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Hanahuda, also known as Hanakuda or Palauan Hanafuda, is a Hana-Awase variant for two to four players, with slightly different scoring, played in Palau.
For the purposes of this ruleset, terms in Palauan language are introduced in [square brackets].
¶ The Suits
| # | Month | Icon | English Name | Japanese Name | Palaun Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January |  |
Pine | Matsu | Mats/Sechou |
| 2 | February |  |
Plum Blossom | Ume | Chume |
| 3 | March |  |
Cherry Blossom | Sakura | Sakura |
| 4 | April |  |
Wisteria | Fuji | Mases |
| 5 | May |  |
Iris | Ayame | Chudel |
| 6 | June |  |
Peony | Botan | Bara |
| 7 | July |  |
Bush Clover | Hagi | Babii |
| 8 | August |  |
Susuki Grass | Susuki/Bozu | Buil |
| 9 | September |  |
Chrysanthemum | Kiku | ? |
| 10 | October |  |
Maple | Momiji | Ska |
| 11 | November |  |
Willow | Yanagi/Ame | Nisoro |
| 12 | December |  |
Paulownia | Kiri | Kiri |
¶ The Card Types
¶ Brights [Okeiim] (worth 50 points)
Consists of all Bright cards, plus the Bush Warbler. There are 6 cards in total.
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¶ Animals [Teruich] (worth 10 points)
Consists of all Animal cards except the Bush Warbler, plus the Yellow Paulownia Junk. There are 9 cards in total.
         |
¶ Ribbons [Tang] (worth 0 points*)
Consists of all Ribbon cards. They don’t have any point values but they can form Yaku [Yak]. There are 10 cards in total.
          |
*Some players play that the Ribbons are worth 5 points. Decide first the value of the Ribbons before playing.
¶ Chaffs [Kas] (worth 0 points)
Consists of all Chaff cards except the Yellow Paulownia Chaff. They have no point values and do not form Yaku. There are 23 cards in total.
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¶ Setup
Game setup involves choosing a dealer, shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards.
Before the game starts, players must decide what will be the target score for the game. The player who reaches this target score wins the game. (Usually 5000 points is used as the target score.)
¶ Choosing the Dealer
No method is stipulated for choosing the 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.
¶ Distributing the Initial Cards [merous]
Dealer shuffles the cards, and the player to his/her right may choose to cut the cards.
After shuffling the deck, the player to the dealer’s right chooses whether to have the cards dealt on the field first, or to the players first (starting with the player to the dealer’s right, counterclockwise). The dealer then deals the cards.
For 2 players, 10 cards are dealt in each hand, and 10 cards face-up on the field.
If cards are dealt this way, the deck will run out of cards as soon as there is 1 card left in each player’s hand. It is not explained how to deal with this situation, though it is most likely that the remaining turns consist only of playing a card from the hand.
For 3 players, 9 cards are dealt in each hand, and 9 cards face-up on the field.
If cards are dealt this way, the deck will run out of cards as soon as there are 5 cards left in each player’s hand. It is not explained how to deal with this situation, though it is most likely that the remaining turns consist only of playing a card from the hand.
For 4 players (team-play), 8 cards are dealt in each hand, and 8 cards face-up on the field.
If cards are dealt this way, the deck will run out of cards as soon as there are 6 cards left in each player’s hand. It is not explained how to deal with this situation, though it is most likely that the remaining turns consist only of playing a card from the hand.
The remainder of the deck is placed face-down to form the draw pile.
If any player has three cards of the same month in hand [chitsiobiki], that player can have one of those cards traded for a new card from the deck. Other players may ask that player to reveal all three cards to them.
¶ Misdeals
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.
¶ Gameplay (for 2-3 players)
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 is similar to Hana-Awase.
¶ 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 Chaffs) 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. [In Palaun, drawing a card is called omkais.]
After both cards have been played- one from the player’s hand, and one from the draw pile- the turn ends, and the next player takes their turn.
¶ End of Round and Yaku [Yak] Scoring
The current round ends when all players have used up their cards. If there are any cards left on the field at this point, they simply stay there and do not play any role in scoring.
