Hiyoko (ひよこ, ‘chick’) was a Mekurifuda sequence game for 2 players. It is also known as Shosho (しょっしょ).
This game was originally played using a mekurifuda deck called Ise. It can also be played using Hanafuda; click here to see the rules using Hanafuda.
A variant of this game exists, called Isuri.
The rules written on this page is based on the rules used for hanafuda. It may or may not be the original rules for the game. NEEDS MORE DOCUMENTATION
¶ The Cards
¶ Card Names
| NUMBER | Clubs [Hau/Pao] |
Swords [Isu] |
Coins [Oru/Ouru] |
Cups [Koppu/Kotsu] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Dragon) |
Doro pin | Aka pin (Red 1) |
Gasu pin (Junk 1) |
Gasu pin (Junk 1) |
| 2 | Ao ni (Blue 2) |
Aka ni (Red 2) |
Taiko ni (Drums 2) |
Neburi no ni (Licking of 2) |
| 3 | Ao san (Blue 3) |
Aka san (Red 3) |
Gasu san (Junk 3) |
Gasu san (Junk 3) |
| 4 | Ao shi (Blue 4) |
Aka shi (Red 4) |
Gasu shi (Junk 4) |
Gasu shi (Junk 4) |
| 5 | Ao go (Blue 5) |
Aka go (Red 5) |
Gasu go (Junk 5) |
Gasu go (Junk 5) |
| 6 | Ao roku (Blue 6) |
Aka roku (Red 6) |
Mame roku (Beans 6) |
Gasu roku (Junk 6) |
| 7 | Ao nana (Blue 7) |
Aka nana (Red 7) |
Gasu nana (Junk 7) |
Gasu nana (Junk 7) |
| 8 | Ao hachi (Blue 8) |
Aka hachi (Red 8) |
Gasu hachi (Junk 8) |
Gasu hachi (Junk 8) |
| 9 | Ao kyu (Blue 9) |
Aka kyu (Red 9) |
Gasu kyu (Junk 9) |
Gasu kyu (Junk 9) |
| 10 (Maid) |
Ao jū (Blue 10) |
Surume jū (Cuttlefish 10) |
Gasu jū (Junk 10) |
Gasu jū (Junk 10) |
| 11 (Horse) |
Ao uma (Blue Horse) |
Aka uma (Red Horse) |
Gasu uma (Junk Horse) |
Gasu uma (Junk Horse) |
| 12 (King) |
Ao giri (Blue King) |
Aka giri (Red King) |
Gasu giri (Junk King) |
Gasu giri (Junk King) |
¶ Setup
The game uses 45 cards from an Ise deck. Remove the 6 of swords, 6 of cups, 6 of coins, and the extra bakefuda (ghost card) from the deck before playing.
Players determine first who is the dealer. The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals 6 cards to each player, and 1 card on the table face up (this becomes the discard pile). The remaining cards are put on the table face down as the draw pile.
¶ Gameplay
Dealer plays first.
During a player’s turn, he/she looks at the topmost card in the discard pile, and then discards from his/her hand a card of the next number.
Example: There is a 7 card on the discard pile.
Player must discard an 8 card.
If the card on the discard pile is a 12 (king) card, you must discard a 1 (dragon) card.
After the player has discarded, he/she may also discard another card of the next month from the previously discarded card, and keep discarding until he/she doesn’t have a card in the month sequence.
Example: There is a 6 card on the discard pile.
Player has a 7 card and 8 card in his/her hand.
Player discards the 7 card, then the 8 card.
If the dealer doesn’t have a card of the next number in his/her hand during his/her first turn, he/she passes his/her turn to the other player. If the other player also doesn’t have a card of the next number in his/her hand and passes his/her turn back to the dealer, the dealer draws one card from the draw pile and puts it on the discard pile before starting his/her turn.
If the dealer discards a card(s), then passes the turn to the other player, and the other player doesn’t have a card of the next number in his/her hand and passes the turn back to the dealer, the dealer draws one card from the draw pile and puts it on the discard pile before starting his/her turn.
If the other player discards a card(s), then passes the turn to the dealer, and the dealer doesn’t have a card of the next number in his/her hand and passes the turn back to the other player, the other player draws one card from the draw pile and puts it on the discard pile before starting his/her turn.
In all cases, the player who drew a card and put it on the discard pile must discard a card of the next number from the new top card of the discard pile afterward.
NOTE: Some situations were left unexplained. (What happens when the player who drew a card doesn’t have a card of the next number?)
If the draw pile runs out of cards, form a new deck by taking all cards from the discard pile except for the top card. Shuffle the deck and put it back on the table face down.
¶ One-Two Combo
If the card on the discard pile is a 1 (dragon) card, and you have both a 1 (dragon) card and a 2 card in your hand, instead of just discarding the 2 card, you can discard the 1 (dragon) card first before discarding the 2 card.
¶ Ghost Cards
In Hiyoko, there are 10 Ghost Cards (化札 [ばけふだ, bake-fuda]). These are considered special cards in the game.
The first five cards in the list can be counted as a Ghost Card either in the hand or on the discard pile. They can be discarded if the top card on the discard pile is a number before any of the numbers assigned to the Ghost Card. Also, if they are on the discard pile, They can be followed with a card of the next number from any of the numbers assigned to the Ghost Card.
| Ghost Card | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (dragon) of clubs | Counts as 1 to 10. |
| 1 (dragon) of swords | Counts as 1 to 10. |
| 2 of clubs | Counts as 2 to 11. |
| 2 of swords | Counts as 2 to 11. |
| 3 of swords | Counts as all numbers. |
The next five cards in the list can only be counted as a Ghost card when drawn from the draw pile. If it’s in your hand or if it’s discarded from a player’s hand, only the actual number of the card is counted.
| Ghost Card | Description |
|---|---|
| 6 of clubs | Counts as 1 only. |
| 12 (king) of swords | Counts as 1 only. |
| 12 (king) of either cups or coins | Counts as 1 only. |
| 12 (king) of clubs | Counts as all numbers. |
¶ Winning the Round
During each round, the goal is to get rid of all the cards in your hand before the other player does. If you do, you earn 1 point, and become the dealer for the next round.
¶ End of the Game
First player to earn 3 points wins the game.
¶ Isuri (Hiyoko variant)
Isuri [いすり] is a Hiyoko variant for 2 players. Like Hiyoko, it was originally played using a mekurifuda deck called Ise.
The rules are identical to Hiyoko, with some exceptions:
- 46 cards from an Ise deck is used. Remove only the 6 of cups and 6 of coins, and the extra “bakefuda” card. The 6 of swords is treated as the same as the 6 of clubs.
- The scoring system in Hiyoko, which is based on players discarding all of their cards, is replaced with a dynamic scoring system: A player gets paid immediately for each card they discard. (See Card Values)
- If you pass the turn, you must place 1 point on the table as a Passing Penalty. The player who gets rid of all the cards in their hand takes all points from the Passing Penalty.
- You may discard 3 to 6 cards of the same month at once! You get paid for each of the cards discarded this way.
- If you manage to discard all 6 cards in your hand in one turn [総出し - そうだし, sou-dashi], you get 10 bonus points.
¶ Card Points
1 (Dragon) = 10 pts.
Other numbers = same points as the number