Hanafuda Koi Koi

Hanafuda Koi-Koi: A Japanese Card Game

Hanafuda Koi-Koi is a classic Japanese card game. This guide explains the English rules.

Koi-Koi (こいこい), meaning "come on" in Japanese, is a two-player game using Hanafuda cards (traditional Japanese playing cards).

The objective is to create specific card combinations, known as "yaku," faster than your opponent. These combinations are formed using cards accumulated in a point pile. Players acquire cards for their point pile by matching cards in their hand or drawn from the draw pile with cards already on the table. After completing a yaku, a player can choose to stop and claim points or continue playing ("koi-koi") to build additional yaku for a higher score. While individual card point values don't directly impact the final score, they are useful in identifying valuable yaku combinations.