Hanafuda There are twelve suits, representing months.

Each is designated a flower, and each suit has four cards. Typically, there are two 'normal' cards worth one point, one poetry ribbon card worth five points, and a final special card worth ten or twenty points. The point values could be considered unnecessary and arbitrary, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.

Month January

Flower Matsu () (Pine)

Cards 2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Crane and Sun (20 points)

Images

February

Ume () (Plum blossom)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Bush Warbler in a Tree (10 points)

March

Sakura () (Cherry blossom)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Poetry Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Camp Curtain (20 points)

April

Fuji () (Wisteria)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Cuckoo with Moon (10 points) 2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Water Iris and Eight-Plank Bridge (10 points) 2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Butterflies (10 points)

May

Ayame () (Iris)

June

Botan () (Peony)

July

Hagi () (Bush Clover)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Boar (10 points)

August

Susuki () (Chinese Silver Grass)

2 Normal (1 point), 2 Specials: Geese in Flight (10 points), Full Moon with Red Sky (20 points)

September

Kiku () (Chrysanthemum)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Poetry Sake cup (10 points)

October

Momiji () (Maple)

2 Normal (1 point), 1 Purple Ribbon (5 points) and 1 Special: Deer and Maple (10 points) 1

November Yanagi () (Willow)

1 Red Ribbon (5 points) and 3 Specials: Lightning (1 point), Swallow (10 points), Ono no Michikaze with Umbrella and Frog (Rainman, 20 points) 3 Normal (1 point, one off-shaded), Special: Chinese Phoenix (20 points)

December Kiri () (Paulownia)

Yaku (Combination of 3 cards to a set. There are 8 sets, 50 points per set. 50 points are deducted from each opponent. Yakus using 20 point cards 1. 20 pt Pampus 20 pt Cherry Blossom) 5 pt Chrysanthemum (August suit susuki) (March suit sakura) (Sept suit kiku) 2. 20 pt Cherry Blossom 20 pt Pine 5 pt Plum (March suit sakura) (January suit matsu) (Feb. suit ume) 3. 10 pt Plum (Feb. suit ume) 4. 10 pt Chrysanthemum (Sept suit kiku) 5. 10 pt Clover (July suit hagi) 6. 5 pt Chrysanthemum (Sept suit kiku) 7. 5 pt Clover (July suit hagi) 8. 5pt Maple (Oct. suit momiji) Yakus using 10 point cards 10 pt. Pine 10 pt Cherryblossom (Jan suit matsu) (Mar suit sakura) 10 pt Maple 10 pt Peony (Oct. suit momiji) (June suit botan) 10 pt Wisteria 10pt Iris (April suit fuji) (May suit ayame) Yakus using 5 point cards 5 pt Maple (Oct suit momiji) 5 pt Wisteria (April suit fuji) 5pt Clover (July suit hagi) 5pt Peony (June suit botan) 5 pt Iris (May suit ayame) 5pt Pampus (Aug suit susuki)

Object of Play: Accumulate more points than your opponent. Either a set number of rounds is played, a point goal is set to determine the winner, or players try to get so many more points than their opponent. Rules of Play: Cards are shuffled and placed into a pile (called the stock). Eight cards are placed face up between the players, and then eight cards are dealt face-down to each player. If there are more than two players, then the hand size is decreased. The Play: Play starts with the dealer. The player takes a card that was dealt to him and matches suit with a card that is on the table. If there isn't a matching card, the player discards a card to the center of the table. Then, the top stock card is turned face up, and if there is a matching suit on the playing field, the player takes the cards, otherwise the stock card is added to the playing field.
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Play ends when either the stock is exhausted or either player's hand is empty. If a player is dealt four pairs or two complete suits, that player automatically wins the round. Scoring for this instance varies, but can be the value of the cards in the playing field. 2

Hiki: If there are a number of cards on the playing field of one suit, and a player has the rest of the suit in hand, this is a hiki. The player may take the entire suit of cards on his turn instead of playing a card from his hand. Trying to take a card from a hiki with the storm card is an illegal move. If the cards are dealt so that all four of one suit are on the playing field, the cards are shuffled and redealt. If three cards are on the table, they are stacked together and the remaining card takes all three. Scoring: At the end of the round, each player adds the value of all cards he has taken. In some variations, 'winner takes all', meaning the winner of the match gets all the points the opponent has accumulated in that round. See the page 'Hanafuda Rules' for card sets and scoring. Oya Gachi: In case of a tie, dealer wins. If the dealer isn't involved with the tie, the player closest to the dealer's left wins.