Fishing Frenzy
Fishing Frenzy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Objective
FISHING FRENZY is a sport fishing tournament. The objective of each player (Captain) is to return to the docks with the most points after the competing boats (as a group) have caught the tournament limit of fish that the players decide on before the game begins. The point value of each fish is generally relative to the size of the space on which the fish is pictured.
The length of each game is determined by the number of fish that is established as the tournament limit for all boats (as a group) to catch. A good number to start with is a 20 fish total for 4 players (approximate playing time: 30 — 45 minutes).
The Contents
- Game Board
- Card Tray
- Dice
- 6 Playing Tokens
- 100 Vinyl "Tagging" Squares
- 158 Fish Cards
- 11 "Peril of the Sea" Cards
- 12 Boat Stickers (for playing tokens)
- 16 Fish Stickers (for card tray)
- Score Cards
The Set Up
Before playing for the first time:
- Peel the boat stickers off the sheet and place them on the playing tokens. Each token gets two stickers, one for each side.
- Peel the FISH and PERIL labels off the sheet and apply them to the card tray to indicate which cards go in each compartment.
- Separate the cards into 16 color coded stacks, one stack for each of the 15 different FISH CARDS and one stack for the PERILS OF THE SEA CARDS. Shuffle the 16 stacks separately and place each stack, face down, in its labeled compartment in the card tray.
The Dice
FISHING FRENZY dice consist of two cubes, one WHITE CUBE and one BLACK CUBE.
WHITE CUBE: Each of the six sides of this cube is marked with two directions of the compass, as follows:
- NORTH and EAST
- NORTH and WEST
- NORTH and SOUTH
- SOUTH and EAST
- SOUTH and WEST
- EAST and WEST
BLACK CUBE: A standard cube with six sides marked 1 — 6.
The Board
There are many spaces on the board that are larger than a standard "single square" space. These spaces are considered "DRIFTERS", as any boat passing through one of them may "drift" within that space to whichever bordering space they choose to exit the "DRIFTER" from (as long as their roll of the dice will permit that move). A "DRIFTER" space is counted as a single space when a boat is moving through it.
The manner in which a "DRIFTER" is used can make a big difference in where a boat ends up at the end of a move. It is often the difference between a "catch" and a "peril".
Before the Tournament
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Vinyl "tagging" squares (IN THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE TOURNAMENT LIMIT OF FISH THAT THE PLAYERS DECIDE ON) should be counted and placed on the land that borders the lower (southern) edge of the board. These squares will be used during the tournament to "tag" the fish as they are caught.
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Each Captain rolls the BLACK CUBE to determine which dock they leave from, and the order in which they roll.
THE DOCK: The Captain who rolls the highest number gets the first pick of docks and boats, the Captain with the second highest number gets the second pick, and so on.
THE ORDER: The Captain who rolled the highest number rolls first to start the tournament. Thereafter, the other Captains roll in turn, moving clockwise.
Leaving the Dock
In order to clear the dock, a boat must move SOUTH. Each boat must therefore stay at its dock until its Captain rolls, in turn, and comes up with a SOUTH on the WHITE CUBE.
During the Tournament
Each time a Captain rolls the dice, they may move in either ONE direction (either one), or in BOTH directions showing on their WHITE CUBE. If they choose to move in BOTH directions, they may move in each direction in whichever order they choose (the results may be quite different depending on the order in which each direction is moved). If a Captain elects to move in BOTH directions, they must move in EACH direction the number of spaces indicated on their BLACK CUBE. THE MOVE IN EACH DIRECTION MUST BE THE FULL NUMBER OF SPACES AS INDICATED ON THE BLACK CUBE.
Each time a Captain moves their boat they will land on one of the following spaces:
A) CLEAR WATER SPACE: A space with nothing but water. If a boat ends up there, it simply stays on that space until the Captain's next turn.
B) FISH SPACE: A space where one of 15 varieties of fish is pictured. If a boat ends up there, it's a lucky move because the Captain catches that fish and gets to draw a FISH CARD for that variety of fish. The FISH CARD will reveal how many points are awarded for that particular catch. (A good Captain will NEVER reveal their points to the other Captains and should therefore keep their FISH CARDS face down.)
When a Captain moves in BOTH directions showing on their WHITE CUBE, EACH move may end on a space where a fish is pictured, and BOTH fish are "catches". The Captain draws a FISH CARD for EACH fish they land on and earns points for EACH of them.
Once a fish has been caught, it is no longer available for any other boat to catch, and must therefore be "tagged", using the enclosed vinyl "tagging" squares. Each time a fish is caught, one of the vinyl squares (placed along the lower edge of the board before the game began) is removed and applied over that fish. This will not only signify that a fish has been caught, but also enable all Captains to see how close the boats are to reaching the tournament limit of fish which was decided on before the game began. Once a fish has been "tagged", that square becomes a CLEAR WATER SPACE on the board.
C) CAPTAIN'S CHOICE SPACE: These spaces are marked with a SHIP'S WHEEL and allow any Captain who lands there to move in whatever direction(s), and for however many spaces (from 1 — 6), they choose.
If they land on a single (one wheel) CAPTAIN'S CHOICE SPACE, they get a choice of any ONE direction for any number [clipped] spaces from 1 — 6.
If they land on a double (two wheel) CAPTAIN'S CHOICE SPACE, they may choose any TWO directions to move, with [clipped] move in each direction for the same number of spaces from 1 — [clipped 6].
