How to play Koi-Koi

Learn Koi-Koi rules, yaku combinations, and scoring so you can play with confidence.

Contents

Koi-Koi in 30 seconds

Koi-Koi is a two-player game played with the 48-card Hanafuda deck. On each turn you match cards by month, capture pairs into your pile, and build yaku—scoring combinations such as animals, ribbons, or brights. When a yaku completes, you either stop to bank your points or call "koi-koi" to keep playing for a bigger score, knowing your opponent could end the round first. Play your first game now

Hanafuda (花札), or "flower cards," is a traditional Japanese deck consisting of 48 cards. Unlike Western decks, these are divided into 12 suits, each representing a month of the year and a specific flower.

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How a round works

A round of Hanafuda Koi-Koi starts with the deal: each player gets 8 cards, and 8 are placed face-up on the table. On your turn, play one card from your hand to match a card of the same month on the field, or add it to the field. Then draw a card and match or add it. The cards you capture form yaku (scoring combinations). Rounds continue until a player ends with a yaku or the deck is empty.

  • The Deal: Each player receives 8 cards, and 8 cards are placed face-up on the table (the field).
  • Matching: On your turn, match a card from your hand with a card of the same month/flower on the field.
  • The Draw: Draw one card from the deck. If it matches a card on the field, you take that pair as well.
  • Building Yaku: The cards you collect are used to form Yaku (scoring combinations).

A turn in action

Three beats of a single turn from Hanafuda Legends.

Step 1: Play a card from your hand to match a card on the field
Step 1: Play a card from your hand to match a card on the field
Step 2: Draw from the deck — if it matches, capture that pair too
Step 2: Draw from the deck — if it matches, capture that pair too
Step 3: Check your captured cards for yaku combinations
Step 3: Check your captured cards for yaku combinations

Yaku

Winning yaku are scoring combinations of captured cards. Below is every combination with its cards and points, from chaffs and ribbons to the five brights.

Scoring examples

Here is a concrete captured pile and how Hanafuda Legends adds the points (before round multipliers).

Example 1 — six points before multipliers

Suppose your captures include the Boar (July), Deer (October), and Butterfly (June) for Ino-shika-cho, plus the Bush Warbler (February) and Wild Geese (August), and three chaff cards.

  • Ino-shika-cho (Boar + Deer + Butterfly): 5 points
  • Tane (exactly five animal cards): 1 point
  • Total before multipliers: 6 points

Example 2 — seven-plus and koi-koi stacking

Keep the same cards and add two more animal cards (seven animals in total). In Hanafuda Legends, Tane scores 1 point for five animals plus 1 point for each extra animal.

  • Tane with seven animal cards: 3 points
  • Ino-shika-cho: 5 points
  • Base total: 8 points
  • Seven-point rule: 8 × 2 = 16 points
  • If your opponent had called koi-koi earlier: 16 × 2 = 32 points

Multipliers apply in this order in-game: add all yaku, then apply the 7+ doubling and any koi-koi doubling together.

The 12 months

Hanafuda cards are organized into 12 monthly suits (January through December). Each month has exactly 4 cards: typically one Bright or special card, one Animal or Ribbon, and two Chaff cards depending on the month. You match and capture cards by month (suit), not by numeric value.

1月 松 Pine

2月 梅 Plum

3月 桜 Cherry

4月 藤 Wisteria

5月 菖蒲 Iris

6月 牡丹 Peony

7月 萩 Clover

8月 芒 Grass

9月 菊 Chrysanthemum

10月 紅葉 Maple

11月 柳 Willow

12月 桐 Paulownia

The koi-koi decision

The koi-koi decision comes when you form a yaku: stop (Agari) to bank your points and end the round, or call "koi-koi" to keep playing for more. If you call koi-koi and your opponent scores before you do, they win the round and you risk losing your points.

Options:

  • STOP: End the round and take your points.
  • KOI-KOI: Continue the round to try for more points. Warning: If your opponent forms a Yaku before you score again, they win the round and you get zero!

Special rules

Special rules cover automatic wins after the deal (Teyaku) and void fields. Teshi is four cards of the same month in hand. Kuttsuki is four pairs in hand. If the field has four of one month face-up at the start, the round is void and the deal is reshuffled. These rules vary by house.

Details:

Teshi (Hand of Four)

If you are dealt 4 cards of the same suit in your starting hand, you win the round automatically (usually 6 points).

