Ni-Shi-Roku (二四六, lit. “Two-Four-Six”) is a Hana-Awase variant for three players, with simple gambling rules. It is thought that the name of the game is in reference to the 2, 4, or 6 shares that could possibly be received by a player, depending on how the round ends.
The game only features 3 yaku: Four Brights, Poetry Ribbons, and Blue Ribbons. The gameplay is similar to Ichi-Ni-San, except that play does not stop when one of the yaku are made; instead, play continues until all players run out of cards.
Each player’s card points are then counted and subtracted by a par score of 88. The player with a positive score receives 1 share each from the other 2 players with negative scores (the winner receives 2 shares total). If two players have a positive score, they each receive 2 shares from the player with a negative score (the loser pays 4 shares total)
In addition, players who formed a yaku can receive additional shares from the other 2 players. A player cannot be paid for all of the yaku they formed; only the highest scoring yaku of a player will be paid for.
The player who formed Four Brights receives 2 shares each from the other 2 players (he/she receives 4 shares total). The player who formed a Ribbon Yaku receives 1 share each from the other 2 players (he/she receives 2 shares total).
The maximum amount of shares a player could receive in a round is 6 shares (by obtaining a positive score and forming Four Brights).
¶ Card Values
The card values used in Ni-Shi-Roku are completely standard, the same as used in Hachi-Hachi.
| Card Type | Value | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Bright | 20 | 5 |
| Animal | 10 | 9 |
| Ribbon | 5 | 10 |
| Chaff | 1 | 24 |
¶ Yaku
| Value | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 4 shares (2 from each player) | Four Brights 四光 [しこう, shikou] |
    |
| 2 shares (1 from each player) | Poetry Ribbons 赤短 [あかたん, akatan] |
The three Poetry Ribbons:    |
| 2 shares (1 from each player) | Blue Ribbons 青短 [あおたん, aotan] |
The three Blue Ribbons:    |
¶ Bibliography
- Kusaba, Jun. “In Search of Old Hanafuda Games.” Jun Kusaba’s Game Research Site, Jan.-Feb. 1995, https://sites.google.com/a/banjoyugi.net/kusabazyun/Home/reproductioned/history/kohanafuda.
- Ichinose, Takeshi “Atarashii Hanafuda Nyuumon"