THE MOVE IN EACH DIRECTION MUST BE THE SAME NU[clipped]BER OF SPACES (i.e. the Captain may decide to move EAST a[clipped]nd then NORTH. If they move EAST 4 spaces, then their move NOR[clipped]TH must also be 4 spaces). ANY CAPTAIN WHO LANDS ON A DOUB[clipped]LE CAPTAIN'S CHOICE SPACE MAY ELECT TO MOVE IN ONLY O[clipped]NE DIRECTION.
D) PERIL OF THE SEA SPACE: These spaces are marked wit[clipped] a SHARK'S JAW and require each Captain who lands there to dr[clipped] the top card from the PERILS OF THE SEA deck. The Captain m[clipped] read the card aloud, follow its instructions, and return the card to the bottom of that deck.
A Captain is not subject to a PERIL OF THE SEA if they mer[clipped] cross over a SHARK'S JAW during the course of their move. A Captain is only subject to a PERIL OF THE SEA when they land [clipped] that space at the end of a move in any direction. IF A CAPTAIN ENDS ON A PERIL OF THE SEA SPACE AFTER MOVING IN ONLY O[clipped] DIRECTION, THEIR TURN IS OVER AND THEY MAY NOT ESCAPE T[clipped] PERIL BY MOVING IN A SECOND DIRECTION.
E) S.O.S. SPACE: There are two S.O.S. SPACES on the board which are marked with orange life rings. Whenever a Capta[clipped] lands on one of these spaces, they may declare an "emergenc[clipped]" and require EACH of the other Captains to draw a PERIL OF TH[clipped] SEA CARD (beginning with the Captain to their right, and movin[clipped] clockwise). EACH CAPTAIN MAY DECLARE ONLY ONE EMERGENC[clipped] DURING THE COURSE OF A TOURNAMENT and the emergen[clipped] must be declared BEFORE the final fish is caught.
No two boats may occupy the same space at the same time. If [clipped] space is already occupied by another boat, a Captain MAY pa[clipped] through that space, but MAY NOT stop there if it is the final spac[clipped] at the end of their move. A CAPTAIN MAY BE FORCED TO MOVE I[clipped] ONLY ONE DIRECTION TO AVOID ENDING UP ON A SPACE THAT IS ALREADY OCCUPIED BY ANOTHER BOAT.
Running Aground
Based on a boat's position on the board, a Captain's roll of the dice may force them to move into an obstruction such as a jetty, buoy, shoal or land, or to run off the sides of the board. Any such move is considered RUNNING AGROUND. Any Captain who "RUNS AGROUND" must place their boat on the space bordering the obstruction and LOSE ONE TURN. (If there is a fish on that space, it is NOT counted as a catch. If there is a SHARK'S JAW on that space, it is NOT counted as a PERIL.) If a roll in EITHER direction showing on the WHITE CUBE will force a boat to run aground, the Captain may choose the direction in which they prefer to go aground.
A Captain MAY NOT run aground to avoid landing on a PERIL OF THE SEA space.
A Captain MAY NOT move through any buoy, jetty, shoal or land mass.
Lines Out of the Water
When the last fish has been caught (based on the tournament [l]imit of fish that the players decided on before the game began), [A]ll lines come out of the water and it's a race back to the docks. If, [i]n the way in, a Captain lands on a space where any "uncaught" [fi]sh is pictured, they DO NOT get credit for that catch, HOWEVER, [th]ey do get to roll again. ALL CAPTAIN'S CHOICE SPACES, PERIL OF [T]HE SEA SPACES, AND "RUNNING AGROUND" RULES REMAIN IN [EF]FECT WHILE THE BOATS ARE HEADING BACK TO THE DOCKS. [Th]e S.O.S. SPACES are considered CLEAR WATER SPACES once the [fin]al fish has been caught.
Docking
[Ca]ptain is NOT required to return to the same dock from where they started the tournament. They may return to ANY dock. A [Capt]ain DOES NOT have to roll the exact number necessary to move into the dock. As long as the WHITE CUBE allows them to move NORTH, and the BLACK CUBE shows a number that is equal to, or greater than the number they need, they will be considered "docked".
Once the first boat has "docked", the tournament is over. As bonus points are awarded only to the Captain who is first back to the dock, there is no need for the other boats to continue to the docks. The time has finally come for all Captains to put their fish on the table and add up the points.
Scoring
Points earned by each Captain should be recorded on a FISHING FRENZY score card. Points can be earned in a number of different ways:
A) FIRST FISH: The Captain who catches the first fish earns 10 Bonus Points.
B) FIRST BACK TO THE DOCK: The Captain who is the first to dock after the tournament limit of fish has been caught is awarded 25 Bonus Points.
C) FISH CARDS: Each time a Captain caught a fish during the tournament, they were to draw a FISH CARD for the variety of their catch. Every FISH CARD reveals the points awarded for that particular catch, and the points for each fish should be entered on the score card at the end of the tournament.
D) MOST FISH: The Captain who catches the most fish is awarded 10 Bonus Points. If there is a tie for the most fish caught, each Captain involved in the tie is awarded 5 Bonus Points.
E) CHANNEL SLAM: Any Captain who catches a REDFISH AND a SNOOK AND a TROUT earns a CHANNEL SLAM Bonus of 20 Points.
F) INSHORE SLAM: Any Captain who catches a BONEFISH AND a PERMIT AND a TARPON earns an INSHORE SLAM Bonus of 20 Points.
G) OFFSHORE SLAM: Any Captain who catches a MARLIN AND a SAILFISH AND a BLUEFIN TUNA earns an OFFSHORE SLAM Bonus of 20 Points.
Ties
Any tie is decided by a sudden death fish-off. The tying Captains start back at the docks and the first one to catch any TWO "uncaught" fish is declared the Winner!
Good luck and good fishing!