Not to be confused with Teyaku (手役, hand combinations).
Taiyaku [大役], also known as Echigo-bana [越後花], is a local hanafuda game for 2 to 7 players, although it is best played with 4 or 5 players. It features a huge list of Yaku (hence the name), a fairly complicated set of rules, and a simple payment system, which makes it suitable for cash gambling.
It was played in the Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture) in Japan, using a regional pattern of Hanafuda (also called Echigo-bana), although a standard Hanafuda deck may also be used.
¶ Preliminaries
¶ Equipment
Taiyaku was traditionally played with a regional 48-card hanafuda deck called “Echigo-bana”.
This deck is structurally identical to a standard Hanafuda deck, and is only aesthetically different. The design of the cards are a copy of the old hanafuda patterns, with poems written on some of the Chaff cards; these poems have no gameplay purpose whatsoever. The deck only comes with a red back, so only 1 deck is needed for gameplay.
A standard Hanafuda deck may be used, in the absence of an Echigo-bana deck.
A supply of poker chips, go stones, or other tokens—preferably in multiples of 8, and in a large quantity—will be required for keeping track of scores. Scores can be kept on paper if required, but can be trickier.
In addition, a different set of tokens or counters may be helpful for the calculation of Dekiyaku scores.
¶ Number of Players
As with other hanafuda fishing games like Hachi-Hachi, Taiyaku only supports having two or 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.
For simplicity, these rules will describe the three-player version of the game first. However, this is not to imply that Taiyaku is fundamentally only a three-player game, or that it works best with three players. The choice of whether to stay or drop out is an interesting and strategic one, and it is commonly claimed the game is more exciting with larger groups.
¶ Setup (3 Players)
Game setup involves choosing the dealer [配り手, kubari-te], preparing the chips, shuffling the deck, distributing the initial cards, and choosing who plays first. As the game is designed for gambling, there is no attested limit to how many rounds should be played in a game, but it is recommended to adopt the typical hanafuda game standard of 12 rounds, one for each month of the year, although 6 round games (half a year) or even 3 round games (a season) may be played. Naturally, house rules should also be established at this point in order to keep gameplay smooth and fair.
This section describes game setup for three players; for more players, please see the “number of players” section.
¶ Choosing the Dealer
No method is stipulated for choosing the initial 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.
The winner of each round becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Preparing the Chips
Each player starts with an equal amount of chips for scoring.
At the beginning of each round, all players must take out 8 chips from their total chips in hand. This is the bet limit of each player per round, and a player may not lose more than 8 chips during one round (The purpose is so that a player may not lose a huge amount, if not all their chips during one round like in Hachi-hachi).
For the purposes of these rules, when the number of chips between each player are compared in the middle of the game, then it refers to the chips used during the round, not the total chips each player has.
¶ Dealing the Cards
The dealer shuffles the deck, and any other player may cut. Then, the dealer places 3 cards face-down to the table, and then, starting with the player to their right and moving counter-clockwise (↺), the dealer deals 4 cards to each player in turn. They then places a further 3 cards face-down to the table, and an additional 4 cards to each player.
In total, 8 cards are dealt to each player, and 6 cards to the table face-down to form the field.
The remainder of the deck is placed face-down next to the field to form the draw pile.
- 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.
¶ Choosing Who Plays First
Unlike in typical hanafuda games, being the dealer doesn’t guarantee that you get to play the first turn. Instead, the player who will play the first turn (hereinafter referred to as the Leader [親, oya]) is chosen at the beginning of each round, using a method similar to that used for choosing the dealer.
Starting with the dealer counter-clockwise, each player takes one card from the field, and reveals it. The player with the earliest month becomes the leader for that round. In case of a tie, the dealer or the player nearest to the dealer’s right is chosen as the leader.
Once the leader is chosen, all taken cards are returned to the field, and then all field cards are turned face-up.
¶ Teyaku
Players then check their hands for teyaku, or ‘hand combinations’ [手役 - てやく, teyaku], and score chips based on them.
