How to Play Koi-Koi
Match the flowers — say "Koi-Koi" to risk it all.
Also known as こいこい · Hanafuda · Flower Cards
Learn Koi-Koi for 2 players: the 48 hanafuda cards, matching by month, the yaku and when to stop or call Koi-Koi. Score a sample month, then play in your browser.
Stopping after a Koi-Koi
You already hold the Moon, the Curtain and the Crane: 3 brights without the Rain man make Sankō, worth 5, and you called Koi-Koi to play on. Now you play a chrysanthemum chaff card and take the Sake cup from the field, adding Tsukimi-zake (5) and Hanami-zake (5): 15 in all. You stop, and because 15 is 7 or more it doubles to 30. Your own Koi-Koi does not double it; had your opponent called one this month, you would score 60.
| Yaku when you stop | Score |
|---|---|
| Sankō only (5) | 5 |
| Sankō + Tsukimi-zake + Hanami-zake (15) | 30: 7 or more is doubled |
| Tane with 6 animals (2) | 2, or 4 if your opponent called Koi-Koi |
| Gokō (10) after your opponent called Koi-Koi | 40: doubled for 7 or more, then for the Koi-Koi |
| Both hands run out, nobody stopped | 0 for both players |
Cards match by month only. The higher total after the last month wins: 6 months by default, or 1, 3 or 12 at setup.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
Score more points than your opponent over the match: 6 months (rounds) by default, or 1, 3 or 12 at setup. Only the player who stops with yaku scores in a month.
🃏 Koi-Koi Setup & Rules
- Exactly 2 players and the 48-card hanafuda deck: 12 months of 4 cards, each a bright, an animal, a ribbon or a chaff card.
- 8 cards each and 8 face up on the field; the other 24 are the stock. If the field shows all 4 cards of one month, the cards are dealt again.
- The dealer plays first. The month's winner deals the next; after a month nobody wins, the deal passes across.
▶ How to Play Koi-Koi
- Play a card from your hand. If one field card shares its month, take both into your pile; if none does, your card joins the field.
- If two field cards match, choose which to take; if three match, take all four cards of the month.
- Then the top card of the stock is turned over and matched the same way.
- When your turn makes a new yaku or raises your yaku total, choose: Stop to score and end the month, or call Koi-Koi to play on.
- After a Koi-Koi you are asked again only when your total rises. If your opponent stops first, their score is doubled.
- If both hands run out with nobody stopping, the month scores nothing. A yaku made on the very last turn is scored at once.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Koi-Koi
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📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up your table
- From the game menu choose Koi-Koi. It seats exactly 2: you and an AI player at Easy, Medium or Hard, or a friend.
- Set the months: 6 by default, or 1, 3 or 12. Each month is one round, and the higher total after the last one wins.
- Each player gets 8 cards and 8 go face up to the field, grouped by month. The other 24 form the stock.
- A field holding all 4 cards of one month is dealt again. The dealer plays first, and the month's winner deals the next.
The 48 cards
- 12 flowers, one per month: pine, plum, cherry, wisteria, iris, peony, bush clover, pampas, chrysanthemum, maple, willow and paulownia.
- 5 brights: the Crane, Curtain, Moon, Rain man and Phoenix. 9 animals, among them the Sake cup, Boar, Deer and Butterflies.
- 10 ribbons: 3 red poetry ribbons (January to March), 3 blue ribbons (June, September and October) and 4 plain red ones. The other 24 cards are chaff.
- Cards match by month only: any two cards of the same flower pair up, whatever their type.
A turn
- Tap a card and Play it, or swipe it up. A field card of the same month is captured with it; with no match, your card joins the field.
- If two field cards share its month, you choose which to take. If three do, you take all four.
- Then the stock's top card is turned and matched the same way. Captures sit face up in your pile, where both players can see them.
- When the turn makes a new yaku or raises your total, choose Stop to score the month, or Koi-Koi to play on.
Scoring a month
- The player who stops scores all their yaku added together; the other player scores nothing that month.
- A total of 7 or more is doubled, and doubled again if the other player called Koi-Koi this month. Your own Koi-Koi never doubles your score.
- If both hands run out with nobody stopping, the month scores nothing: the app gives the dealer no point for it.
- After the last month the higher total wins the match; equal totals are a draw.
📊 Koi-Koi Scoring
Brights: Gokō (all 5) 10, Shikō (4 without the Rain man) 8, Ame-Shikō (4 with him) 7, Sankō (3 without him) 5. Inoshikachō (Boar, Deer and Butterflies) 5; Akatan (red poetry ribbons) or Aotan (blue ribbons) 5 each, both 10; Tsukimi-zake (Moon and Sake cup) and Hanami-zake (Curtain and Sake cup) 5 each. Tane (5 animals), Tanzaku (5 ribbons) and Kasu (10 chaff) score 1, plus 1 for each extra card. A total of 7 or more is doubled, and doubled again if your opponent called Koi-Koi that month. The higher total after the last month wins. The app has no hand yaku (teshi, kuttsuki), gives the dealer no point for a drawn month, and counts the Sake cup only as an animal.
❓ Koi-Koi — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Koi-Koi?
Koi-Koi is played with 2 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.
What happens when you call Koi-Koi?
You play on instead of scoring, and you are asked again only when your yaku total rises. If your opponent stops first this month, their score is doubled, on top of the doubling for 7 or more points.
Which yaku are worth the most in Koi-Koi?
Gokō, all 5 brights, is worth 10, as are Akatan and Aotan together. Shikō scores 8 and Ame-Shikō 7; Sankō, Inoshikachō, Akatan, Aotan, Tsukimi-zake and Hanami-zake score 5 each.
How long is a Koi-Koi match?
6 months by default, and you can choose 1, 3 or 12 at setup. Each month is a round, and the player with the higher total after the last one wins.
Does the Sake cup count as chaff?
Not in the app: it counts only as an animal, toward Tane, besides making Tsukimi-zake with the Moon and Hanami-zake with the Curtain. The app also has no hand yaku such as teshi or kuttsuki.
