88

Hachi-Hachi
For beginners

Introduction
Japanese flower cards (hanafuda) were invented in the 19th century following a period in which
western playing cards were banned by the Japanese government. They are still popular in Japan,
and have a following outside the country, particularly in Korea and Hawaii. Many games are played
with them, of which the most popular is Koi-Koi, a game for 2 players.

Hachi-Hachi (Japanese for 88) is a 3-player game that is very popular in Japan, but that has never
caught on much outside the country. This is partly because the English-language rulesets available
online are dauntingly complex, throwing every single bonus rule and exception at the reader at the
very start.

This guide starts with a stripped-down basic version of Hachi-Hachi – a simple set of core rules that
are enough for beginners to get started quickly, play a few hands, and have fun. The advanced rules
are then explained, and can be added in one at a time as players desire. Once all rules are added,
you’ll be playing Hachi-Hachi in full, approximately as explained in the standard leaflet included
with Nintendo hanafuda decks [1]. There are even more complicated versions available online,
which you can look up yourself if you want!
The Cards
A hanafuda deck contains 48 cards: 4 cards in each of 12 flowers, as follows.

Pine (January) Plum blossom (February)

Cherry blossom (March) Wisteria (April)

Iris (May) Peony (June)

Bush clover (July) Susuki grass (August)

Chrysanthemum (September) Maple (October)

Willow (November) Paulownia (December)

The cards shown above fall into four categories: lights, earths, scrolls, and basics.

There are 5 lights:

The Crane The Curtain The Moon The Phoenix The Rain Man

There are 9 earths:

Bush Cuckoo Bridge Butterflies Boar Geese Cup Deer Swallow

warbler

There are 10 scrolls:

3 poetry scrolls 3 blue scrolls 4 plain scrolls

And the rest of the deck are the 24 basics, which generally show only the flower with no extra de-
tails. Most flowers have 2 basics – the exceptions are Willow with 1 and Paulownia with 3.

Basic Willow Basic Paulownia

Basic rules
These are the core rules of Hachi-Hachi, for 3 players. Learn them all, play a few hands, and when
you’re comfortable, start introducing the advanced rules from later on.

Setup
Find some counters that you can use to represent points. At least two denominations should be used
(1s and 5s) and they should be distributed equally amongst the 3 players. If a player runs out of
points, they can borrow more from the bank, and the debt should be recorded.

If you don’t have counters, you can write down the scores on a piece of paper, although this might
get a bit awkward.

Deal
Choose a player to be the dealer. That player shuffles the deck, then deals 7 cards face-down to each
player (the player’s hand), and 6 cards face-up to the centre of the table (the field). Each player
takes their 7 cards into their hand and keeps them secret from the other players.

If the field contains four cards of a single flower at this point, this is a misdeal: take all the cards
back, shuffle and deal again.

Players now take turns anti-clockwise, starting with the dealer.

Capturing cards
On your turn, choose a card from your hand and play it to the field. Then check whether your card
has the same flower as any of the other cards in the field:

• If your card matches one card in the field, you capture both cards – remove them from the
field and place them on the table in front of you.

• If your card matches two cards in the field, capture the card you played and one other of
your choice.

• If your card matches three cards on the field, capture all four cards.

After this, turn over one card from the top of the deck, and play it to the field immediately. Look for
matches and capture cards in the same way as above.

After you have played one card and turned one over, and dealt with matches, your turn is over, and
play passes to the player on your right.
Building sets
The aim of the game is to construct a set (dekiyaku) from cards you capture. There are 10 sets you
can construct, as shown below.

Three poetry
scrolls
35 pts

Three blue scrolls

35 pts

Boar, deer,
butterfly
35 pts

Seven scrolls
(not Willow) (e.g.)
50 pts

Four lights
(not the Rain Man)
50 pts

Five lights
75 pts

16 basics 17 basics 18 basics 19 basics

50 pts 60 pts 75 pts 100 pts

For the last four sets (16+ basics), all Willow cards count as basic.

At the end of your turn, if you have a set among your captured cards, each opponent pays you
points equal to the value of that set. The round then ends immediately, and you act as dealer in the
next round.
End-of-round scoring
If all players have played all the cards from their hands, and no sets have been made, the round ends.
Due to the number of cards in the deck, all 48 cards will have been revealed and captured at this
point. If this occurs, then “end of round” scoring is done.