This game has only 4 teyaku, and they are equally divided into two categories:
| Value (in chips) | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
¶ Group A: Chaff TeyakuNote: For the purposes of these teyaku, the  Sake Cup card is also considered as a Chaff. |
||
| 5 | Seven Empties 七空 [しちから, shichikara] |
Seven Chaff cards. |
| 7 | Eight Empties 八空 [はちから, hachikara] |
Eight Chaff cards. |
¶ Group B: Set Teyaku |
||
| 5 | Four-of-a-Kind 手四 [てし, teshi] |
Four cards from the same month. |
| 5 | Two Four-of-a-Kinds ふた手四 [ふたてし, futateshi] |
During a 2-player match, this Teyaku is worth 8 points. During a 3-player match, this Teyaku is not worth more than a single Four-of-a-Kind. |
The teyaku within each group are mutually exclusive, meaning that each player scores for their single most valuable teyaku in each of Groups A and B. In order to claim their teyaku, a player must reveal all the relevant cards from their hand:
- For teyaku in Group A, show all cards that are part of the combination.
- For teyaku in Group B, only the Chaff cards need to be shown.
The chips earned for teyaku are paid to a player by each of their two opponents, in typical zero-sum fashion.
Remember that a player cannot lose more than 8 chips per round; if a player runs out of these chips, they don’t have to pay for the shortage.
Once teyaku are claimed, the round begins, and the exposed cards remain exposed throughout the entire matching phase of the round. (Keep the exposed cards separate from the other cards on the table. These are technically still part of your hand.)
Should a player overlook certain teyaku, or otherwise forget to claim them, they have until the dealer takes the first card from the draw pile in order to do so. After this point, any unclaimed teyaku are void.
¶ Returning A Card to the Draw Pile
In typical 3-player hanafuda games, it is needed that each player must have 7 cards in hand and 6 cards on the field so that the draw pile runs out of cards at the same time all players run out of cards.
Since in Taiyaku, 8 cards are dealt to each player, players must return 1 card from their hand to the draw pile to reduce the number of cards in hand to 7. They must do this after players have exposed their teyaku or have confirmed that nobody has a teyaku.
A player without a teyaku may choose any 1 of the cards in their hand to return to the draw pile.
A player who has exposed certain teyaku has limited options to choose, depending on the teyaku they exposed.
| Name | Cards that can be returned to the draw pile |
|---|---|
| Seven Empties 七空 [しちから, shichikara] |
Only the non-Chaff card may be returned. |
| Eight Empties 八空 [はちから, hachikara] |
Any one card may be returned. |
| Four-of-a-Kind 手四 [てし, teshi] |
Only one of the cards not related to the Four-of-a-Kind may be returned. |
| Two Four-of-a-Kinds ふた手四 [ふたてし, futateshi] |
Any one card may be returned. |
It is for this reason that “Two Four-of-a-Kinds” teyaku is not worth more than a single “Four-of-a-Kind” teyaku during a 3-player game; By returning one of the cards into the draw pile, one of the Four-of-a-kinds would be broken.
After each player has returned a card into the draw pile, the draw pile is then shuffled by the player to the leader’s left, and the matching phase begins.
¶ Gameplay (Matching Phase)
In each round, the leader is the first to play, and turn to play passes counter-clockwise (↺) around the table. The core gameplay and turn structure of Taiyaku is typical of games in the Hana-Awase family, with the only exception being the first turn.
¶ The First Turn
The leader plays a card from their hand like normal.
Then they cut the draw pile in half, place the bottom half on top, and then draw a card from it. The drawn card is then played like normal, and the leader’s turn ends.
After the first turn, the gameplay for all remaining turns during the round is identical to Hana-awase.
¶ Dekiyaku That Stop the Round
One a player has played their two cards—one from their hand, and one from the draw pile—they check the contents of their score pile to see if they have formed any dekiyaku, or ‘built combinations’ [出来役 - できやく, dekiyaku].
Similar to the yaku in other games, dekiyaku are certain valuable combinations of cards that the players seek to assemble in their scoring piles. A complete list of dekiyaku and their point values are given further down the page.
