Bakappana
2–4 Players, Ages 4+
Bakappana 馬鹿っ花 ▶ stupid flowers is a simple hanafuda game for 2–4 players. The goal is to match and capture cards to score the most points possible. A much kinder translation would probably be “simple flowers.”
Bakappana a great beginner’s game, and can be considered a less-complex version of Hana-awase.
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 cards to each player and to the field according to the following table.
| Players | Cards ⅌ Player | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 | 8 |
| 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | 5 | 8 |
Place the remaining deck adjacent to the field.
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If all four cards of a single month are dealt into the field, shuffle and start over.
If all four cards of a single month are dealt into a player’s hand, they instantly win the round, scoring 5 points!
Gameplay
Goal
The goal of Bakappana is to match and capture cards from your hand with cards in the field to score the most points possible.
Your Turn
When your turn begins, try to match a card from your hand with a card from the same month in the field.
If you find a match, you capture these cards. Place both cards face-up in front of you.
If you find two matches, you may only capture one of them with the card you introduced to the field. However, if the card matches three cards in the field, you may capture all four.
If you cannot make a match, you must surrender a card from your hand into the field.
Your captured cards are displayed face-up in front of you, away from the field. It’s best to organize them by rank (Hikari, Tane, Tanzaku, Kasu) rather than by month.
Next, draw a card from the deck into the field, following the same pattern as above.
After playing from your hand and playing from the deck, your turn is over. Now it’s the next player’s turn.
Continue until all cards are depleted.
Scoring
At the end of the round, each player tallies the points of their captured cards according to the following table.
| Hikari | Tane | Tanzaku | Kasu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
Then, each player subtracts the par score from their subtotal. The result is their score for this round. Refer to the following table for the appropriate par score.
| Players | Par Score |
|---|---|
| 2 | 132 |
| 3 | 88 |
| 4 | 66 |
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
Prioritize capturing the most valuable cards in the field before your opponents can. But keep in mind what has already been captured. There are only four cards per month. If a card in your hand belongs to a month where two are already spoken for, that means there’s only one left. If it’s not in the field, it could be in someone’s hand or in the deck.
If you have the last two cards from a month, you may safely place one in the field to capture later, whenever it’s convenient. If you’re the only player who can match a valuable card in the field (or a whole month), you may simply wait it out. The round ends when all the cards are depleted, so you’ll get it eventually.
