Hawaiian-style Koi-Koi

Hawaiian-style Koi-Koi — also known as Sakura or Higo-Bana — is played using Hanafuda cards (playing cards of Japanese origin) and can be played with individual players or between teams with two to seven people. The rules of this variant, which is played in Hawaii, are slightly different from traditional Koi-Koi.

How to win

• Outscore the other player(s)/team(s) by taking:
  • More individual point cards than your opponent(s);
  • More yaku sets than your opponent(s).

Dealing the cards

Number of players	Cards in hand	Cards face up
2	10	8
3	7	6
4	5	8
5	4	8
6	3	12
7	3	6

Note: when dealing, deal half of the face up cards first, then half of the “Cards in hand” to each player, then finish dealing the rest of the face up cards and in-hand cards. This will help randomize the “hard-to-shuffle” deck.

Scoring

Based on the cards you’ve claimed:

• Award yourself 5-20 points for each point card that you’ve captured, based on the values in the next section

Adjusted by the cards your opponents have claimed:

• Deduct 50 points from your total score for each yaku that they captured

Cards by suits or family

Matsu Pine	20 points Crane	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Ume Plum	5 points Nightingale	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Sakura Cherry Blossom	20 points Curtain	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Fuji Wisteria	5 points Cuckoo	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Shoubu Iris	5 points Bridge	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Botan Peony	5 points Butterfly	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Hagi Clover	5 points Boar	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Tsuki Pampus	20 points Moon	5 points Geese	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Kiku Chrysanthemum	5 points Sake Cup	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Momiji Maple	5 points Deer	10 points Slip	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)
Yanagi Willow Gaji	5 points Rain	5 points Swallow	10 points Slip	0 points Lightning
Kiri Paulownia	20 points Chicken	10 points Flower	0 points (kasu)	0 points (kasu)

Yaku Combinations

Yaku 1	Crane	Curtain	Nightingale
Yaku 2	Moon	Curtain	Sake Cup
Yaku 3	Butterfly	Deer	Sake Cup
Yaku 4	Boar	Deer	Geese
Yaku 5	Boar	Cuckoo	Bridge
Three Scrolls
Red Slips
Purple Slips