Kaga [加賀] is a Hana-awase variant for two players, played in the Kaga province in the Hokuriku region of Japan.
The game is unique in that its list of Dekiyaku includes a Four-of-a-kind for each of the 12 months, and it seems that players were expected to form as many Four-of-a-kinds as possible, since only a few cards have card points on them.
¶ Determining the Dealer
The first dealer is determined like in any typical hanafuda game.
¶ Distributing the Initial Cards
The dealer deals 8 cards to each player and 8 cards on the field.
If 4 cards of the same month appear on the field, it is a misdeal, and the dealer reshuffles the deck and deals again.
¶ Checking for Teyaku
Each player then checks their hand for a Teyaku. If they have, they may choose to expose it to the other player to claim the points.
Since it is a disadvantage to play with your hand exposed to the other player, a player may also choose not to expose the Teyaku. However, the player will not earn any points from a hidden Teyaku.
There are only 2 teyaku, and they both stack.
Each Teyaku is worth 100 points.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Four of a Kind 手四 [てし, teshi] |
Four cards from the same month. |
| Empty Hand 空素 [からす, karasu] |
Seven Chaff cards. |
Note that despite what its name suggests, “Empty Hand” refers to having at least seven Chaff cards in your hand, meaning the remaining 8th card in your hand could be any card.
¶ Gameplay
Gameplay is identical to Hana-awase, and the round ends when all players run out of cards.
¶ Scoring
The scoring is cumulative; every score obtained in each round adds to the total score of the player in the game.
A player’s score for each round is calculated as follows:
Player's Score = Card Points + Teyaku Points + Dekiyaku Points
Then, the difference between the players’ scores is calculated.
The player with the higher score wins the score difference.
The winner of the round becomes the dealer of the next round.
¶ Card Values
Only seven cards of a hanafuda deck have card points. Other cards are worth 0 points.
| Card Type | Value (in points) | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
Rainman |
20 | 1 |
Swallow |
10 | 1 |
Willow Ribbon |
5 | 1 |
Phoenix |
20 | 1 |
Paulownia Chaff   |
5 | 3 |
| Other Cards | 0 | 41 |
¶ Dekiyaku
Note that all Dekiyaku in this game stack; players get points for each Dekiyaku formed!
| Value (in points) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Four Brights 四光 [しこう, shikou] |
   |
| 100 | Poetry Ribbons 緋 [ひ, hi, “scarlet”] |
The three Poetry Ribbons:   |
| 100 | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons:   |
| 20 | Four-of-a-kind シマ [しま, shima] |
Four cards of the same month. There are 12 kinds of this Yaku for each of the 12 months, and they all stack. |
¶ Bibliography
- Takeshi Ichinose, “Atarashii Hanafuda Nyuumon”