Hachi-Hachi [八八 - はちはち], also known as “88,” is a traditional hanafuda game for primarily 3 to 6 players, although it can accomodate 2 or 7 with modifications. It features a complicated scoring and payment system (which makes it suitable for cash gambling), including both hand combinations and captured combinations.
It is among the most played hanafuda games in Japan, but enjoys little popularity in the rest of the world, where Koi-Koi is perhaps the most well-known game. However, A New York Times article and a ‘Book of American Hachi-ju-Hachi’, both from the 1920s, nevertheless suggest it was a brief fad in the US. Hachi-Hachi play sets are available, generally containing two decks and several implements to aid in scorekeeping. It is likely that today’s standard deck pattern, Hachi-hachi-bana, takes its name from this game.
Despite being historically unrelated, the game is vaguely reminiscient of mahjong; both feature intricate scoring systems designed with an eye to gambling, and both are sold in dedicated sets that include tokens and various items for tracking the state of the game. And while both have a reputation for complexity, they are fundamentally quite graspable games one you burrow down beneath the layer cake of scoring mechanisms.
¶ Preliminaries
¶ Equipment
Hachi-Hachi is, naturally, played with a standard hanafuda deck. Typically, two decks are used—one red-backed, one black-backed—though this is not strictly necessary. While one deck is being played, the other can be shuffled by an inactive player in preparation for the next round. This saves time between rounds, and also means the back colour will alternate with each round, which aids in tracking the current month. The old ‘Hachi-ju-Hachi’ book suggests using the red deck for odd-numbered months, and the black deck for even-numbered ones.
A supply of poker chips, go stones, or other tokens—preferably in a large quantity, and with at least two denominations—will also be immensely helpful for keeping track of scores. Scores can be kept on paper if required, but can be trickier.
Hachi-Hachi sets will include additional tokens for tracking things such as the field multiplier and mizuten markers, along with pots for holding payments. Again, none of these items are strictly necessary.
¶ Number of Players
As with other hanafuda fishing games, Hachi-Hachi only supports having two or three active players in each round. Other players may participate in the game, but at the beginning of each round, it must be determined who will play, and who will drop out. This is done via a kind of ‘auction’ vaguely reminscient of both the bidding phases found in western trick-taking games like Bridge, and the betting of Poker.
For simplicity, these rules will describe the three-player version of the game first. However, this is not to imply that Hachi-Hachi is fundamentally only a three-player game, or that it works best with three players. The choice of whether to stay or drop out is an interesting and strategic one, and it is commonly claimed the game is more exciting with larger groups.
¶ A Note on Scoring
Hachi-Hachi, as a popular gambling game, employs a zero-sum scoring system. Scores are measured in two units, kan [貫 - かん, kan] and points. Traditionally, the game uses a dozenal system, where 1 kan equals 12 points. Modern accounts prefer to use a more conventional decimal system, wherein 1 kan equals 10 points.
Since points are almost always scored in whole numbers of kan, the choice of system does not matter for most purposes. However, there are a few circumstances which call for scores to be halved, which can produce values involving half a kan. In dozenal, half a kan will be 6 points, whereas in decimal it will be 5 points.
Since the value of individual cards is also measured in points, this can likewise affect how card points are converted into scores. For example, a single Bright card is worth 20 points, which is 2 kan in the decimal system and 1 kan 8 points in the dozenal.
For uniformity, this page gives all scores in kan. Pick whichever system of scoring you prefer, then multiply these kan values by either 12 or 10 to obtain their equivalent in points.
¶ Setup (3 Players)
Game setup involves choosing a dealer [親 - おや, oya], shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards. Like many hanafuda games, Hachi-Hachi is usually played for 12 rounds, one for each month of the year, although 6 round games (half a year) or even 3 round games (a season) may be played. Naturally, house rules should also be established at this point in order to keep gameplay smooth and fair.
This section describes game setup for three players; for more players, please see the “number of players” section.
¶ Choosing the Dealer
No method is stipulated for choosing the initial dealer. A hanafuda-specific method involves each player drawing a card from the deck, and the player with the earliest month becomes the dealer. In the event of a tie, the highest-ranked card within the month is considered the earliest. If there is still a tie, then the players re-draw.
