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Goal

Score as many points as you can. A population column holding exactly 21 fish is a Study, worth 1 point, and each of six Research Breakthroughs is worth 2 points. A score of 20 or more is the top result.

Cards

Use a standard 52-card deck without Jokers. It’s the Field Station.

• Schools of Fish are the A–10. Each is worth its rank in fish, and the Ace is worth 1.
• Fishermen are the J, Q, and K. A Jack catches 1 fish, a Queen 2, and a King 3.

Setup

1. Population columns. Make 4 population columns. For each one, turn over cards from the Field Station until a School of Fish comes up, and put it face up as that column’s starting School.

2. Fishermen. Shuffle any Fishermen you turned over back into the Field Station.

3. Your hand. Then draw 4 cards.

Play

1. Take one action at a time. There are three actions.
2. Release Fish. Put a School of Fish from your hand at the bottom of any population column.
3. Catch Fish. Lay a Fisherman from your hand across any School of Fish in the river that has no Fisherman on it. It catches fish from that School only, and never below 0, so a King on a 2 catches 2 fish.
4. Transfer Fish. Discard any card from your hand to move the bottom School of Fish of one column to the bottom of another. You can’t move a column’s starting School, or a School with a Fisherman on it. Discarded cards are out of the game.
5. If a column reaches 25 fish or more, the game ends at once. This is a violation.
6. After every action, check the columns. Set aside each column holding exactly 21 fish as a Study, with its cards kept together. Restock each empty column the way you made it at setup. If no School of Fish is left in the Field Station, the column stays empty, and a School put into it becomes its starting School. Then draw back up to 4 cards.
7. The game also ends when you have no action left. Once the Field Station is empty you stop drawing and play on with the cards in your hand. You can also stop at any time.

Scoring

Score 1 point for each Study and 2 points for each Research Breakthrough. Each Breakthrough scores once per game, however often it happens, and one Study can score several.

• Species Specialization: a Study whose Schools of Fish are all one suit.
• Species Diversity: a Study with a School of Fish from all four suits.
• Dense Shoals: a Study of 5 or more Schools of Fish.
• Population Clusters: a Study with 2 Schools of Fish of the same rank.
• Selective Harvesting: a Fisherman laid on a School of Fish of its own suit. It scores as soon as the Fisherman is laid, even if the column never becomes a Study.
• Fishing Pressure: a Study with 2 or more Fishermen.

Your total is your Scientific Contribution:

• 0–9: your records add little to the understanding of the river.
• 10–14: your findings aid local study of fish populations.
• 15–19: your research advances knowledge of river ecosystems.
• 20 or more: your work reshapes the science of freshwater ecology.

Examples

• A release to 24 The 4 columns hold 8, 2, 2, and 20 fish. Column 4 is the 9♦, the 5♣, and the 6♣, and your hand is the K♠, the 2♦, the 4♠, and the 3♠. You release the 4♠ at the bottom of column 4, which now holds 24 fish, 1 short of a violation. Then you draw back up to 4 cards, the 6♥.
• A catch to 21 You lay the K♠ across the 4♠. A King catches 3 fish, so column 4 holds 21. The K♠ is laid on a School of its own suit, so it scores Selective Harvesting at once, worth 2 points.
• A Study at 21 Column 4 holds exactly 21 fish, so it’s set aside as a Study with all its cards, the K♠ included. The Study is worth 1 point. The top card of the Field Station is the 5♥, a School of Fish, so it restocks column 4, which holds 5 fish. You draw back up to 4 cards with the Q♦.

Playing with your own deck

You need paper and a pencil to note each Research Breakthrough when you score it, since each one counts only once.

How this version differs

• There are no turns. The published rules play in turns. You draw up to 4 cards, take as many actions as you like, and then check the columns for Studies. In this version you draw back up to 4 and check the columns after every action, so a column is a Study the moment it holds 21 fish. It can’t go past 21 and come back down within a turn.
• An empty Field Station stops the drawing, not the game. The published rules end the game as soon as the Field Station is empty. In this version you play out the cards in your hand.