Suhara-bana [須原花], is a Hana-awase variant for 4 to 5 players. It is played in the Suhara Area of Okuwa Village, Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture of Japan. It features a complicated scoring and payment system (which makes it suitable for cash gambling), a large amount of captured combinations, and many gameplay mechanics comparable to those of Hachi-Hachi.
¶ Preliminaries
¶ Equipment
Suhara-bana is played with a standard hanafuda deck of 48 cards.
Plates of go stones will be required for keeping track of scores. A full plate (一本, hitomoto) should contain 11 white stones and 6 black stones.
The number of plates in the game should be equal to the number of players plus 2. The two extra plates (二本, futamoto) will be used for borrowing.
Also, prepare indicators for the current round and the type of field in the game. Usually, a set of 12 cards representing the 12 months bound together in a key ring is used for indicating the current round, and a set of 3 cards with “small”, “middle”, and “main” written on them is used for indicating the type of field.
For the purpose of these rules, it is assumed that players are not playing for money. Prepare pieces of paper with numbers on them, which will represent the final scores of the game. (7 pieces of ‘100’ bills, 50 pieces of ‘10’ bills, and 50 pieces of ‘5’ bills.)
¶ Number of Players
Suhara-bana is usually played with 4 to 5 players. However, the game only supports having 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.
¶ A Note on Scoring
Suhara-bana, as a gambling game, employs a zero-sum scoring system.
Scores held by the players are represented in stones, and each white stone is worth 4 black stone.
Payments within the game are represented in two other scoring units: Points (点, ten), and Cups (杯, hai). Cups is the unit used for counting dekiyaku values, and is worth 20 points. At the end of the game, the stones are converted into the “final score” (if playing for money, the stones are converted into cash payment instead).
Payment values in points/cups are fixed throughout the game; however, their exchange rate in stones depends on the type of field in the game. Every time the type of field is changed, the value of stones becomes halved (effectively doubling the payment of stones).
| Field Type | Value of White Stone | Value of Black Stone |
|---|---|---|
| Small Field | 20 pts. | 5 pts. |
| Middle Field | 10 pts. | 2.5 pts. |
| Main Field | 5 pts. | 1.25 pts. |
The game starts at Small Field, and once a player runs out of stones, he/she borrows one plate from the futa-moto, and the field changes to Middle Field.
If during Middle Field a player runs out of stones, he/she borrows the 2nd plate from the futa-moto, and the field changes to Main Field.
If during Main Field a player runs out of stones, the game ends.
¶ Setup
Game setup involves distributing the initial points, choosing a dealer [親 - おや, oya], shuffling the deck, and distributing the initial cards.
Unlike many hanafuda games, Suhara-bana does not stop when 12 rounds have been played; the round indicator resets to January, and the game continues. The game ends only if a player runs out of the stones after the futa-moto has already been borrowed.
¶ Distributing the Initial Points
Each player starts with one full plate of stones, containing 11 white stones and 6 black stones (at this time, the plate is worth 250 points).
The two extra plate of stones are set aside on the table.
¶ Choosing the Dealer
Each player draws 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 player with the most card points during a round becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Dealing the Cards
The dealer shuffles the deck, and the player to the left of the dealer [(乙 - おと, oto] 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.
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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.
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Also, If 3 cards of the same month as the month on the round indicator, then a misdeal is declared. In this case, the cards are thrown in, shuffled again, and re-dealt.
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If a player has 4 cards of the same month in their hand, they must show them to all participants and return them into the deck. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals the player four new cards.
After all players have checked their cards, 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 [ハント, hanto] of 30 pts. is imposed. These payments are held in a pot, which will be claimed by the player who formed the highest scoring dekiyaku during the round.
¶ Dropout Penalty in stones
During Small Field: 30 pts. = 1 white stone + 2 black stone
During Middle Field: 30 pts. = 3 white stones
During Main Field: 30 pts. = 6 white stones
If a player is unable to afford to pay the dropout penalty, then he/she cannot drop out and must play.