The winner of each round becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Dealing the Cards
The player to the left of the dealer [尾季 - びき, biki] shuffles the deck, and the player to the right of the dealer [胴二 - どうに, douni] cuts. Then, starting with the player to their right and moving anti-clockwise (↺), the dealer deals 4 cards to each player in turn, followed by 3 card face-up to the table. They then give a further 3 cards to each player, and an additional 3 cards face-up to the table.
In total, 7 cards are dealt to each player, and 6 cards to the table face-up to form the field.
The remainder of the deck is placed face-down next to the field to form the draw pile.
- If 4 cards of the same month are dealt to the table, then a misdeal is declared (since these 4 cards are impossible to capture). In this case, the cards are thrown in, shuffled again, and re-dealt.
¶ Field Multiplier
Next, the number of Bright cards in the field is counted to determine the field multiplier. This multiplier will apply to all exchanges of points between players, for the entire duration of the round.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Small Field | A small field [小場 - こば, koba] occurs if there are no Brights. Point exchanges are unaffected. |
| Large Field | A large field [大場 - おおば, ooba] occurs if any of the  Crane with Sun,  Flower Viewing Curtain, or  Full Moon Brights are on the field. All point exchanges will be doubled for this round. |
| Grand Field | A grand field [絶場 - ぜつば, zetsuba] occurs if either the  Rain Man or  Phoenix is on the field. All point exchanges will be quadrupled for this round. |
¶ Multiple Brights Case
If more than one Bright card is on the field, then there are two methods of handling the situation :
-
The most typical is to apply the largest multiplier to the current round, and carry over the other multipliers into subsequent rounds, with the quadruples coming first.
For example, if theRain Man, the Phoenix and the Crane with Sun are all on the field, then the current round will be a grand field, the next round will also be a grand field, and the round after that will be a large field.
If the current round already has a multiplier that was carried over from some previous round, then any field multipliers that turn up are carried over into future rounds in the same way. -
Alternatively, some play with a simpler, higher-stakes rule in which all field multipliers stack. So, in the example above, the field multiplier for the round will be a hefty
32! (4 x 4 x 2)
¶ Teyaku
Once the field multiplier is determined, the players check their hands for teyaku, or ‘hand combinations’ [手役 - てやく, teyaku], and score points based on them. These are hands that are considered quite poor when it comes to capturing cards, and the points earned for them are a form of compensation.
Hachi-Hachi stands out among other other games of the Hana-Awase family for its exceptionally large repertoire of teyaku, which is understandably daunting to new players.
However, the basic teyaku fall into two categories, with all the others being simple combinations of one from each category:
| Value (in kan) | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
¶ Group A: Set Teyaku |
||
| 2 | Triplet/Three of a Kind 三本 [さんぼん, sanbon] |
Any three cards of the same month. |
| 3 | Standing Triplet 立三本 [たてさんぼん, tatesanbon] |
Three of a kind from the months of  Wisteria,  Iris, or  Bush Clover, or the three Paulownia Chaff cards. |
| 6 | Two Triplets 二三本 [ふたさんぼん, futasanbon] |
A Triplet, and another Triplet. |
| 7 | Triplet and Standing Triplet 三本立三本 [さんぼんたてさんぼん, sanbon tatesanbon] |
A Triplet, and a Standing Triplet |
| 8 | Two Standing Triplets 二立三本 [ふたたてさんぼん, futatatesanbon] |
A Standing Triplet, and another Standing Triplet. |
| 4 | Three Pairs 喰付 [くっつき, kuttsuki] (lit. sticky?) |
Three pairs of cards- a pair being two cards from the same month. |
| 6 | Four of a Kind 手四 [てし, teshi] |
Four cards from the same month. |
| 7 | Triplet and Two Pairs 跳剣 [はねけん, haneken] (lit. jumping sword?) |
A Triplet (or Standing Triplet) and two pairs. |
| 8 | One-Two-Four 一二四 [いちにし, ichinishi] |
Four of a kind, a pair, and a singleton. Note: When revealing this hand to claim points, all seven cards must be shown. |
| 20 | Four-Three 四三 [しそう, shisou] |
Four of a kind and a Triplet (or Standing Triplet). |
¶ Group B: Chaff TeyakuNote: For the purposes of these teyaku, all Willow cards are considered Chaff, as opposed to their usual value. In particular, the Willow Ribbon is not considered a Ribbon. |
||
| 2 | Red 赤 [あか, aka] |
Two or more of any Ribbon card, with Chaff in the remainder of the hand. Note: Despite the name, all Ribbon cards count, including the blue ones. |
| 3 | One Ribbon 短一 [たんいち, tan’ichi] |
One Ribbon card, six Chaff. |
| 3 | One Animal 十一 [といち, toichi] |
One Animal card, six Chaff. |
| 4 | One Bright 光一 [ぴかいち, pikaichi] |
One Bright card, six Chaff. |
| 4 | Empty Hand 空素 [からす, karasu] |
Seven Chaff cards. |
The teyaku within each group are mutually exclusive, meaning that each player scores for their single most valuable teyaku in each of Groups A and B. In order to claim their teyaku, a player must reveal all the relevant cards from their hand:
- For teyaku in Group A, show all cards that are part of the combination.