Each player counts the total value of the cards they have captured: lights are worth 20, earths 10,
scrolls 5 and basics 1. Hence the total of all cards is 264, and the average total per player is 88.
Subtract 88 from your total, and this gives you your score for the round. Players with a negative
score must pay that amount, and players with a positive score receive that amount (the sum of all
players’ scores will be zero, so the amount paid will equal the amount received). The player with
the highest score is dealer for the next round.

If a player makes a set, end-of-round scoring is not done.

These are all the rules you need for Hachi-Hachi. Play a few rounds with these rules, and when
you’re comfortable, you can start adding the advanced rules below.

Advanced rules
Once you’re familiar with the basic rules, and have played enough to be comfortable, you should
start introducing the advanced rules. I recommend playing at least 3 rounds with each rule before
adding in the next one.

Sage
In the basic rules, if you completed a set on your turn, the other players pay you for it, and then the
round ends. However, if you built a set and you think you can build a second set before your oppon-
ents can build one, you now have the option of calling “sage!” (pronounced sah-geh) to allow the
round to continue after payment is made. If you do, then play continues with the player on your
right, and goes round and round until another set is completed.

• If you build a second set on a subsequent turn, you collect points for it from the other
players as usual, and you can call “sage!” again if you want to.

• But if an opponent forms a set, then you have to pay back to your opponents half of the
winnings you earned from your set. Then, you have to pay the points for the new set on
behalf of yourself and the other opponent (that is, you have to pay twice the value of the
new set, and the third player doesn’t have to pay anything!). The opponent who formed
the set can now call “sage!” themself if they want to, or they can end the round.

• If the round ends with no new sets being made, nothing special happens. You keep the
winnings you earned from your set, and end-of-round scoring is skipped.

Calling “sage!” can be a big risk, but can also give big rewards. Don’t push your luck too far!
Field Multipliers
At the beginning of the round, if the field contains any lights, then a field multiplier will be applied
for the rest of the round. This multiplies the value of all payments made between the players until
the next round begins, including payments for sets, and normal end-of-round payments.

There are three different field multipliers:

×
No lights: ×1 Crane, Curtain or Moon: ×2 Phoenix or Rain Man: ×4

If more than one light is in the field, then the light with the largest multiplier is applied for this
round, and any other multipliers are “carried over” to the next round – when calculating field multi-
pliers next round, act as if those cards were added to the field.

If you are playing with special hands or dropout fees (see below) then the multiplier applies to these
as well.

Special hands
Sometimes you will be dealt a poor hand, which will put you at a disadvantage for the rest of the
round. To compensate players for their bad luck, there are certain special hands (teyaku) which earn
you points at the start.

If you have a special hand, you may choose to reveal it immediately after the deal, and the other
players will have to pay you the stated amount for it before the round begins. You only have to re-
veal the relevant cards that prove that you have the hand (apart from a few exceptions, noted below).
The revealed cards stay face-up on the table near you throughout the round, but you can play them
as if they were in your hand.

For some hands you can keep certain cards hidden. This means you can claim points for this special
hand, but keep the hidden cards concealed in your hand until you choose to play them, or until the
round ends. Your opponents can then verify afterwards that you were telling the truth!
These are the 12 special hands:

Triplet
Three cards of the same flower.
(10 pts)

A triplet of Wisteria, Iris, Bush Clover or basic

Special Triplet Paulownia (not the Phoenix).
(15 pts) [These are the 4 dark blobby flowers that all
look sort of similar, if that helps you remember.]

2+ scrolls
(15 pts)

2 or more scrolls, and all other cards basics. [Keep the scrolls hidden.]

Lone scroll
(20 pts)

1 scroll, and all other cards basics. [Keep the scroll hidden.]

Lone earth
(20 pts)

1 earth, and all other cards basics. [Keep the earth hidden.]

Lone light
(20 pts)

1 light (not the Rain Man), and all other cards basics. [Keep the light hidden.]

Three pairs
(20 pts)

Three matching pairs by flower.

 Empty nest
(25 pts)

All basics. You can count any Willow cards as basic for this set.

Four-of-a-kind
(30 pts)

Four cards of the same flower.

3–2–2
(30 pts)

A triplet and two matching pairs.

1–2–4
(35 pts)

Four-of-a-kind, a pair, and one other card. [Reveal all 7 cards.]

4–3
(50 pts)

Four-of-a-kind and a triplet.