Typically in Taiyaku, forming a dekiyaku does not stop the round. However, there are certain dekiyaku that do stop the round; The player who forms one wins the round immediately and takes all chips from the other players.
| Name of Dekiyaku | Composition |
|---|---|
| Five Brights 花魁 [おいらん, oiran] |
     |
| Fifteen Chaff | 15 Chaff cards. The Sake Cup card is also considered as a Chaff. |
| Front and Back 裏表 [うらおもて, ura omote] |
    |
| Six Red Ribbons 六短 [ろくたん, rokutan] |
Any 6 of:    |
| Three Blue Ribbons 青 [あお, ao] |
   |
¶ End of Round and Scoring
The round ends either when all players run out of cards in their hands, or if a player forms a dekiyaku that stops the round.
If all players run out of cards in their hands, players then check all the dekiyaku they formed during the round and makes a total of all the dekiyaku values to obtain their score.
Note that card points are irrelevant in this game; Since some dekiyaku consist of only one or two cards, rounds where there are no dekiyaku formed are extremely rare.
The player with the highest Dekiyaku score wins the round, and the loser(s) must pay chips to the winner equal to the difference of their score to that of the winner.
Example:
- Player A has a yaku score of 7 chips.
- Player B has a yaku score of 3 chips.
- Player C has a yaku score of 2 chips.
Player A wins.
- Player B pays Player A 4 chips.
(7 - 3 = 4) - Player C pays Player A 5 chips.
(7 - 2 = 5)
Remember that a player cannot lose more than 8 chips per round; if a player runs out of these chips, they don’t have to pay for the shortage.
If there are two winners, then the leader or the player to the leader’s right is declared winner. The loser only pays the declared winner.
If all players are tied, then the leader is declared winner. There will be no scoring settlement.
¶ End of the Game
The game proceeds for as many rounds as were agreed upon—typically 12. Once all the rounds have been played, the player with the highest total chips is the winner.
¶ Dekiyaku
Taiyaku is notable for its huge repertoire of dekiyaku compared to other Hana-Awase fishing games.
Each Dekiyaku are sorted into groups. Generally, all Dekiyaku within each group are mutually exclusive, with the exception of the Four-of-a-Kind yaku group and the Birds yaku group, with a few exceptions.
| Value (in chips) | Name of Yaku | Composition |
|---|---|---|
¶ Brights Yaku [吉原の役, yoshiwara no yaku] |
||
| Take all chips | Five Brights 花魁 [おいらん, oiran] |
THIS DEKIYAKU STOPS THE ROUND. |
| 12 | Four Brights (Dry 4) 十二吉原 [じゅうによしわら, jūni yoshiwara] |
|
| 10 | Rainy Four Brights 十吉原 [じゅうよしわら, jū yoshiwara] |
plus 3 of: |
| 5 | Night Cherry Blossoms 夜桜 [よざくら, yozakura] |
|
| 5 | Night and Day 夜昼 [よるひる, yoru hiru] |
|
| 5 | Night Phoenix | |
| 4 | Rainy Night | |
| 4 | Two Brights (Dry 2) | Any 2 of: |
| 3 | Rainy Two Brights | plus 1 of: |
¶ Drinking Yaku [呑みの役, nomi no yaku] |
||
| varies | Drinking 呑み [のみ, nomi] |
 plus any of: This yaku is worth 1 chip for each card listed, other than the Sake Cup. |
¶ Four-of-a-Kind Yaku [ぞろの役, zoro no yaku]Note: All of the Dekiyaku in this group stack. |
||
| 3 | Wisteria Row 藤ぞろ [ふじぞろ, fujizoro] |
   |
| 3 | Iris Row 杜若ぞろ [かきつばたぞろ, kakitsubatazoro] |
  |
| 2 | Bush Clover Row 萩ぞろ [はぎぞろ, hagizoro] |
   |