- For teyaku in Group B, only the Chaff cards need to be shown.
The points earned for teyaku are paid to a player by each of their two opponents, in typical zero-sum fashion. However, certain situations at the end of the round can sometimes cause these teyaku payments to be cancelled. Thus, the players should simply make a note of these transactions at this point, then make good on them at the end of the round if they are still applicable.
Once teyaku are claimed, the players hide their cards again, and the round begins.
Should a player overlook certain teyaku, or otherwise forget to claim them, they have until the dealer takes the first card from the draw pile in order to do so. After this point, any unclaimed teyaku are void.
Remember that the field multiplier affects all exchanges of points between players, including teyaku payments!
Many rulesets for Hachi-Hachi list each possible combination of teyaku from Group A and Group B separately. There are 66 such possible combinations, which naturally makes the teyaku look overwhelming! The most valuable combination is Four-Three plus Empty Hand. It’s incredibly rare, and there’s only one possible way to form it. As an exercise, see if you can work out how.
¶ Gameplay
In each round, the dealer is the first to play, and turn to play passes anti-clockwise (↺) around the table. The core gameplay and turn structure of Hachi-Hachi is typical of games in the Hana-Awase family, though it features a variation of the ‘go-stop’ mechanic from Koi-Koi.
¶ Turns
On their turn, a player chooses a single card from their hand and plays it to the table.
- If it belongs to the same month as another card on the table, then the cards match, and this matching pair is moved to the player’s score pile.
- If the played card matches with two cards on the table, then the player may choose which one they capture.
- If the played card matches three cards on the table, then all three are captured along with the played card (this is to prevent cards from becoming ‘stuck’ on the table and unable to be captured). To help in recognising this case, three cards of the same month on the table are often collected into a small pile at the beginning of the round.
- If the played card does not match any card, then it remains on the table, and may subsequently be captured by other played cards.
If a card is played that matches something on the table, then the player must capture, as described above. However, there is no obligation to play a card that matches something, even if the player has one in their hand; they may, if they wish, elect to play a card that matches nothing on the table.
As is typical of hanafuda games, each player’s score pile should be kept face-up and laid out on the table, so that its contents are fully visible to all players. Ideally, the cards should also be arranged by type (Brights, Animals, Ribbons, and Chaff) to make detecting yaku easier.
After a card has been played from their hand, the player takes the top card of the draw pile, turns it face-up, and immediately plays it to the table in the same fashion.
¶ Dekiyaku, Sage and Shoubu
One a player has played their two cards—one from their hand, and one from the draw pile—they check the contents of their score pile to see if they have formed any dekiyaku, or ‘built combinations’ [出来役 - できやく, dekiyaku].
Similar to the yaku in other games, dekiyaku are certain valuable combinations of cards that the players seek to assemble in their scoring piles. A list of dekiyaku and their point values are given further down the page.
- If a player has either formed a new dekiyaku or improved an existing one, then they must choose whether to call sage to continue the round, or shoubu to end it, as detailed below.
- If this is not the case, then their turn ends, and the next player takes their turn.
¶ Sage
If the player calls to continue [下げ - さげ, sage], then the round continues. Their turn ends, and play passes to the next player. This affords the player an opportunity to either form a second dekiyaku or improve their current one for more points—although they suffer penalties if they fail to accomplish this before another player forms their own dekiyaku, or before the round ends.
Unlike in certain versions of Koi-Koi, a player may call to continue the round as many times as they choose.
¶ Shoubu
If the player calls to end [勝負 - しょうぶ, shoubu], then the round ends, and scores are calculated. This is a safe option, but denies the opportunity to form additional dekiyaku.
