Hanafuda Koi-Koi: Rules and How to Play
Hanafuda Koi-Koi is a traditional Japanese card game for two players that takes about 15 minutes. Match cards by month and collect sets to score. Free. In-browser. No account.
Objective
Koi-Koi is the best-known two-player game played with hanafuda, the Japanese flower cards. You capture cards from the table by matching them by month, and collect them to form scoring combinations called yaku. The moment you make one, you choose: stop and bank the points, or call "koi-koi" and play on for more — at the risk of your opponent scoring first and doubling their points.
Setup
- Two players and a 48-card hanafuda deck: twelve months with four cards each. Each month is shown by a plant, from pine in January and cherry blossom in March to maple in October and paulownia in December.
- The cards come in four kinds: 5 brights (hikari), 9 animals (tane), 10 ribbons (tanzaku) and 24 plains (kasu, also called chaff).
- Deal eight cards to each player and lay eight face up on the table. The remaining 24 form the draw pile.
- The first dealer is chosen at random, and the dealer plays first. After that, whoever won the previous round deals.
How to play
- On your turn, play one card from your hand. If a table card of the same month is there, capture both. If not, your card stays on the table.
- Then turn over the top card of the draw pile and do the same with it.
- If two table cards match, you choose which one to take. If three match, the fourth card of that month takes all of them.
- Your captured cards are laid out in front of you, sorted into brights, animals, ribbons and plains.
- As soon as your captures form a new yaku, choose: stop and end the round, or call koi-koi and keep playing. If the other player then scores and stops, their points are doubled.
- If both hands run out, a player who called koi-koi scores what they hold at that point (if both called, the last to call does). If nobody made a yaku, the round scores nothing and the same player deals again.
Winning and scoring
- Brights: Five Brights (Goko) 10; Four Brights without the rain card (Shiko) 8; Rainy Four Brights, including the willow "rain man" (Ame-Shiko) 7; Three Brights without the rain card (Sanko) 5. Only the highest of these counts.
- Flower Viewing (cherry curtain + sake cup) 5; Moon Viewing (moon + sake cup) 5; Boar–Deer–Butterfly (Inoshikacho) 5; Red Poetry Ribbons (Akatan) 5; Blue Ribbons (Aotan) 5.
- Five animals, five ribbons or ten plains score 1, plus 1 for each extra card. The sake cup counts as an animal and as a plain.
- Four cards of one month, or four pairs, in the dealt hand score 6 at once and end the round.
- A round worth 7 points or more is doubled. After twelve rounds (a full year of months), the higher total wins.
Common variants
- Flower and Moon Viewing are easy to make, so some players leave them out. They count here by default and can be switched off.
- The 7-point double and the koi-koi double are widely used but not universal; each can be switched off here.
- Sake cup: some rule sets count the chrysanthemum sake cup only as an animal, never as a plain. That can be switched off too.
- In some rule sets the dealer scores a few points when a round ends with no yaku. Here nobody scores and the dealer simply deals again.
- Shorter matches of three or six rounds are common for a quick game; both are available.
- Other hanafuda games, such as Hana-Awase, Hachi-Hachi and the Hawaiian game Sakura, use the same deck with different scoring.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds | How many rounds decide the overall winner. | 12 rounds | Yes |
| Flower and Moon ViewingFlower and Moon ViewingFlower Viewing is the cherry curtain plus the sake cup; Moon Viewing is the pampas moon plus the sake cup. Each needs only those two cards and is worth 5. Since the sake cup is in both, they make big scores easy. Turn them off for a slower game of collecting brights, animals and ribbons. | Flower Viewing and Moon Viewing count as combinations. | On | Yes |
| Double from sevenDouble from sevenIf the winner's combinations add up to 7 points or more, the round's score is doubled (7 becomes 14). Together with Koi-Koi doubles it becomes 4x. Holding out for big combinations pays more, and scores spread further apart. | A round worth seven points or more is doubled. | On | Yes |
| Koi-Koi doublesKoi-Koi doublesCalling Koi-Koi means you keep playing after making a combination, hoping to score more. With this on, if you called Koi-Koi and your opponent then scores first, their points are doubled. Koi-Koi becomes a real risk, so deciding whether to continue or stop matters more. | If the other player scores after your Koi-Koi, their points are doubled. | On | Yes |
| Sake cup counts as a plainSake cup counts as a plainThe sake cup is an animal card, but with this on it also counts as one plain. Plains score from 10 cards, so the plains combination comes one card sooner. Turn it off to count the sake cup only as an animal. | The ninth-month animal card also counts towards the plains. | On | Yes |
| Four of a month / four pairsFour of a month / four pairsFour of a month means your dealt hand of 8 holds all four cards of one month. Four pairs means it is four pairs of the same month. Either scores 6 at once and the round ends without any play. They depend purely on the deal, so turn them off for a game of skill. | Combinations decided by the dealt hand. They score six and end the round. | On | Yes |
Terms
- Koi-Koi
- Calling for the round to continue after you score. You can build a bigger combination, but if the other player scores next, their points are doubled.
- Stop
- Ending the round when you score. Your points are banked and the round is over.
- Brights, animals, ribbons, plains
- The four kinds of card. Of the 48 cards, five are brights, nine animals, ten ribbons and twenty-four plains.
- Red poem ribbons / blue ribbons
- The three written ribbons of pine, plum and cherry, and the three blue ribbons of peony, chrysanthemum and maple. Each set scores five.
- Boar, deer, butterfly
- The boar of clover, the deer of maple and the butterfly of peony. Together they score five.
- Sake cup
- The animal card of the ninth month. It is used for Flower Viewing and Moon Viewing, and also counts as a plain (this can be turned off).
- Four of a month / four pairs
- A dealt hand holding four cards of one month, or four pairs. It scores six at once and ends the round.
- No score
- Both hands run out with no combination. Nobody scores and the same player deals again.
FAQ
When can I call Koi-Koi?
Only on your own turn, right after you make a combination. If your hand is empty you cannot continue, so the round stops there.
What does Koi-Koi change?
The round keeps going. You can build a bigger combination, but if the other player scores first, their points are doubled.
What if two cards of the same month are on the table?
You choose which one to take. If three are there, the fourth card takes all four.
Do the Bright combinations add up?
No. Only the highest of Five, Four, Rainy Four and Three Brights counts.
What are the Rainy Four Brights?
Four brights including the willow (rain) card. They score seven; four brights without it score eight.
What if neither player scores?
The round is worth nothing and the same player deals again.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-13 · Run by Qdan, Inc.