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 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).
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.
Players may also agree to 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.
As soon as three people decide to play, then any players who have not yet had their turn to decide are forced out. These players do not have to pay the dropout penalty. Since these players may well have valuable hands that they were eager to play, one of them could opt to chase the players who wish to play until one of them drops out.
¶ The Chasing Phase
The player who wants to chase declares “Bou” (追う), and each player who declared to play, starting with the dealer (or the person nearest to the dealer’s right), must declare again whether to play or drop out.
If one of the players drops out, the chasing player takes their place in the game. If neither of the first two players drop out, the third player is forced out and the chasing player takes their place. Players who are chased do not need to pay the dropout penalty.
The player who has chased must reach the par score during that round. If he/she gets a score lower than the par score, he/she must pay a chasing penalty of 20 pts. to each of the players who were chased.
¶ Chasing Penalty in stones
During Small Field: 20 pts. = 1 white stone
During Middle Field: 20 pts. = 2 white stones
During Main Field: 20 pts. = 4 white stones
If a player is unable to afford to pay the chasing penalty, then he/she cannot chase.
The player nearest to the right of the player who dropped out or is forced out during the chasing phase takes the dealer role (he/she gets to play first during gameplay), and the player who has chased sits on the new dealer’s left.
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 be shuffled by the player to the dealer’s left before play begins.
¶ 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 Suhara-bana is typical of games in the Hana-Awase family, although it has some additional rules of its own.
¶ 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 must capture the card with the lower score. If one of cards on the table is a Chaff, the player can choose to capture the scoring card.
- 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 (see “End of Round and Scoring”) 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.
¶ Shoi-fuda
Shoi-fuda (背負い札, lit. “burden cards”) are cards in a player’s hand that, when discarded into the field, could be captured by one of the other two players to complete their yaku (due to having only one card missing from the yaku).
A player cannot play their shoi-fuda from their hand (they cannot discard it nor use it to capture a card on the table).
The player who illegally discards a shoi-fuda must be warned by the other two players, and the player must return it to their hand. It is not known what will be the penalty for deliberately disobeying this rule; it is probable that responsibility rules similar to those in Hachi-hachi was imposed.
However, there are three exceptions:
- If the shoi-fuda belongs to a Dekiyaku that is not yet formed but is either completely in your hand, or partially in your hand and partially in your captured cards. You must declare “Teyaku desu” (手役です) before playing.
The term ‘Teyaku’ here refers to a complete set of Dekiyaku cards either completely in your hand, or partially in the hand and partially in your captured cards. It is different from the standard definition of ‘teyaku’, which typically means a set formed in a player’s hand.
- If two of your shoi-fuda are of the same month. You must declare “Ni-mai mochi” (2枚持ち) before playing one of the shoi-fuda, and you must play the other shoi-fuda during your next turn.
If you have both shoi-fuda and non-shoi-fuda cards in your hand, as long as one of the two above conditions of shoi-fuda are met, you may choose to play either kinds of cards.
- If all of the cards in your hand are shoi-fuda. You must play the card that forms the lowest-scoring yaku that can be completed by another player.
¶ End of Round and Scoring
The round ends when all players have run out of cards in their hands.
Scoring payments are calculated and settled in two phases: Card points scoring and Dekiyaku scoring.
The following sections will outline each of these two phases.
¶ Card Points Scoring
The rank system, as well as the values of the cards, are non-standard, and they are as follows:
| Card Type | Value (in points) | Number in Deck |
|---|---|---|
| Brights* | 30 | 4 |
| Boar, Geese, Deer | 20 | 3 |
| Other Animals* | 10 | 7 |
| Ribbons | 5 | 10 |
| Chaffs | 0 | 24 |
*The Rainman is considered an Animal card instead of a Bright.
The total point value of the entire deck is 300. Since there are three players, and each player could conceivably earn exactly 100 points (one third of 300), the players are only awarded for card points earned in excess of the par value of 100.