¶ Cancelling a Sage
If a player has previously called sage to continue, then they may, at the beginning of their turn, call to cancel, which immediately ends the round. This results in a reduced score for the player in question, but serves as a useful emergency option if it looks like the player will no longer be able to form their second dekiyaku.
¶ End of Round and Scoring
The round ends either when a player forms a dekiyaku then calls to end or cancel, or when all players have run out of cards in their hands.
Scoring is handled differently depending on whether or not any player managed to form a dekiyaku.
- If they have, then only the dekiyaku are scored for and the point values of the cards are ignored, similarly to Koi-Koi.
- If no dekiyaku have been made, then card points are totalled and used to determine the winner.
The following sections will outline each of these two methods.
Remember that all exchanges of points between players are affected by the field multiplier!
¶ Scoring When Dekiyaku Are Present
If any player possesses at least one dekiyaku in their score pile, then points are scored in the following manner:
- First, the teyaku payments from the beginning of the round are made.
- Then, the dekiyaku are scored based on how the round ended, as follows.
| Case | Handling |
|---|---|
| If a Player Called Shoubu | The player who called shoubu is paid the total value of their dekiyaku by each of their opponents. Only this player scores in this fashion, the opponents do not score anything for any dekiyaku they might possess. The player who called shoubu will be the winner of the round, and becomes the dealer for the next. ⚠️ If one of the opponents has previously called sage while the other one has not, then the one who called sage pays double, while the one who did not pays nothing. |
| If a Player Elected to Cancel | The player who cancelled is paid half the total value of their dekiyaku by each opponent. Only the player who cancelled scores in this fashion, the opponents do not score anything for any dekiyaku they might possess. The player who cancelled will be the winner of the round, and becomes the dealer for the next. |
| If the Hands Are Exhausted | If dekiyaku have been formed, but players kept calling sage until they all ran out of cards, then every player is paid half the total value of their dekiyaku by each of their opponents. The winner of the round is the player who first called sage, and they will be the dealer for the next round. |
¶ Scoring With No Dekiyaku
If no player has managed to form any dekiyaku, then the players count the point values of the cards in their score pile to determine the winner. The values of the cards are standard, as follows:
| Card Type | Value (in points, not kan!) | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Bright | 20 | 5 |
| Animal | 10 | 9 |
| Ribbon | 5 | 10 |
| Chaff | 1 | 24 |
The total point value of the entire deck is 264. Since there are three players, and each player could conceivably earn exactly 88 points (one third of 264), the players are only awarded for card points earned in excess of the par value of 88.
Before scoring is calculated, however, there are three special circumstances that need to be checked for. These unique situations cancel all other forms of scoring, including teyaku payments. (Remember that the field multiplier still applies!)
| Case | Description |
|---|---|
| All Eights | All Eights [総八 - そうはち, souhachi] occurs when every player has captured exactly 88 card points. In this situation, the dealer claims 10 kan from each opponent. The dealer is the winner of the round, and remains dealer for the next. |
| Double Eights | Double Eights [二八 - ふたはち, futahachi] occurs when a single player scores at least 80 above the par value, i.e. when they capture 168 or more total card points. This player takes 10 kan from each opponent, plus 1 additional kan for every point above 168. This player is the winner of the round, and becomes the dealer for the next. |
| Sixteen Chaff | As its name implies, Sixteen Chaff [素十六 - すじゅうろく, sujuuroku] occurs when a player has managed to capture at least 16 Chaff cards (for this purpose, all Willow cards count as Chaff). This player takes 12 kan from each opponent, plus an additional 2 kan for every Chaff card in excess of 16. They will be the winner of the round, and become the dealer for the next. |
If the Sixteen Chaff situation occurs together with either All Eights or Double Eights, then the latter take precedence.
¶ Totalling Scores
Assuming that none of All Eights, Double Eights or Sixteen Chaff have occured, then points are awarded as follows.
First, the teyaku payments from the beginning of the round are made.
Then, each player determines their score as follows:
Player's Score = (Total of Player's Captured Card Points - 88) x Field Multiplier
This will be the total amount of points won or lost by each player. When playing with chips or tokens, players with a negative score pay chips to those with a positive score.
The winner of the round is the player with the highest total captured card points. This player will become the dealer for the next round.
In the (unlikely) event of a tie here, the winner is the player who is earliest in the turn order.
¶ Special Achievements
Once the scoring is completed—regardless of which method was used, or whether any dekiyaku were made—and the winner of the round determined, there is a final exchange of points for certain special achievements the players may have accomplished during the round.