Kuttsuki (Sticky Hand)

If you are dealt 4 pairs of cards (e.g., two Jan, two Feb, two Mar, two Apr), you win the round automatically (usually 6 points).

The Field Void Rule

If 4 cards of the same month are dealt face-up on the field at the start, the round is voided and the cards must be reshuffled.

The sake cup

The sake cup — Chrysanthemum with Sake Cup (September) — is the most versatile card in Koi-Koi. In many rules it counts as both a Tane (animal) and a Kasu (chaff), so it helps multiple yaku. It is also the key card for Moon Viewing and Cherry Blossom Viewing combinations.

Dual Role: In many rule variations, it can count as both a Tane (Animal/Seed) card AND a Kasu (Chaff) card simultaneously.

Key Combo: It is the centerpiece for the Tsukimi-de-Ippaku (Moon-viewing) and Hanami-de-Ippaku (Flower-viewing) Yaku.

Glossary

Key terms for reading this guide and playing Koi-Koi.

Hanafuda Mechanics & Card Types

Hanafuda (花札)
Literally "flower cards," Hanafuda is a traditional Japanese card deck consisting of 48 cards divided into 12 floral suits representing months of the year. Unlike Western decks, Hanafuda cards are smaller, thicker, and rely on seasonal imagery rather than numbers.
Hikari (Brights)
Hikari, or "Bright" cards, are the five highest-value cards in a Hanafuda deck, each worth 20 points. These iconic cards include the Crane and Sun (January), Curtain (March), Full Moon (August), Rain Man (November), and Phoenix (December).
Tanzaku (Ribbons)
Tanzaku cards feature long paper ribbons used for poetry and are worth 5 points each in games like Koi-Koi. They are categorized into three types: red poetry ribbons (Akatan), blue ribbons (Aotan), and plain red ribbons.
Tane (Animals/Seeds)
Tane, or "Animal" cards, are worth 10 points and typically feature creatures like the Boar, Deer, or Butterfly. This category also includes unique objects like the Eight-Plank Bridge (May) and the Sake Cup (September).
Kasu (Chaff)
Kasu, often called "Chaff" cards, are the basic cards in the deck, each worth 1 point. While low in individual value, collecting 10 Kasu cards allows a player to form a winning Yaku in many Hanafuda games.

Gameplay & Scoring Terminology

Koi-Koi (こいこい)
Koi-Koi is the most popular 2-player Hanafuda game, centered on "matching" floral suits to form scoring combinations. The game is named after the "Koi-Koi" call, where a player chooses to continue a round to increase their score at the risk of losing everything to their opponent.
Yaku (Winning Combinations)
A Yaku is a specific combination of Hanafuda cards that earns points at the end of a round. Common Yaku include high-scoring sets like Goko (Five Lights) or the classic Ino-shika-cho (Boar, Deer, Butterfly).
Goko (Five Lights)
Goko is the highest-value Yaku in Koi-Koi, formed by collecting all five Hikari (Bright) cards: Crane and Sun, Curtain, Full Moon, Rain Man, and Phoenix. It is worth 20 points and appears in fewer than 2% of rounds.
Ino-shika-cho (Boar-Deer-Butterfly)
One of the most famous Hanafuda Yaku, formed by collecting the Boar (July), Deer (October), and Butterfly (June) Tane cards. In Koi-Koi, this combination is typically worth 5 points and is a high-priority target for competitive players.
Akatan (Red Ribbons)
Akatan is a Yaku achieved by collecting all three red poetry ribbons from the January, February, and March suits. This combination is worth 5 points and is often sought after due to the early-month suits appearing frequently in play.
Teyaku (Instant Wins)
Teyaku refers to "Hand Yaku," or special combinations dealt directly to a player's hand at the start of a round. Common Teyaku include Teshi (four cards of the same suit) and Kuttsuki (four pairs), both of which grant an instant win and points.

Seasonal Significance

Mutsuki (January)
Mutsuki is the first month of the Hanafuda calendar, represented by the Pine (Matsu) suit. Its most valuable card is the "Crane and Sun" Hikari, which is essential for forming high-scoring combinations like Sanko (Three Lights).
The Sake Cup (September)
The Sake Cup is a unique "Animal" card in the Chrysanthemum (September) suit. It is considered the most powerful card in Koi-Koi because it can count as both a Tane and a Kasu card, and it is the key to the "Moon-viewing" and "Flower-viewing" Yaku.

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