Min-Hwatu (“민화투”, alternatively anglicised, e.g. “Minhwatu” or “Minhato”) is a 2-7 player (usually played with 2-4 players) game of Korean origin played using hwatu or hanafuda. Unlike its popular sibling game Go-Stop, this game is usually played without jokers and does not include a game-stopping mechanic. It also uses a different scoring mechanism and somewhat different yaku.
Min-hwatu’s name was ‘Hwatu’ before emergence of other games like Seotda or Go-Stop. (Link) But when these games took over, Koreans added ‘Min’ (which is a shortened form of ‘bland’ in Korean) to change the game name as Minhwatu, to indicate it being quite bland compared to other complex games. (Link 1, Link 2)
¶ Setup
Game setup involves choosing a dealer [선 - seon (first player) or 親 - おや, oya], shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards. A decision must also be made as to how many rounds the game will last - common options are 6 or 12 rounds, or until a certain point threshold has been met by any player. Any other house rules such as which yaku to use should also be established at this point in order to keep gameplay smooth and fair.
¶ Choosing the Dealer
There is no required method for selecting who is the first dealer, though a typical method in hanafuda games is to shuffle the deck and have both players draw one card each. Often in Korea, the player who drew a suit from the earliest month becomes the dealer in the night, and if both players drew from the same suit, the player drawing the lower point card becomes the dealer in the night. Vice versa in the day. This practition is called [밤일낮장 - bam-il naj-jang] and is used in other games, such as Go-Stop. In cases where there is a tie, this process can be repeated.
¶ Distributing the Initial Cards
Once the dealer has been selected, he or she shuffles the deck and sets up the table according to the number of players.
- 2 players: the dealer sends 8 cards face up to the table and 10 cards face down to each player.
- 3 players: the dealer sends 6 cards face up to the table and 7 cards face down to each player.
- 4 players: the dealer sends 8 cards face up to the table and 5 cards face down to each player.
- 5 players: the dealer sends 8 cards face up to the table and 4 cards face down to each player.
- 6 players: the dealer sends 12 cards face up to the table and 3 cards face down to each player.
- 7 players: the dealer sends 6 cards face up to the table and 3 cards face down to each player.
Any remaining cards in the deck will make up the draw pile.
Note: for 5-player games, usually 1 joker which counts as 10 points is added, or first player receives 10 points by default to set the total score to 250, since dividing 240 by 5 results in 48 which is hard to calculate with cards in the game. For 7-player games, 5 points are added instead of 10 points.
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Then, we look at the cards dealt:
- There is no dominant rule when a complete suit of 4 cards was dealt to the field. This might vary, but usually the dealer simply deals again.
- If 3 cards of a suit were dealt to the field, they are stacked together to signify that they will all be captured whenever the fourth is played.
When a player is dealt 4 cards of the same month in hand, there are no “lucky hands” [총통 - chongtong (president) or 手役 - てやく, teyaku] that would result in points earned at the initial deal in Min-hwatu and the play starts normally.
If you’re not familiar with the concept of suits, you can visit the suits page
¶ Gameplay
The dealer is the first to have a turn, after which play moves counterclockwise until each player has exhausted their hands.
¶ Turns
On your turn, choose one card from your hand to play to the field.
- If it matches suits with one card on the field, overlap the two, indicating that you will capture those cards.
- If it matches suits with two cards on the field, choose one of those two to capture with your card.
- If your played card matches three cards on the field, all 4 will be captured.
- If your played card does not have any matches on the field, it will simply become a field card.
After playing a card from your hand and making a match as is appropriate, flip over the top card from the deck and play it to the field in the same manner as above, again making a match by suit if possible.
If you make a match using the card from your hand, and then the card from the deck matches those two and no other cards on the field, you capture the card from your hand and and the card drawn first. The card drawn second stays on the field.
Once you have played a card both from your hand and the deck, collect any cards captured into your scoring area, organized by card type.
¶ End of Round
The current round ends when all players have used up their cards. At this point, all players tally the total value of their captured cards, as well as check 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 their captured cards’ point values,
- plus the value of any yaku they captured times the number of players,
- minus the value of any yaku made by another player.
The total number of points distributed each round will be always 240.
Note: In real-life 5-player games the score total is usually 250 due to a 10-point joker or bonus 10 points. This may not apply in digital games.
The player who scored the most points in a given round becomes the dealer for the subsequent round. At the end of the game, the winner is the player who amassed the most points.
¶ Card Values
The values of each card are identical to those used in Hachi-Hachi, with the exception of Chaff cards, which earn no points.
| Card Type | Value | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Bright (gwang, 광) | 20 | 5 |
| Animal (yeol-kkeut, 열끗) | 10 | 9 |
| Ribbon (tti, 띠) | 5 | 10 |
| Chaff (pi, 피) | 0 | 24 |
¶ Yaku
There are 6 yaku (‘약’ in Korean) that are always used this game, but some versions include additional yaku, which will be listed in a separate table.
¶ Core Yaku
| Point Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Poetry Ribbons (hongdan, 홍단) |    |
| 30 | Blue Ribbons (cheongdan, 청단) |    |
| 30 | Grass Ribbons (chodan, 초단) |    |
| 20 | Four Irises (choyak, 초약) |    |
| 20 | Four Maples (poongyak, 풍약) |    |
| 20 | Four Willows (biyak, 비약) |     |
¶ Additional Yaku
The following yaku are not always used, and should be agreed upon prior to the first round of play. They have higher point values and thus greater impact on the game than the core yaku when captured, which may engender a more exciting gaming experience.
| Point Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | Five Birds (godori, 고도리) |    |
| 50 | Five Brights (oh-gwang, 오광) |     |
| 20 | Four Paulownias (ttongyak, 똥약) |    |
Additional yakus below this paragraph are attested in some English sources, but have yet to be found among written Korean sources.
| Point Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | Five Brights | |
| 150 | Springtime | |
| 150 | The Grand Views* |  |
| 100 | The Views* | |
| 50 | Boar, Deer, Butterflies |   |
* please note that points may only be earned for one of the two “views” yaku.
¶ Bibliography
- Johnson, Jason, and Antonietta Fazio-Johnson. Hanafuda Games, Hanami ed., IndianWolf Studios, 2017, pp. 49-52.
- kzpn200. Hana-Awase, or Flower Pairings, a Basic Game of Hanafuda (Flower Cards), 8 Feb. 2015, kzpn200.blogspot.com/2015/02/hana-awase-or-flower-pairings.html.
- “Minhwatu.” Hana Kirisame, web.archive.org/web/20050204084516/hana.kirisame.org/minhwatu.html.
- Pearson, Randy L. “Minhato Game.” BamaFolks, www.bamafolks.com/randy/minhato/game.html.
- 미래컨텐츠창작연구소, 화투의 기술, 21세기북스, 2015, pp. 116-129.
- 왕이로소이다 (copied from defunct Hangame Min-Hwatu rules page). 화투-민화투 치는 법, 2 May. 2012, cafe.daum.net/cheldoarirang/5wkm/234.
- “A Korean Wha Tu (Flower Card) Game”, Korean Air, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x4snur4algi1dhb/AABpj1zMjQm5P1iWr83pzLb5a/Rules/Hwatu - Korean Air 1.jpg?dl=0, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x4snur4algi1dhb/AAD5obKvxaJQZmQpbjyE0V78a/Rules/Hwatu - Korean Air 2.jpg?dl=0