Special achievements do not apply if any of All Eights, Double Eights, or Sixteen Chaff occured, since these rare circumstances cancel all other forms of scoring.
Remember, the field multiplier applies to special achievements, too! It applies to everything!
¶ Diving
Diving [飛び込み - とびこみ, tobikomi], sometimes known as Catching the Triplet, is attainable by any player who declared a Group A teyaku that includes a Triplet or Standing Triplet, but not a Four of a Kind.
If this player, by the end of the round, has managed to capture all four cards of the Triplet’s month, then they are paid 1 kan by each opponent.
Sometimes, a liability rule is applied: If one of the opponents willingly placed the final month card on the field to be captured, and the player aiming for the diving bonus captures it on their very next turn, then that opponent pays 2 kan, and the other pays nothing.
This does not apply if the opponent played that card on their final turn (since they have no choice in the matter).
¶ Escape
Escape [抜け役 - ぬけやく, nukeyaku] is available to any player who claimed a Group B teyaku other than One Bright.
If this player, by the end of the round, has managed to capture 89 or more total card points, then they are paid 1 kan by each opponent.
¶ End of the Game
The game proceeds for as many rounds as were agreed upon—typically 12. Once all the rounds have been played, the player with the highest total score is the winner.
¶ Dekiyaku
Hachi-Hachi is notably slim on dekiyaku compared to other Hana-Awase fishing games. The ones it does have are all common to multiple other games.
Five Brights and Four Brights are mutually exclusive, but outside of that, all points earned from dekiyaku are cumulative.
A liability rule is sometimes applied to the Four Brights, Poetry Ribbons and Blue Ribbons dekiyaku, along with Boar, Deer, Butterflies if included.
If a player is one card short of possessing one of these dekiyaku, an opponent deliberately leaves the remaining card on the table to be captured, and the player captures it on their very next turn, then the discarding opponent pays double what they otherwise would for that dekiyaku at scoring time, while the other opponent pays nothing for it.
This does not apply if the opponent plays that card during their very last turn (since they have no choice in the matter).
| Value (in kan) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Five Brights 五光 [ごこう, gokou] |
     |
| 10 | Four Brights 四光 [しこう, shikou] |
|
| 10 | Seven Ribbons 七短 [ななたん, nanatan] |
Any 7 Ribbon cards, excluding the Willow Ribbon. This yaku is worth an extra +1 kan for each additional Ribbon, including the Willow Ribbon! |
| 7 | Poetry Ribbons 赤短 [あかたん, akatan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons:   |
| 7 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons:   |
| 7 | Boar, Deer, Butterflies 猪鹿蝶 [いのしかちょう, inoshikachou] |
   This yaku is not present in most versions, but appears in Nintendo’s Hachi-Hachi leaflet included with their hanafuda decks. |
¶ Hachi-Hachi for Two Players
While Hachi-Hachi works best with a minimum of three players, it can be adapted for two players with a few adjustments. It may occasionally occur during a game with 4+ players if, during the drop-out phase, all but two players drop out.
The deal is the same as for three players- 7 cards in each player’s hand, 6 on the field, and the remainder of the deck as a draw pile.
The game then proceeds as in the three player version. The field multiplier is determined, teyaku are claimed, the round is played, and scores are determined at the end. There are only two differences:
Firstly, special achievements are not recognised, and neither are All Eights, Double Eights, or Sixteen Chaff.
Secondly, if the round ends without any dekiyaku being formed, then the scoring is slightly different. While each player still counts their captured card points to determine the winner, comparing against the par value of 88 only makes sense with three players. Instead, the players calculate the following:
Payment = (Winner's Total Card Points - Loser's Total Card Points) x Field Multiplier
This amount is then paid to the winner by the loser.
¶ Hachi-Hachi for 4-6 Players
While only three players take part in any given round—using the rules as described above—it is entirely possible for 4-6 players to participate in the game as a whole. Indeed, many accounts consider it preferable to have a minimum of 4 players, since this introduces an additional drop-out phase at the beginning of each round and adds to the depth of the game.
When playing with 4 or more people, not every player will participate in every round, so Hachi-Hachi with more than 3 people tends to be played for a full 12-round year at minimum. Campaign games are also seen, in which one full year is played for every person at the table! Whatever the case, the length of the game should be decided beforehand.