| 2 | Bright Row: Pine Row 松ぞろ [まつぞろ, matsuzoro] |
  |
| 2 | Bright Row: Cherry Blossom Row 桜ぞろ [さくらぞろ, sakurazoro] |
  |
| 2 | Bright Row: Susuki Grass Row 芒ぞろ [すすきぞろ, susukizoro] |
   |
| 2 | Bright Row: Willow Row 柳ぞろ [やなぎぞろ, yanagizoro] |
  |
| 2 | Bright Row: Paulownia Row 桐ぞろ [きりぞろ, kirizoro] |
   |
¶ Chaff Yaku [からの役, kara no yaku]Note: For the purposes of these dekiyaku, the Sake Cup card is also considered as a Chaff. |
||
| Take all chips | Fifteen Chaff | 15 Chaff cards. THIS DEKIYAKU STOPS THE ROUND. |
| 5 | Fourteen Chaff | 14 Chaff cards. |
| 4 | Thirteen Chaff | 13 Chaff cards. |
| 3 | Twelve Chaff | 12 Chaff cards. |
| 2 | Eleven Chaff | 11 Chaff cards. |
| 1 | Ten Chaff | 10 Chaff cards. |
¶ Spring Yaku [菅原の役, sugawara no yaku]Note: These refers to the high-scoring cards of the first three months. |
||
| Take all chips | Front and Back 裏表 [うらおもて, ura omote] |
THIS DEKIYAKU STOPS THE ROUND. |
| 7 | Front Spring 表 [おもて, omote] |
|
| 7 | Back Spring 裏 [うら, ura] |
|
¶ Red Ribbons Yaku [赤短の役, akatan no yaku] |
||
| Take all chips | Six Red Ribbons 六短 [ろくたん, rokutan] |
Any 6 of: THIS DEKIYAKU STOPS THE ROUND. |
| 7 | Five Red Ribbons | Any 5 of: |
| 5 | Four Red Ribbons | Any 4 of: |
| 4 | Three Red Ribbons | Any 3 of: |
| 2 | Two Red Ribbons | Any 2 of: |
| 1 | One Red Ribbon | Any 1 of: |
¶ Blue Ribbons Yaku [青短の役, aotan no yaku] |
||
| Take all chips | Three Blue Ribbons 青 [あお, ao] |
THIS DEKIYAKU STOPS THE ROUND. |
| 3 | Two Blue Ribbons | Any 2 of: |
| 1 | One Blue Ribbon | Any 1 of: |
¶ Birds Yaku [鳥の役, tori no yaku]Note: Generally the Dekiyaku in this group stack, with some exceptions. |
||
| 7 | Three Large Birds 大鳥 [おおとり, ōtori] |
|
| 3 | Three Small Birds 小鳥 [ことり, kotori] |
This dekiyaku is mutually exclusive with Two Small Birds. |
| 2 | Two Small Birds こと [koto] |
Any 2 of: This dekiyaku is mutually exclusive with Three Small Birds. |
| 2 | Cuckoo Night and Day | This dekiyaku is mutually exclusive with Cuckoo Night/Day. |
| 1 | Cuckoo Night/Day かかり [kakari] |
plus 1 of: This dekiyaku is mutually exclusive with Cuckoo Night and Day. |
¶ Butterflies Yaku [蝶の役, chō no yaku]Note: These dekiyaku are related to the Boar, Deer, and Butterflies cards. Generally all Dekiyaku in this group are mutually exclusive, with one exception. |
||
| 7 | No Kill むころし [mukoroshi] |
  |
| 3 | Boar, Deer, Butterflies 猪鹿蝶 [いのしかちょう, inoshikachou] |
|
| 2 | Kill ころし [koroshi] |
plus 2 of: |
| 2 | Butterflies and Phoenix きりん蝶 [きりんちょう, kirinchō] |
This dekiyaku stacks with other dekiyaku in this group. |
| 1 | Kill ころし [koroshi] |
plus 1 of: |
It is thought that the Rainman in this game is supposed to be Ono Sadakuro [斧定九郎], a character from the Kabuki play, “Kanadehon Chushingura” [仮名手本忠臣蔵]. In the play, he committed murder and robbery by killing Yoichibei and stealing 50 gold ryo, but was afterward shot at and killed by Hayano Kanpei, who mistook him for a wild boar.
¶ Taiyaku for Two Players
While Teyaku works best if three players are playing at once, it can be adapted for two players with a few adjustments. It may occasionally occur during a game with 4+ players if, during the drop-out phase, all but two players drop out.
The deal is the same as for three players- 8 cards in each player’s hand, 6 on the field, and the remainder of the deck as a draw pile.
