Dare [誰 - ダレ (pronounced ‘dah-reh’), lit. ‘who?’] is a simple game based on luck in which players attempt to discard sets of 3 cards that have the same total value as that of the 3 cards on the field.
This game can be played by 2 to 4 players at the same time.
Similar games exist, such as Gomai-Kabu and Dorijitgo-ttaeng.
¶ Setup
Determine who will be dealer. If playing for money or points, set an agreed-upon bet size for the round.
¶ Equipment
39 cards of a kabufuda deck are used. Remove the Special 1 card (the red one).
The game has also been attested to be played using a one-suited mekurifuda deck called Komaru.
If needed, a kabufuda deck can be emulated with a hanafuda deck by removing the November and December suits and assigning a value to each of the cards equal to the month it represents (January = 1, February = 2, et cetera). If playing for money, chips or other small tokens should be used to represent points and assist in tracking bets.
¶ Gameplay
¶ Dealing and Determining the Reference Value
The dealer begins by dealing out 9 cards to each player’s hand, and 3 cards face-up on the field. The rest of the cards, if there are any, will not be used during the remainder of the round.
Each player then places the agreed ante for the round into the pot.
Next, the reference value of the field will be determined, which is a number that must be matched by the players during their turns.
Add up the card points of the cards on the field, and get the ones digit of that total. This will be the reference value during the round.
¶ Example
The dealer deals 9 cards to each player, and places 3 cards on the table face-up.
They happen to be an ace (1), a 7, and a 5.
The rest of the cards are set aside and are not used.
Each player places 5 chips into the pot, so now the pot has 15 chips.
The reference value is determined: 1+7+5=13.
The one’s digit of 13 is 3, therefore, the reference value is 3.
¶ Players’ Turns
Starting with the player seated at the dealer’s right and continuing counter-clockwise, each player looks at the cards in their hand, and discards sets of 3 cards whose total card points has a ones digit that matches the reference value. Put the discarded cards face-up onto the table near them, keeping the cards within a set close to each other but visible to all players.
- If a player manages to discard all 3 sets from their hand, that player becomes “Dare”. The round ends immediately and that player becomes the winner for that round.
- If a player manages to discard only 2 sets from their hand, then they are eligible to participate in the showdown provided that none of the following players become “Dare”.
- If a player manages to discard only 1 set from their hand, or completely fail to do so, then they are disqualified in the round (they lose that round).
¶ Example
A player has the following cards in hand:
ace (1), 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 9.
They can discard 1,3,9 (=13) and 3,5,5 (=13), and then pass his turn.
They will have the cards 2,3,4 (=9, which does not end in 3) remaining in hand, which will be used in the showdown provided that the next players don’t discard all cards from their hand.
¶ Showdown
If all players used up their turn and nobody becomes “Dare”, then it’s time for the showdown.
The hands of the qualified players are then counted in similar fashion to most kabu games: They count the total card points of their hand, and take the ones digit of the card points. The higher the ones digit, the stronger the hand is. (9 is strongest, 0 is weakest)
Yaku hands from Oicho-Kabu can also be used if desired. It must be agreed upon before playing the game.
The player with the best hand becomes the winner for that round.
A tie-breaking method must be agreed upon as a house rule.
¶ Winning
As shown above, there are two ways to win the round:
- Becoming “Dare” (discarding all cards in hand)
- Having the strongest hand in the showdown
The winner collects the pot and becomes the dealer for the next round.