You can only claim one special hand from the table, so choose the one that gives you the most
points!

End-of-round specials
During end-of-round scoring, you should also check for two special cases in the players’ scores.
These end-of-round specials are as follows:

• All Eights: If all players score zero (i.e. they captured 88 points each), the dealer is paid 50
points by each of the other two players and wins the round.

• Double Eights: If a player scores 80 or more (i.e. they captured at least 168 points), that
player gets a bonus 50 points from each player.
Full game
A full game consists of 12 rounds. After each round, the winner places one point into a bowl on the
table, to help keep count. The winner of the 12th and final round takes all the points in the bowl.

4–6 players
You can play Hachi-Hachi with more than 3 players – in fact, some people say a larger number is
more fun and adds strategy to the game! If you have 4–6 players, then each round starts with a
drop-out phase, to decide which 3 players will take part in the round.

Deal 7 cards to each player and 6 to the field, as usual. Starting with the dealer and going anti-
clockwise, each player looks at their hand and decides whether to join in or drop out. Any player
who chooses to drop out has to pay 10 points to the middle of the table, as a drop-out fee. These
points are later awarded to the winner of the round.

If 3 people have already chosen to join in, then the remainder are forced to drop out (without a fee).
If all but 3 people have already dropped out, then the remainder are forced to join in.

Players that dropped out return their hands to the deck, which is re-shuffled – they take no further
part in the round. Only the 3 players who joined in can then claim special hands.

The dealer normally plays first. If the dealer drops out, then the next active player to the dealer’s
right plays first instead.

7 players
If there are 7 players, add one extra blank card to make a deck of 49 (most hanafuda decks come
with a spare blank white card for this purpose). Deal 7 cards to each player. Whoever receives the
blank card must drop out immediately with no fee; the blank card is discarded, and the other 6 cards
in their hand are placed on the table to make the field. The drop-out phase then proceeds as usual
for the remaining 6 players.

These are all the advanced rules, so congratulations! You’ve mastered Hachi-Hachi!

Ceremony
Like many card games, Hachi-Hachi is made more complicated by some traditions and rituals that
have developed. These ceremonies don’t affect the strategy of the game, but they can still be nice to
observe.

Choosing a dealer. To choose the dealer for the first round, each player cuts the deck and looks at
the card shown. The player who cuts the card with the earliest month is the first dealer. If tied, the
card worth more points in end-of-round scoring wins. If still tied, cut again! Alternatively, choose
the dealer by rolling dice.
Alternating decks. It is traditional to play with two hanafuda decks: one red and one black. While
the cards from one round are tidied up, the cards for the next round can be shuffled and dealt, saving
time.

Shuffle and cut. Before the cards are dealt, the player to the dealer’s left shuffles the deck, and the
player to the dealer’s right cuts the deck. This should make it impossible to cheat!

How to deal. The cards are dealt anti-clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer’s right. Deal
4 cards to each player, then 3 face-up to the field, then 3 more cards to each player, then 3 face-up to
the field.

Counting from 88. During end-of-round scoring, don’t add up all your cards’ value and then sub -
tract 88. It’s easier to count down from 88 as you go through your cards, and then start counting up
again if you manage to get to zero.

Notes
The ruleset shown here is very close to that given in [1], with clarifications from [2] and some con-
text and ceremony from the rather different [3]. Where rules conflict or are unclear, I always chose
the simplest possible option.

One particularly controversial rule is how many special hands are allowed per player in a given
round. Some sources allow you to claim as many special hands as you want, some have complex
rules for which ones are mutually exclusive, and some enumerate all possible combinations (as
many as 66). All these are far too complicated, and [1] is silent on the issue, so keeping it simple
and limiting each player to one seemed best – players are compensated for poor hands, and that’s
surely enough.

Bibliography
[1]: Nintendo, Hachi-Hachi Gameplay Instructions, Translated by reddit user suryonghaaton,
https://www.reddit.com/r/Hanafuda/comments/mjbhd3/nintendo_hachihachi_leaflet_but_its_in_english/

[2]: Neocities user vingel8, Hachi-Hachi, Retrieved 2021-09-11,

https://vingel8.neocities.org/hachihachi.html

[3]: FudaWiki authors, Hachi-Hachi, Retrieved 2021-09-11,

https://www.fudawiki.org/en/hanafuda/games/hachi-hachi