Push Fish Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setting
• How to Play
  • If this is your first game
  • Turn Order
  • 1. Bait Casting (미끼 투척)
  • 2. Fish HIT (물고기 HIT)
  • 3. Rod Action (낚시 액션)
  • 4. Fish GET (물고기 GET)
  • Item Cards (아이템 카드)
  • Character Basic Ability (캐릭터 기본 능력)
  • Mission Card Acquisition (미션 카드 획득)
• Game End (게임 종료)
• Legendary Angler Game Mode (전설의 강태공 게임모드)
• Noisy Free-for-All Game Mode (왁자지껄 대난투 게임모드)
• Glossary (용어정리)
• Card Anatomy (카드 설명)
• Characters

Components

• 60 Fish cards
• 26 Mission cards
• 28 Item cards
• 6 Character cards
• 18 Bait tokens
• 6 Wood tokens
• 6 Fishing rods (낚싯대), with strength zones W, M, S and SS

Game Setting

Let's get the game ready.

1. Each player chooses a character card, then takes that character's fishing rod, bait tokens and wood tokens.
2. Shuffle the item cards and deal 2 to each player. Make a stack of the remaining item cards and place it face down, back side showing.
3. Spread the fish cards face down in the middle of the table in a 4 x 5 grid. The remaining fish cards form a pile beside the grid.
   • Whenever players catch fish and 3 empty spaces are created in the fishing ground, immediately fill the empty spaces with fish cards from the pile.
4. Shuffle the mission cards and reveal 5 of them, placing them face up near the fishing ground so everyone can see them. Make a pile of the remaining mission cards beside them, and refill the revealed row each time a card is used up.
5. All players simultaneously flip over one fish card from the fishing ground. The player with the highest number becomes the first player.
   • Turn order proceeds to the left from the first player. When all players have finished their turns, the next player to the left becomes the first player.
   • If numbers are tied, the player with the higher strength (힘세기) goes first.
   • Leave the revealed fish cards face up and start the game.
   • In a 2-player game, the first player does not change; turns simply alternate.

How to Play

If this is your first game

If you are playing Push Fish for the first time, remove the item cards and mission cards and play a simple body-fishing game: catch 3 fish using only bait casting and rod actions. Push Fish becomes more fun after that.

Turn Order

On your turn, proceed in this order:

1. Bait casting (미끼 투척)
2. Fish HIT (물고기 HIT)
3. Rod action (낚시 액션)
4. Fish GET (물고기 GET)

• Before and after casting bait, each player may use their character's ability.

1. Bait Casting (미끼 투척)

Place a bait token on the SS slot of the rod, and cast the bait toward a fish card. You may cast up to 3 bait tokens until a fish card is HIT.

• Cast from a distance equal to the length of the rod, away from the fishing ground. When the bait hits a fish card, call out "HIT!"
• You may cast additional bait using item cards.
• If a fish card is HIT after casting bait, do not cast the remaining bait tokens; proceed to the rod action.
• You may leave a HIT fish card in place and keep casting the remaining bait tokens, but only one of the HIT fish can be the target of a rod action.

2. Fish HIT (물고기 HIT)

If the bait token is properly attached on top of a fish card, it is a HIT. A player whose bait casting succeeded flips the fish card over and performs a rod action.

• A bait token that covers more than half of the fish card counts as a HIT. In doubtful cases, the bait counts as a success only if everyone agrees.
• If the HIT bait token is face-up (character face), use the rod that has the character's face. If it is face-down (the character's float), use the rod that has the float drawn on it.
• A player with no HIT fish cannot perform a rod action. As encouragement, that player takes 1 item card and the turn ends.
• In Hard Mode (강태공 모드, difficult mode), the bait token must lie entirely inside the card to count as a HIT.

Examples printed on the page:

• Fish bites the bait: HIT.
• Fish is not interested in the bait: no HIT.
• Two or more bait casts succeeded and the rod lines crossed each other: the fishing line is cut.
• Fish spits out the bait.
• Two fish fought each other and one escaped.

3. Rod Action (낚시 액션)

A player whose HIT succeeded checks the strength (힘세기) of the fish card, places a wood token at the bottom of the rod, and flicks it (알까기) so that it lands inside the matching strength zone. If it lands inside that zone, GET the fish card.

• A player may perform the rod action 3 times, and may perform additional rod actions using item cards.
• The player must perform the rod action while calling out the action phrase printed on the character card. If the action phrase is not called out, the action is invalid!
• The wood token must cover more than half of the zone for the action to succeed. In doubtful cases, the action counts as a success only if everyone agrees.
• In Hard Mode (강태공 모드, difficult mode), the wood token must lie entirely inside the zone to count as a GET.
• When the rod action is finished, retrieve your bait tokens from the fishing ground.

Examples printed on the page (zones labeled SS, S, M and W):

• The fish got away: lost the fish.
• SS fish caught cleanly: caught.
• S fish caught.
• M fish caught.
• W fish let go: lost the fish.
• Setup of the wood token: at the start, place the wood token on the character's face if the rod is face-up, or inside the circle if the rod is face-down.

Golden Fish (황금물고기) and Kraken (크라켄) cards: these can be caught only after two successful rod actions, and catching either one ends the game immediately.

4. Fish GET (물고기 GET)

If the rod action succeeds, GET the corresponding fish card. On your turn you may catch only one fish.

