
Playing With Three Players
With three players, the auctioneer can participate in the auction. He must pay close attention to uncover every fish card so that the other players can first recognize it before he sees it. He may strike the bell only after he has announced the card. For the fish which he himself buys at an auction he gets no premium.