The game then proceeds as in the three player version, except:
- The “Two Four-of-A-Kinds” yaku is now worth 8 points.
- The step of returning a card from the hand to the draw pile is omitted.
- When both players run out of cards, there will be cards left in the draw pile; these cards are no longer used during the round.
The scoring calculation and payment is the same as in the three player version.
¶ Taiyaku for 4-5 Players
While only two or three players take part in any given round—using the rules as described above—it is entirely possible for 4-5 players to participate in the game as a whole. Indeed, many accounts consider it preferable to have a minimum of 4 players, since this introduces an additional drop-out phase at the beginning of each round and adds to the depth of the game.
¶ Initial Setup
The dealer is chosen as usual, and the cards are dealt to each player as previously described- 8 cards to each player and 6 to the field, with the remainder as the draw pile.
Misdeals are checked for, and the leader is determined as usual, after which they flip all field cards face-up.
Then, the players pick up their cards, and 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 leader and moving counter-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 [逃げ駒 - にげこま, nige-koma] is imposed. Players who choose to drop out pays 1 chip. These payments are held in a pot, which will be claimed by the player who wins the round.
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 compete for its contents by playing a round of 2 player Taiyaku.
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.
As soon as three people decide to play, then any players who have not yet had their turn to decide are forced out [追い込み - おいこみ, oikomi]. Since these players may well have valuable hands that they were eager to play, they are all equally paid forced out compensation [追い駒 - おいこま, oikoma] by all of the players who have decided to play.
The value of the compensation is the sum of all of the following cards that appear in any of forced out players’ hands:
- Any of the 5 Bright cards. Worth 1 chip for each card.
- The Sake Cup. Worth 1 chip.
- Three Blue Ribbons in any one hand. Worth 4 chips.
Remember that a player cannot lose more than 8 chips per round; if the value of the compensation reaches 8 chips or more, then there can be no game since all players who have decided to play will have no chips left. In this case, the winner for this round is the player with the most chips.
If the leader chooses to drop out, then the player to their right becomes the leader for the round. If this player then drops out, the player to their right becomes the leader, and so on.
Some play such that the leader cannot drop out. This rule is called “Leader bind” [親縛り, oya shibari]
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 will be shuffled by the last player who dropped out (or the 3rd active player, if nobody dropped out).
¶ Gameplay
Once the two or three active players are determined, the round is played exactly as described in the main bulk of this page. Teyaku are claimed, the hands are played, and scores are determined.
The winner of the round will claim the pot of dropout penalties, then the next round begins with a new dropout phase.
¶ Taiyaku for 6-7 Players
While probably best with 4-5 people, Taiyaku can be adjusted to accommodate 6-7 players.
¶ Initial Setup
The dealer is chosen as usual, and the cards are dealt to only 5 players (The dealer and 4 players to the dealer’s right) as previously described- 8 cards to each player and 6 to the field, with the remainder as the draw pile.
The remaining 1 or 2 players must wait until the dropout phase for a chance to participate in the round.
Misdeals are checked for, and the leader is determined as usual, after which they flip all field cards face-up.
Then, the players pick up their cards, and the dropout phase begins.
¶ The Dropout Phase
The process is mostly the same as in the 4-5 player version, with a few differences:
- The first player to drop out must pass their hand to the 6th player. Also, they do not place the dropout penalty to the pot; instead, it is paid to the 6th player.
- If there are 7 players, then the second player to drop out must pass their hand, along with the dropout penalty, to the 7th player.
- If there are only 6 players, then the second player to drop places their dropout penalty onto the pot.
- Once the cards of a player who dropped out has been passed to another player, that player gets a turn to decide whether to join or drop out of the round.
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 will be shuffled by the last player who dropped out (or the 3rd active player, if nobody dropped out).
¶ Variations
¶ Koyaku [小役]
While this game appears in literature in name only, it is thought that the game might actually be Kaga, since it has similar, though decreased, Yaku to those in Taiyaku.
¶ Echigo-Bana with Onifuda [鬼入り越後花]
It is thought that the game may have been played with the “Onifuda” (demon card) included in the deck. However, the rules have not been documented in any literature.