Unsu
Solitaire, Ages 8+
Unsu 운수 ▶ luck (originally Oonsoo) is a solitaire hanafuda game originating from computer software by Bradford Mott in 1994. The goal is to sort all twelve months into individual stacks.
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 twelve cards face-down in a tableau. Deal twelve more cards face-up, one atop each of the existing cards.
Place the remaining deck adjacent to the field.
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Gameplay
Goal
The goal of Unsu is to sort all twelve months, ranked from highest-value (bottom) to lowest-value (top), with one stack per month.
Sequence
Place a lower-value card atop the next higher-value card from the same month. From high to low, the ranks are Hikari, Tane, Tanzaku, and Kasu. Each month is different, so refer to the cards table above for the correct order per month.
Kasu cards from the same month don’t have an order, so either may be placed atop the other. However, in this game, the yellow-shaded December Kasu is considered higher-value than the other two December Kasu.
Flip over face-down cards when they are the topmost card in a stack.
If you are unable to find any card that can be placed atop another, deal a new card face-up onto each stack from the deck.
If one of the twelve spaces is empty, any card may be placed there.
Continue until all months are ranked.
Strategy
As you sort, prioritize clearing a space so you can move cards into and out of that space. It will allow you greater flexibility.
When all months are ranked from highest to lowest, you’ve won!
Variations
For a more casual approach to Unsu, deal the first 12-cards face-up. Revealing these cards will help you strategize.
