Sometimes, card games involve a lot of complicated rules and require a long attention span, leaving kids frustrated and anxious. But North Star Games provides fast-paced, active fun in the form of a card game with Happy Salmon. I don’t remember laughing this hard playing a game since we got Pie Face last year. This game leaves players in tears of laughter as they try to quickly high five, pound fists, switch places, or Happy Salmon.
If you thought Happy Salmon was fast-paced and packed to the gills with high-fivin’, fin-flappin’ foolishness, now you can get Happy Salmon blue fish and play with six more players, for a total of 12! Actions include the classic “High 5”, the unifying “Pound It”, the frantic “Switcheroo”, and the delightful “Happy Salmon”. SET HOW TO PLAY Happy Salmon is a simple, fast-paced card game packed with high-fivin', fin-flappin' fun. Pick a card color and take those 12 cards. Shuffle your cards and keep them face down in a stack in your hand. On the count of three, flip over your stack of cards, so the entire stack is face-up. Happy Salmon; Fast-paced card game of High-Fiving fun! Encourages quick thinking, communication skills, bonding with family and friends Hilarious fun for everyone in the family! Each player gets a deck of 12 cards in one color - 6 decks included in each set Cards each feature an action - High 5, Pound It, Switcheroo, or Happy Salmon.
Players start off by separating the different decks of cards by color, and then choose one for themselves. They each hold their deck of cards face down in a pile. At the same time, players flip their decks over and try to find another player in the group with the matching action card. Once they do, both players complete that action, then discard that card and move on to the next. The first player to get rid of all his or her cards wins.
Sound like chaos? It is—but in the best way.
The four action cards are: High 5, Pound It, Switcheroo, and Happy Salmon.
When two players have a High 5 card, they High 5:
When two players have a Pound It card, they Pound It:
When two players have a Switcheroo card, they switch places wherever they are standing/sitting:
When two players have a Happy Salmon card, well, they do this:
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder than I did at the Happy Salmon card. For inexplicable reasons, it is so funny and leaves me near tears every single time it happens.
Once you start playing, your space becomes a whirlwind of yelling, running, and positive-reinforcement-based hand gestures. By the end of the round, everyone is laughing so hard, it’s hard to say that anyone loses. There is also a silent version of the game where players can’t speak (Honestly, it was the most anxiety-filled round of a card game I’ve ever played. Maybe I’m too competitive? Definitely.). Other alternative ways to play include swapping decks of cards instead of physical places when you have a Switcheroo match, which is especially necessary if there is not room or the potential to stand up and switch places.
Superball keno slot machine for sale. As you can see above, the cards’ illustrations are really adorable and colorful. The big, fun font makes the actions easy to read, and for younger kids, the salmon on the card also depict the action, so they can act quickly as well. Also, take a gander at that packaging—how cute! All of the cards pack neatly up into the zippered salmon-shaped pouch, making it easy to take along on the go.
SETUP
You will need to provide as many Happy Salmon game sets as you need, according to the number of people you want to play with. With one set, you can play with up to 6 players.
How To Play Happy Salmon
You can play with more than one set at a time, provided you mark the cards upfront
by drawing a shape (circle, square, cross, …) on the back of the card with a marker
by sticking a colored dot sticker on the back of the cards
Pro tipYou can double the number of players by buying green sets and blue sets, marking them both with the same color dots or shapes, since the back color of the cards are different.
HOW TO PLAY
Distribute one deck of cards to each player
Each player should have 12 cards
3 Happy Salmon
3 High-Five
3 Pound-it
3 Switcheroo
Explain each type of card and demonstrate the corresponding gesture with a volunteer
Make sure everyone understand the different gestures
Explain
We will all start at the same time
Start shouting the name of the card that you have and simulate the gesture
Find someone who has the same card
Pefrorm the gesture
Once the gesture performed, throw the card on the floor
Ask everyone to shuffle their deck
Have everyone hold their deck in front of them, faces down
Count 1, 2, 3 and start the game
Happy Salmon Game Target
The first person who has no more cards is the winner.
Enjoy the mess!
In this video, we had around 50 people playing at the same time. Is that a world record ?
TAKE AWAY
2 minutes of playing, 20 minutes of sorting the cards. You can actually gamify the card sorting, trying to figure out the fastest strategy, collaborating as a team.