Remember that a player who has chased must earn 100 points or more during the round; otherwise, he/she must pay the chasing penalty to the chased players.
¶ Low Man Out
If a player’s captured card points is 15 or less, he/she automatically wins the round. He/she receives a payout from every player in and outside the round, and becomes the dealer for the next round. (Dekiyaku will not be counted.)
All payments in points must be converted into stones.
| Captured card points |
Low Man Out Payout (in points) |
Small Field | Medium Field | Main Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-15 | 20 pts. | 1 white stone | 2 white stones | 4 white stones |
| 6-10 | 40 pts. | 2 white stones | 4 white stones | 6 white stones |
| 1-5 | 60 pts. | 3 white stones | 6 white stones | 9 white stones |
If a player has no captured card points, he/she automatically wins the game and takes all players’ stones.
¶ Totalling Card Point Scores and Payment
Each player determines their score as follows:
Player's Score = (Total of Player's Captured Card Points - 100)
This will be the total amount of points won or lost by each player. Players with a negative score must pay points to those with a positive score.
Example 1:
Player A : 130 points – 100 = 30 points
Player B : 90 points – 100 = -10 points
Player C : 80 points – 100 = -20 points
Player B pays 10 points to Player A, and Player C pays 20 points to Player A.
Example 2:
Player A : 130 points – 100 = 30 points
Player B : 105 points – 100 = 5 points
Player C : 65 points – 100 = -35 points
Player C pays 30 points to Player A and 5 points to Player B.
All payments in points must be converted into stones.
| Field Type | Value of White Stone | Value of Black Stone |
|---|---|---|
| Small Field | 20 pts. | 5 pts. |
| Middle Field | 10 pts. | 2.5 pts. |
| Main Field | 5 pts. | 1.25 pts. |
Example: Player A must pay 25 points to Player B.
During Small Field: 25 pts. = 1 white stone + 1 black stone
During Middle Field: 25 pts. = 2 white stones + 2 black stones
During Main Field: 25 pts. = 5 white stones
If you run out of stones while doing the payment, you pay all of your stones. You don’t have to pay for the shortage.
In the (unlikely) event of a tie between all 3 players, then the entire round is considered “misdealt” and the entire round must be started all over again.
The player with the highest score becomes the dealer for the next round. If two players are tied, the player nearest to the dealer’s left becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Dekiyaku Scoring
After the card points have been settled, players then check their captured cards for Dekiyaku.
Dekiyaku are measured in cups (杯, hai). Each cup is worth 20 points.
¶ Stones per Cup
During Small Field: 1 cup = 1 white stone
During Middle Field: 1 cup = 2 white stones
During Main Field: 1 cup = 4 white stones
¶ Dekiyaku
All Dekiyaku are mutually exclusive; only the most valuable yaku is scored. There are a few exceptions (See Stacked Dekiyaku).
