Jig — a competitive game of memory, deduction, and revenge!

History of the game

Jig is based on a folk game called "Canadian Fish" (or "Literature"), which likely originated in India. I first discovered the game 20 years ago, as a student visiting McGill University in Montreal; I was immediately hooked. I'm now a professor of mathematics with a PhD in combinatorial game theory, and I've spent years perfecting the dynamics of this game.

The original game required defining 6 equal sets in a standard 52-deck, and needed a minimum of 6 players. I created Jig to solve these problems and to share this addictive little game with the world.

I've designed a custom deck of nine coloured sets, wrapped in an authentic saltwater theme to honour my home province of Newfoundland & Labrador. Jig introduces:

• A four-player variant using a dummy player (the "Skipper"), who acts as a player on both teams.
• An optional Shark rule for ultra-competitive play, allowing you to "land" the other team's cards before they can.

Game dynamics 

Fish for cards from the opposing team, paying attention to what other players ask for and what they get. When you think your team has all the cards of one colour, you can “land” them — but you must know exactly who has which cards, or else the other team steals the point!

Playing the game sounds like "Go Fish" for grown-ups. Someone asks "Do you have the blue 2?" If you do, you give it to them; if you don't, it's your turn to ask. The whole game hinges on one critical rule: you can't ask for a card if you have none of that colour. This lets everyone make deductions based on what questions are asked. 

These dynamics generate great moments of tension, despair, and vengeance! Someone steals your blue 1, your blue 2, your blue 3... but then they make a mistake, and you have a chance steal to them all back! 

Contents

The game comes in a 2-piece box with the custom deck split into two piles. The deck has 54 cards — 9 coloured sets numbered 1 to 6 — with one additional card (a fishing dory) to use as a turn marker. There's also a complete rule booklet.

Shipping & fulfillment

We have already printed 10 full-quality pre-production copies, currently en route to reviewers (with one copy saved for the Professor's Prototype backer tier). We'll make any necessary updates and be ready to place a bulk order of 1000 copies once this campaign reaches its funding goal! 

The box has been designed to optimize shipping: it's less than 20mm thick, so we can offer $5 shipping within Canada, $8 shipping to the US, and $15 shipping to the rest of the world. We are also offering free pick-up in many places across Newfoundland!

About the creator