Kanpai
2 Players, Ages 8+
Kanpai 乾杯 ▶ “cheers!” is a 2-player hanafuda game. The goal is to form pairs in your hand before your opponent, and end the round.
This game is a Junior original, created by Louie Mantia. Based on Straight Gin, a variant of Gin Rummy, the game and its scoring are unique to hanafuda.
Cards
This game uses a 48-card hanafuda deck.
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If you’re using a Junior Hanafuda deck, be sure to set aside its extra cards.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and deal ten cards to each player. Place the remaining deck adjacent to the field. Flip over the topmost card in the deck to start the discard pile.
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Gameplay
Goal
The goal of Kanpai is to form five pairs in your hand and end the round before your opponent, scoring points for higher-value cards.
Your Turn
When your turn begins, you may either draw one card from the deck or from the discard pile. Then, discard one card from your hand to the discard pile.
Continue until either player forms five pairs in their hand.
Ending
When either player forms five pairs, they may choose to continue silently or end the round by discarding the unwanted eleventh card from their hand face-down.
A player may want to continue the round for the chance to replace their cards with higher-value cards. However, choosing to continue is a risk. While both players will tally their scores, the player who ends the round has an advantage.
Scoring
At the end of the round, each player reveals their cards and tallies the points of their captured cards according to the following table.
| Hikari | Tane | Tanzaku | Kasu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
Then, the player who ended the round scores their points. The player who did not end the round subtracts the their opponent’s score from their own points. The result is their score for this round.
Series
Games are best played in a series of 3, 6, or 12 rounds. The player with the highest total score at the end of the series wins!
If the players have identical scores, rejoice in the shared victory!
Strategy
In this game, you will be swapping cards in and out of your hand aiming to capture five pairs of same-month cards. While any pair will suffice, because rounds are scored on the value of the cards, you might make swaps that improve the quality of their pairs.
The player who reveals their cards first has a big advantage when it comes to scoring. Their opponent will lose points equivalent to the amount the player who ends earns. If you form your pairs early, you may have time to improve your hand. But if you feel as if your opponent is close to capturing five pairs themselves, it may be best to end the round when you can.
