Fishing, A Pepys Card Game
First Published: 1953, A Pepys Card Game by Pepys Games, St. Cross Street, London
Illustrator or Designer: Not Credited
Contents: 25 Hazard Cards with instructions, 34 Small Fish Cards, 1 Folding Board, 6 Fishermen with Wooden Stands, 1 Die + Rules Booklet
There are "25 Hazard Cards on which are printed instructions, some advantageous and some disadvantageous".
Fishing Hazard Cards: 6 x You promised to meet a friend in (Field Name) Move There Now, 2 x Chased by Bull, 1 x Stone in Boot
Fishing Hazard Cards: 2 x Talk With Farmer, 1 x Wader Brace Snaps, 2 x Light Pipe, 2 x Rain - Put on Macintosh, 1 x Weather Conditions Just Right
Fishing Hazard Cards: 3 x Weather Conditions Just Right,1 x Light Breeze Springs Up, 1 x Found Long-Lost Case of Favourite Flies, 1 x Easy Going Under Foot, 1 x May-Flies Appear.
6 Fishermen with wooden stands, 26 x 1/4lb Fish, 4 x 1/2lb Fish, 4 x 1lb Fish (Fishermen and Fish are printed on one side only) & 1 Aluminium Die.
This is a simple game. Six fishermen depart from The Fisherman's Arms pub, their aim being to catch the heaviest haul of fish. They move across fields and cast their lines according to the roll of the die, when rolling a six, they draw a card. Cards can help or hinder them. When the last card has been drawn all players return to the pub as quickly as possible. There are bonus points for the player or players that return first. Then the total weight of fish caught by each is totted up and the winner is the one with the heaviest catch.
The game's result depends on a random die and random cards. Pepys refer to it as a card game so I have added it to that category but I have also listed it as a board game. There is some gentle humour in the cards, there is a pub involved and I like the board's design if not its quality.
I have found two different versions of the board', one is very flimsy, almost like a cereal packet, the other is a little stiffer and heavier, like a budget board game. Both are very susceptible to tearing on the folds.
The sealed set featured here was part of Rex Pitts' personal collection, photos of the loose components are from another set.
Game & Version Details
 | Fishing - Box & Contents |
 | Fishing - Sealed Components |
 | Fishing - Fishermen on Their Stands |
 | Fishing - Card Back |
 | Fishing - Rules Front Cover |
 | Fishing - Rules Inside Back Cover |
 | Fishing - Rules Back Games Advertised: Flight, Jungle Thrills, Alice, Just William, Panto, Punch and Judy, Disney Dominoes, Win-A-Lot, Muffin, Famous Five, Riders of the Range, Speed, Circus Snap, Happy Families of the World, Rhymo Dominoes, Picture Dominoes, Farmyard Cries, Cinderella, Woodland Happy Families, Woodland Snap, Skid-O, Faraway Tree, Contraband |
 | Fishing - Box Lid Top Side |
 | Fishing - Box Lid Side Left |
 | Fishing - Box Lid Bottom Side |
 | Fishing - Box Lid Side Right |