¶ Initial Setup
The dealer is chosen as usual, and the cards are dealt to each player as previously described- 7 cards to each player and 6 to the field, with the remainder as the draw pile.
If 6 people are playing, then there will be nothing left of the deck to serve as a draw pile, but this will be remedied at the end of the dropout phase.
Misdeals are checked for, and the field multiplier is determined as usual.
Then, the players pick up their cards, and the dropout phase begins.
¶ The Dropout Phase
Each player then evaluates their hand to decide if they would like to play this round, or sit out.
Beginning with the dealer and moving anti-clockwise, each player announces if they would like to play, or drop out. This proceeds until three players have announced their intent to play, or until everyone has had their turn, whichever comes first.
To discourage needless dropping out, a dropout penalty [逃げ料 - にげりょう, nige-ryou] is imposed. The first player who chooses to drop out pays 1 kan. The second pays 1 and a half kan, the third pays 2 kan, and so on, with the fee increasing by half a kan each time. These payments are held in a pot, which will be claimed by the player who wins the round.
If fewer than three players wish to play, then the situation can be handled in various ways. If only two players wish to play, then they may either agree to split the pot evenly (in which case the round is considered over before it began, and the next round begins, presumably with the same dealer), or they may compete for its contents by playing a round of 2 player Hachi-Hachi.
If only one player wishes to play, then obviously no game can occur. This sole remaining player is the de facto winner of the round, and claims the entire contents of the pot.
If nobody wishes to play, then a misdeal is declared; the cards are thrown in and re-dealt.
Some versions of the game require that three people play, no matter what. As soon as all but three players have dropped out, the remainder must participate in the round. Sometimes this restriction is only imposed in the later rounds of the game.
As soon as three people decide to play, then any players who have not yet had their turn to decide are forced out [追い込み - おいこみ, oikomi]. Since these players may well have valuable hands that they were eager to play, they are paid hand compensation based on the value of their hand.
The total compensation is the sum of the following:
- Half the value of the hand’s teyaku score.
- Half the value of any complete dekiyaku in the hand.
- 3 points for every card in the hand that contributes to either the Five Brights, Poetry Ribbons, Blue Ribbons, or Boar, Deer, Butterflies (if used) dekiyaku, and which are not already included in a teyaku or dekiyaku.
This compensation is paid to the player by each of the two non-dealer active players.
Note that the field multiplier is determined before the dropout phase begins. Because, yes, it applies to dropout penalties and hand compensation as well.
Since the dropout phase is a kind of prelude before the round ‘officially’ begins, note that dropout penalties and hand compensation are not cancelled by the exceptional circumstances of All Eights, Double Eights, or Sixteen Chaff.
If the dealer chooses to drop out, then the player to their right becomes the dealer for the round. If this player then drops out, the player to their right becomes the dealer, and so on.
Some versions of the game allow a player who is forced out to barter with one of the players who decided to play, in order to buy them out of the game and play in their place. The minimum amount to be offered when trying to buy a player out should be at least the hand compensation value of that player’s hand, though room for negotiation is possible.
Once the active players have been determined, then the non-active players place their hands face-down on top of the draw pile. The draw pile should then probably be shuffled by one of the non-active players before play begins.
¶ Gameplay
Once the three active players are determined, the round is played exactly as described in the main bulk of this page. Teyaku are claimed, the hands are played, and scores are determined.
The winner of the round will claim the pot of dropout penalties, then the next round begins with a new dropout phase.
¶ Hachi-Hachi for 7 Players
While probably best with 4-6 people, Hachi-Hachi can be adjusted very simply to accommodate 7 players.
This tweak makes use of the additional blank card included with many hanafuda decks. The blank card is shuffled into the deck, then the dealer gives each player 7 cards. No cards are dealt to the field.
Whichever player holds the blank card must announce this fact. This player drops out, and takes no further part in the current round. They are not paid anything, nor do they pay anything to the other players (this includes dropout penalties, hand compensation, etc.).
The 6 non-blank cards in this player’s hand are placed face-up on the table to become the field. Play then proceeds as in 6 player Hachi-Hachi. The blank card is set aside and plays no further part in the round. (I suggest using it as a dealer marker.)
¶ Variations and Additional Rules
¶ Dealer Hand Swap
After the cards are dealt, but before the players look at their hands, any player may ask to swap their hand for the dealer’s hand. Accounts vary as to whether each player can do this only once, or as many times as desired.