| Value (in cups) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Four Brights 四本役 [shi-hon yaku (four-card yaku)] |
    |
| 4 | Crane, Full Moon, Phoenix 御老中 [goro-ju (elder middle)] |
When this Yaku is formed, all other players’ Yaku are nullified, except for Cards of the Month. Blue Ribbon Bonus is also unaffected. |
| 1 | Sun-Moon 日月 [jitsu-getsu (sun-moon)] |
|
| 2 | Large Birds 大鳥 [oh-tori (large birds)] |
Crane, Geese, Phoenix: |
| 2 | Spring 菅原 [sugawara] |
The highest scoring cards of the first 3 months: |
| 2 | Autumn 秋役 [akiyaku (autumn yaku)] |
Boar, Geese, Deer:  |
| 2 | Blue Ribbons ミム [mimu] |
The three Blue Ribbons:   In addition to its value in cups, the player who forms this Yaku gets a bonus of 50 points each from the players in the round, and 25 points each from the players outside the round. |
| 1 | Poetry Ribbons 小菅原 [ko-sugawara (small sugawara)] |
The three Poetry Ribbons:   |
| 1 | Grass Flowers 草花 [kusa-bana (grass flowers)] |
Bridge, Butterflies, Sake cup:   |
| 1 | Small Birds 小鳥 [ko-tori (small birds)] |
Bush warbler, Cuckoo, Swallow:  |
| 1 | Flower Viewing 花見 [hana-mi (flower-viewing)] |
Curtain, Sake cup: |
| 1 | Moon Viewing 月見 [tsuki-mi (moon-viewing)] |
Full moon, Sake cup: |
| 1 | Four of a Kind シマ [shima] |
Four cards of the same month, but not belonging to the month of the current round . Only the January  , February  , March  , August  , November  , or December  cards are counted. |
| 3 | Cards of the Month 通りシマ [dori-shima] |
Four cards belonging to the month of the current round. |
¶ Stacked Dekiyaku
| Value (in hai) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Four Brights + Geese | Values of both Four Brights and Large Birds are counted. |
| 6 | Crane, Full Moon, Phoenix + Geese 大鳥御老中 [oh-tori-goro-ju] |
Values of both Crane, Full Moon, Phoenix and Large Birds are counted. |
¶ Dekiyaku Payment
Each player compares their yaku value to the other two players. Players with a lower yaku value must pay the difference to the player with a higher yaku value.
Example:
Player A has 3 cups
Player B has 1 cup
Player C has 0 cups
Player B pays 2 cups to Player A.
Player C pays 3 cups to Player A, and 1 cup to Player B.
All payments in cups must be converted into stones.
During Small Field: 1 cup = 1 white stone
During Middle Field: 1 cup = 2 white stones
During Main Field: 1 cup = 4 white stones
If you run out of stones while doing the payment, you pay all of your stones. You don’t have to pay for the shortage.
¶ Awarding the Pot
After Dekiyaku payments have been settled, the player with the highest scoring Dekiyaku takes the pot (where all dropout penalties are placed).
However, if the highest scoring Dekiyaku during a round is only 1 or 2 cups, the player who formed it only takes a part of the pot, and the rest goes back (equally distributed) to the players who paid the dropout penalties.
If 3 players have the same yaku value, or none of the players have a yaku, then the dropout penalties go back to the players who paid them.
| HIGHEST SCORING DEKIYAKU WORTH: | 1 cup yaku | 2 cup yaku | 3-8 cup yaku |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 player who formed the yaku takes: | 1/3 of the pot | 2/3 of the pot | the entire pot |
| 2 players who have the same yaku value must split between: | 1/3 of the pot | 2/3 of the pot | the entire pot |
| 3 players have same yaku value: | Pot is not awarded. | Pot is not awarded. | Pot is not awarded. |
| Nobody forms a dekiyaku: | Pot is not awarded. | Pot is not awarded. | Pot is not awarded. |
¶ Running out of Stones and Changing of Field
After the round payments have been settled, if a player runs out of stones, then that player must borrow one of the two extra plates on the table, and declare “Tsugu!” (継ぐ, “continue”) to continue playing.
Once a player has borrowed the first extra plate, the type of field changes from Small Field to Middle Field.
Once the second extra plate has been borrowed, the type of field changes from Middle Field to Main Field.
¶ End of the Game and Final Scoring
The game ends once a player runs out of stones after the two extra plates have already been borrowed.
Players who have borrowed plates must deduct a full plate worth of stones (11 white stones and 6 black stones) from their total stones for each plate borrowed.
Players then count their stones, exchange them for bills, and determine the final score in bills.
¶ Exchange rate between Stones and Bills
Each ichi-moto (11 white stones + 5 black stones) is worth a ‘100’ bill.
If there are stones left, each “1 white stone + 1 black stone” is worth a ‘10’ bill.
If there are still white stones left, each remaining white stone is worth a ‘5’ bill.
On the other hand, if there are still black stones left, each remaining 2 black stones is worth a ‘5’ bill.
(if there is only 1 black stone left, it is dropped in the calculation)
The player with the highest final score in bills wins the game.