Number of Players: 2+
Place a pillow case of unpaired socks in the middle of the table. It works best to have a minimum of 10 socks per player (5 pairs) – the more socks, the better! Each player should close their eyes, reach into the pillow case and pull out 5 socks. Players should keep the socks in their “hand” secret from the other players – they can place their socks under a towel or in their own pillow case.
At the start of the game, players can pair up any socks in their “hands” that are matching and set them on the table where the other players can see the pairs that they have created. Then, players should decide who goes first (click here for a list of ways to pick who goes first). The first player chooses one of the other players and asks them if they have a sock that matches one of their socks. For example, if Ian has a black, white and grey striped sock, he may ask, “Amy, do you have a black, white and grey striped sock?”
If Amy does not have a sock that fits the description she replies, “Go fish.” Ian then closes his eyes and reaches in to the sock pile and pulls out a sock. Play then passes to the next player.
Amy asks Ian if he has a yellow sock with pink stars. Ian does and hands the sock to Amy. If the sock matches Amy’s sock, she creates the pair and places it on the table in front of her. If it is not an exact match for her sock, she adds the sock to her “hand” and play continues clockwise. The more descriptive players are when they are requesting a sock, the more likely the sock that the player gives them is a matching sock to their own sock.
When a player runs out of socks in their hand, they draw another 5 socks from the pillow case. Every time a player adds new socks to their “hand,” they can make any new pairs and place them on the table in front of them. When all socks have been drawn from the pile, players no longer need to ask a specific player for a sock. Instead, players can request a sock from all players. Each player with a sock matching the description, should give their sock to the requesting player. If no player has a matching sock then the sock without a match goes into the “lonely sock pile” in the middle of the table. Play continues until all players no longer have any socks in their “hand.” The winner is the player that paired the most socks.