Bozu Mekuri: Rules and How to Play
Bozu Mekuri is a 10-minute card game for 2–6 players, played with Hyakunin Isshu poet cards. Keep nobles, lose your cards to monks, take the pile with ladies. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Setup
- 2 to 6 players. On your own, play against three computer players.
- Shuffle the 100 reading cards of the Hyakunin Isshu (each shows a poet) and stack them face down as the deck.
How to play
- Take turns turning over the top card of the deck.
- A noble (a man's card) goes in front of you.
- A monk sends every card you hold, together with the monk, to the pile in the middle.
- A lady (a woman's card) lets you take her card and the whole pile.
- Semimaru puts you out at once: your cards go to the pile and you get no more turns. (You can set him to skip a turn, count as a monk, count as a noble, or send everyone's cards to the pile instead.)
- An emperor or retired emperor stays with you, and you may draw one more card or stop there. If that extra card is a monk, all your cards go to the pile.
Winning and scoring
- The game ends when the deck runs out. The player holding the most cards wins. Cards left in the pile belong to no one.
- Players with the same number of cards share a place; if two or more share first, the game is a tie.
- Players who are out come last. If everyone else is out, the last player left wins.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 2–6 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| SemimaruSemimaruSemimaru is the poet shown in a hood. You're out puts your cards and the drawn card on the pile and you drop out. Skip a turn keeps the card and you miss your next turn. Everyone's cards to the pile sends every player's cards, yours included, to the pile. Same as a monk and Same as a noble treat him like those cards. | What happens when Semimaru is drawn. Whether he counts as a monk differs between card sets and families. | You're out | Can be changed |
| EmperorsEmperorsThe 8 emperor cards include Emperor Tenji and Empress Jitō (who is also a lady). Keep it and draw one more lets you draw again right away. Take everyone's cards gives you every other player's cards, a big comeback. With Ordinary card they act like any noble or lady. | What happens when one of the 8 emperor cards is drawn. | Keep it and draw one more | Can be changed |
| LadiesLadiesDrawing a lady lets you take every card on the pile (put there by monks). Take the pile and draw one more also lets you draw again. Draw one more if the pile is empty gives the extra draw only when there was nothing to take. | What happens when a lady is drawn. | Take the pile | Can be changed |
| May stop instead of drawing one more | When an emperor or lady gives you one more draw, you choose whether to take it. Turn this off to make the extra draw compulsory. | On | Can be changed |
Terms
- Noble
- A man's card: 66 of them, including seven emperors. Keep it in front of you.
- Lady
- A woman's card: 21 of them, including Empress Jitō. Take the whole pile.
- Monk
- A priest's card: 12 of them. Every card you hold goes to the pile.
- Semimaru
- The poet of the Ōsaka barrier poem. He wears a hood, and whether he counts as a monk differs from family to family. By default he puts you out.
- Emperor
- Emperors Tenji, Jitō, Yōzei, Kōkō, Sanjō, Sutoku, Go-Toba and Juntoku — 8 cards. By default you keep it and may draw one more.
- Pile
- Where the cards sent away by monks collect. A lady takes it.
- Deck
- The face-down stack of cards not yet turned over.
- Semimaru still in deck
- A red tag above the deck when 15 or fewer cards are left and Semimaru has not come out yet. The next card could be him.
FAQ
Is Semimaru a monk?
There is no fixed rule — some card sets draw him in a hood, others as a shaven monk. Here you can choose; by default he puts you out.
What happens to cards left in the pile?
Cards still in the pile when the deck runs out belong to no one.
What if players hold the same number of cards?
They share a place. If two or more share first, the game is a tie.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-19 · Run by Qdan, Inc.