Note that you are swapping for the dealer’s hand, not with the dealer. For example, if Player A calls to swap with the dealer, then other players must now call to swap with Player A, since they hold the dealer’s hand.
¶ Special Achievement: Dealer’s Hand
If, at the end of the round, the player who held the dealer’s hand has captured at least 89 total card points, then they are paid 1 kan by all other players, including the inactive ones (though not including the 7th player who was forced out by the blank card).
As a special achievement, these payments are cancelled if any of All Eights, Double Eights or Sixteen Chaff occur.
¶ Mizuten
After the cards are dealt, but before the players look at their hands, the dealer may declare their intent to play blind [不見転 - むずてん, mizuten]. Once this is declared, the dealer is committed to playing the round and may not drop out.
¶ Special Achievement: Mizuten
If the dealer, having declared their intent to play blind, manages to capture at least 89 card points by the end of the round, they are paid 1 kan by all other players, including the inactive ones (though not including the 7th player who was forced out by the blank card).
Conversely, if they fail to capture at least 89 card points, they must pay 1 kan to each of the other two active players.
As a special achievement, these payments are cancelled if any of All Eights, Double Eights or Sixteen Chaff occur.
¶ The Full Campaign
A full-length ‘campaign’ of Hachi-Hachi is typically played in the following manner, facilitated by the items found in a Hachi-Hachi play set.
These sets include go stones to serve as score tokens - black being 1 point, and white being 1 kan - along with baskets for each player to store them in. It also includes a number of kanfuda, or kan cards. These are small tokens bearing numbers - 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 being common ones - which are each worth their face value in kan.
At the beginning of the game, each player receives a starting number of points- for example, 25 kan- from the bank, which represents their buy-in.
Each player then immediately pays a pre-determined amount - for example, 5 kan - into a prize pot [褒美 - ほうび, houbi], which will be claimed by the final winner.
Hence, each player begins the game with an amount of go stones equal to their buy-in, minus the pot payment- in this example, 20 kan.
Play as many years (sets of 12 rounds) as there are players at the table. The play set includes a token shaped like a war fan to track the field multiplier, and a mizuten token to track when the dealer has gone in blind.
At the end of each round, the winner of the round puts 1 point in a dedicated pot, so that by the end of the year it will contain 12 points (1 kan, in the dozenal system). Often, this ‘pot’ is the lid of the box in which the play set is packaged, and possesses 12 small labelled intendations in which the stones are placed.
This ‘pot’ [番個板 - ばんこいた, bankoita (lit. ‘round-counting board’)] is used to help track the months, and at the end of the year its contents are given to the player with the fewest (or most, depending on source) total points.
Should a player run out of chips, they may borrow more from the bank. These loans come in fixed units, for example of 50 kan, and each is accompanied by a token indicating the debt. (In Nintendo play sets, these debt tokens are shaped like daruma dolls.)
The player with the highest total score at any point is known as ginmi [吟味 - ぎんみ, ginmi]. The play set includes a medal token, which is held by whichever player is currently ginmi. If a player is ginmi for three rounds in a row, they earn a bonus of 10 kan from each other player.
The player with the most total points at the end of the campaign is the winner. This player receives the contents of the prize pot. (in the event of a tie, this pot can be split.)
Lastly, debts must be settled. Each player subtracts their 25 kan buy-in (with an additional 50 kan subtracted for every debt token) to obtain their final scores.
¶ Bibliography
(todo: rework this)
- Hanafuda Games, from IndianWolf Studios
- Hanafuda - The Flower Card Game, compiled by Japan Publications, 1970
- https://vingel8.neocities.org/hachihachi.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20051125014841/http://hana.kirisame.org/hachihachi.html
- https://www.notion.so/Curriculum-eaa9ca175b1b4cff903db2dcc426b485
- http://kzpn200.blogspot.com/2015/02/rules-of-hachi-hachi-or-eighty-eight.html
- Nintendo’s Hachi-Hachi leaflet
- Nintendo’s Kosai no Tomo leaflet
- Book of American Hachi-ju-Hachi, by Kiku Ohata
- Hana-Awase, The Game of Japanese Cards, by Rossetsu Uchiyama, 1892 (despite the title, the game described in this book is undeniably Hachi-Hachi)
- Hana-Awase, The Game of Japanese Cards, by R. Hirai, 1916 (shares lots of sections/phrasing with the above, possibly a reprint/updated version?)