Ridiculous Fishing is a 2013 arcade fishing game developed by Zach Gage for iOS and Android. Gameplay unfolds in two distinct phases: players first guide a lure downward through the water using tilt controls, actively avoiding fish on the way down to reach greater depths, then reel in the line to snag as many fish as possible on the way back up. Once the catch is launched into the air, players switch to a shooting phase, blasting the airborne fish for cash that can be spent on upgraded gear. The game attracted considerable attention beyond its mechanics due to a high-profile controversy surrounding another developer releasing a near-identical clone of the game before Ridiculous Fishing reached the market, a situation that drew widespread discussion about intellectual property and ethics in mobile game development.