At this point, all players check their captured cards for any Yaku made, according to the charts in the following sections.
A player’s score for the round is calculated as the sum of the values of Yaku captured.
Whoever scored the least points in this round becomes the dealer for the next round.
All players’ current scores are recorded, and all players’ cumulative scores (the sum of scores obtained from all rounds up to that point) are checked to see if a player has reached the target score.
If no one has reached the target score, then a further round is played; otherwise, the game ends.
There are two Yaku that can stop the round prematurely: Six Brights and Seven Ribbons. if you form any one of these Yaku during gameplay, then you can choose to either continue the round or stop it and claim the points. This method is similar to Koi-koi.
If you formed Six Brights or Seven Ribbons and decided to stop the round, then you get points for only that Yaku (Six Brights or Seven Ribbons), all other Yaku you formed are nullified, and other player(s) do not get any points for that round whether they have a Yaku or not. You become the dealer for the next round.
¶ Card Points Scoring
If no player has formed a Yaku, then the card points for Brights (50pts.) and Animals (10pts.) are counted instead.
A player’s score for the round is calculated as the sum of the values of the cards captured.
Whoever scored the least points in this round becomes the dealer for the next round.
All players’ current scores are recorded, and all players’ cumulative scores (the sum of scores obtained from all rounds up to that point) are checked to see if a player has reached the target score.
If no one has reached the target score, then a further round is played; otherwise, the game ends.
¶ End of Game
The game ends when a player reaches the target score (usually 5000 points). The player who reaches the target score wins the game.
¶ List of Yaku [Yaks]
Points from multiple Yaku stack, with the following exceptions:
- All the Brights Yaku are mutually exclusive.
- All Viewing Yaku are mutually exclusive.
In these cases, the player claims the most valuable of the mutually exclusive yaks.
| Value | Name of Yak | Composition |
|---|---|---|
¶ Brights Yaku |
||
| 1000 | Six Brights [Arasi] |
This Yak can stop the round. |
| 700 | Five Brights (without Plum) [Kokok] |
|
| 500 | Four Brights (without Plum and Rainman) [Skok] |
|
| 400 | Plum with Pine, Paulownia, Baldy* [Chume Mats Kiri Bo] |
* This Yaku is optional. (Decide first whether or not to use this Yaku before playing.) |
| 300 | Pine, Paulownia, Baldy [Mats Kiri Bo] |
|
| 300 | Plum, Pine, Sakura [Chume Mats Sakura] |
|
¶ Viewing Yaku |
||
| 300 | Drinking [Teppo] |
Combination of the two Ippai: |
| 150 | Flower Viewing with Sake [Ippai] |
|
| 150 | Moon Viewing with Sake [Ippai] |
|
¶ Other YakuNote: All the Yaku in this group stack with each other! |
||
| 10000 | Nine Animals [Toyak] |
*some people play such that the Bush Warbler is included, and that the Yaku is worth 5000 points. |
| 700 | Seven Ribbons [Nanatang] |
Any 7 Ribbon cards (Willow Ribbon is also included). This Yak can stop the round. |
| 300 | Boar, Deer, Butterflies [Inoskasio] |
|
| 200 | Three Willows [Nisoro] |
Three cards of the Willow suit, excluding the Lightning card: |
| 150 | Poetry Ribbons [Kodangko] |
The three Poetry Ribbons: |
| 150 | Blue Ribbons [Chauotang] |
The three Blue Ribbons: |
| 100 | Grass Ribbons [Ksaiak] |
The three Plain Ribbons, excluding the Willow Ribbon: |
¶ Gameplay for 4 players (Team-play)
If playing with 4 players, then players on opposite sides of the table are a team. Each team shares one capture area, and scores are calculated per team instead of per player. Otherwise, the gameplay is the same as the rules mentioned above.
It is not explained which person in the team becomes the dealer if the team loses in a round. This should probably be decided via a house rule.
In a team, only one player collects and arranges the captured cards of that team. [This is known in Palauan as omechobech.]
The game ends when a team reaches the target score (usually 5000 points). The team who reaches the target score wins the game.