Takoyaki
2 Players, Ages 4+
Takoyaki is a simple 2-player playing card game, suitable for younger children. The goal is to clear all 10 card positions with numbered cards.
This game is primarily about following directions and relies entirely on luck. Nevertheless, it’s a great, mild activity to occupy your hands while socializing with friends or family.
Takoyaki is also known by other names such as Garbage or Trash.
Cards
| A | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K |
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This game uses a 52-card French-suited playing card deck.
If you’re using a Junior Playing Cards deck, be sure to set aside its extra cards.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and deal a two-row tableau of ten cards to your opponent and the same to yourself. Place the remaining deck adjacent to the field.
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Gameplay
Goal
The goal of Takoyaki is to replace every card in your tableau with all ten pip cards.
Your Turn
When your turn begins, flip over the top card from the deck.
If the card you drew from the deck is a pip card (A–10), and the position of a face-down card in your tableau corresponds to its value, then exchange it for this new face-up card, flipping over the card it replaced. If that card matches another face-down card, continue until you cannot replace any more.
If you cannot replace any face-down card in your tableau, place the card next to the deck in a discard pile (face-up). Your turn is over. Now it’s the next player’s turn.
Continue until a player has collected all ten pip cards in their tableau.
Refer to the following table for an example of a completed tableau.
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Scoring
At the end of the round, the player who finished their tableau scores 1 point for every face-down card in their opponent’s tableau.
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!
Variations
For a quicker version of Takoyaki, try using Jacks as wild cards.