• If the rod action fails, leave the fish card face up, take 1 item card as encouragement, and your turn ends.

Item Cards (아이템 카드)

• Item cards may be used without limit on your turn, and each used card is discarded.
• Unused item cards are included in the score calculation at the end of the game.
• You may keep up to 5 item cards. If you gain more, look at them and keep only 5.
• When the item card pile is used up, shuffle the discarded cards and use them again.

Example item card: Father's Sushi Restaurant (아버지의 초밥집). Printed text: "Dad, you're opening a sushi restaurant?!" Effect: catch 2 sea fish cards (바닷고기를 2장 낚는다). Printed on the card: the number 4 (top left), a wave symbol with "x2", and the text above.

Character Basic Ability (캐릭터 기본 능력)

• The character's basic ability can be used every time it is your turn.
• The character's basic ability may be used together with item cards.
• The character's basic ability does not have to be used.

Mission Card Acquisition (미션 카드 획득)

If you achieve a mission on your turn, you may take a mission card. Fish cards used to achieve a mission cannot be used for another mission.

• Even if you achieve 2 or more missions on your turn, you take only 1 mission card.
• Mission cards can be taken only on your own turn.
• When a player's turn ends, the next player refills the empty mission card slots from the pile.

Example printed on the page: Check the category icon at the bottom right of the fish card! If you gather the target fish, you gain a mission card. The example shows Pink Salmon (곱사연어, number 4, strength zone M) and Mackerel (고등어, strength zone M).

Game End (게임 종료)

The game ends when one player has caught 5 fish cards in a short game, 7 fish cards in a medium game, or 10 fish cards in a long game. The game also ends immediately when a player catches the Golden Fish (황금물고기) or the Kraken (크라켄).

After the end of the game is declared, each player adds up the scores of their cards. The player with the highest total score wins.

• Add the points of the fish cards caught, the mission cards acquired, and the unused item cards.
• Treasure and Junk cards do not add points.

Example item cards printed on the page:

• Clean the Sea (바다를 깨끗이): "How can there be junk in such a beautiful sea!" Effect: catch 2 Junk or Treasure cards (쓰레기, 보물을 2장 낚는다).
• Rare Sinkers (최고급 낚시추): Effect: perform one additional rod action (낚시 액션을 추가로 한 번 더 한다).

Legendary Angler Game Mode (전설의 강태공 게임모드)

If the game is too easy, try the Legendary Angler (전설의 강태공) mode. If the game is too easy for one player, that player alone may apply this mode.

• At the start of the game, take 1 item card.
• Rare fish (레어 물고기) can be caught only after 2 successful rod actions.
• The bait token and the wood token must lie entirely inside the zone to count as a HIT and a GET.

Noisy Free-for-All Game Mode (왁자지껄 대난투 게임모드)

Cast the bait tokens simultaneously, and only the players who HIT perform rod actions.

• If 2 or more tokens HIT the same fish card, the fishing lines are tangled and broken.

Glossary (용어정리)

• Fishing ground (어장): the area where the fish cards are gathered.
• Bait casting (미끼 투척): the action of placing a bait token at the end of the rod and casting it onto the fish cards.
• HIT: when a bait token is validly attached onto a fish card.
• Rod action (낚시 액션): the action of placing a wood token under the rod and flicking it with the hand.
• GET: when a rod action succeeds and you acquire the fish card.

Card Anatomy (카드 설명)

Fish card example, Seahorse (해마):

• Score (점수): top left (7)
• Strength (힘세기): top right (M)
• Rarity (레어): bottom left (R)
• Fish type (어종): bottom right (wave symbol)

Treasure and Junk card example, Fossil (화석):

• Number of item cards received (받을 수 있는 아이템 카드 수): top left (1)
• Strength: top right (W)

Treasure and Junk cards give item cards equal to the number on the left. After the game ends, they add no points to the score.

Item card example, Coral Kingdom (산호초 왕국): "Caught a fish found only in coral reefs!" Effect: catch 2 tropical fish cards (열대어를 2장 낚는다).

Mission card example: The fish type shown on a mission card, when a fish card matching its strength is caught, earns the mission. Mission cards show a list of target fish; if you gather all the target fish shown, you gain the mission. The example lists sawshark (톱상어), hammerhead (귀상어) and narwhal (일각고래).

Item card example, Magic Stone (마법의 돌): Effect: fill 1 fish card into an empty space of the fishing ground (어장의 빈 곳에 물고기 카드 1장을 채운다). The printed action phrase is "Hoit!" (호잇!). The player calls out this phrase when performing a rod action.

• A character's ability may be used on your own turn and may be combined with item cards.

Rod strength labels on the rod strip: Weak (W), Medium (M).

• At the start of a rod action, the wood token is held about 1 cm beyond the end of the rod.

Characters

Each player chooses one character card. The six characters are:

• Knight William (기사 윌리엄)
• Captain Jack Raccoon (선장 잭 라쿤)
• Wizard Loony (마법사 루니)
• Samurai Hattori (사무라이 핫토리)
• Viking Warlord (바이킹 워로드)
• Chef Ramsay (셰프 램지)

Each character's flavour background is printed on pages 10 and 11 of the rulebook and is omitted here.

Gap in the source: the rulebook does not print the text of each character's basic ability. Those abilities are on the character cards themselves, and this transcription does not reproduce them.