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Hachi-Hachi


Number of Players: 3 (for 2 player rules, see below)

Cards Used: 1 full deck of 48 cards

Game Length: 12 rounds

Goal: To form captured hands and capture high scoring cards

The dealer deals 7 cards to each player and 6 cards to the field. The deck is placed in the middle of the field.

Here's an example of a Hachi-Hachi starting position with the 3 players' hands, the field and the deck:

Each round's scoring is affected by the initial cards in the field. This change in scoring affects all point values (including the cost of folding). There are 3 kinds of fields. The kinds of fields, their conditions, and their affects on scoring is as follows:

Small Field
小場
There are no lights in the field
Points are as normal
Large Field
大場
The Pine, Sakura, or Moon cards are in the field
Points are doubled
Grand Field
絶場
The Rain or Phoenix cards are in the field
Points are quadrupled


If there are 2 lights in the field, the higher field is put into affect. If there are 2 lights of the same field value (such as Rain and Phoenix), the next round's field is the same kind as that of the current round.

Once the players have their hands they need to check them for any dealt hands they may have received. There are 47 dealt hands in Hachi-Hachi which can be a little intimidating. In fact, there are only 12 basic hands; the rest of the hands are combinations of those 12. You can only have one dealt hand from the list; they don't stack. Here is a list of each hand's name, contents, and point value:

The Basic 12

Three (三本)
You have 3 cards from the same month
24 points
Standing Three (立三本)
You have 3 cards from April, May, or July,
or the 3 dregs from December.
36 points
Red (赤)
You have 2 poetry slips and 5 dregs.
36 points
One Slip (短一)
You have 1 poetry slip and 6 dregs.
36 points
One Ten (十一)
You have 1 animal card and 6 dregs.
36 points
Wither (からす)
You have 7 dregs.
48 points
One Light (光一)
You have 1 light and 6 dregs.
48 points
Lead (喰付)
You have 3 pairs (2 cards from the same month).
48 points
Four (手四)
You have 4 cards from the same month.
72 points
Haneken
You have 3 cards from the same month and 2 pairs.
84 points
Four Two One
You have 4 cards from the same month and 1 pair.
96 points
Four Three
4 cards from the same month and 3 cards from another month
240 points

The 35 Combinations

Red Three
'Three' and 'Red'
60 points
One Slip Three
'One Slip' and 'Three'
60 points
One Ten Three
'One Ten' and 'Three'
60 points
One Light Three
'One Light' and 'Three'
72 points
Wither Three
'Wither' and 'Three'
72 points
Two Three
Two 'Three' hands
72 points
Red Standing Three
'Red' and 'Standing Three'
72 points
One Slip Standing Three
'One Slip' and 'Standing Three'
72 points
One Ten Standing Three
'One Ten' and 'Standing Three'
72 points
Wither Standing Three
'Wither' and 'Standing Three'
84 points
Two Standing Threes
Two 'Standing Three' hands
96 points
Red Lead
'Red' and 'Lead'
84 points
One Slip Lead
'One Slip' and 'Lead'
84 points
One Ten Lead
'One Ten' and 'Lead'
84 points
Wither Lead
'Wither' and 'Lead'
96 points
One Light Lead
'One Light' and 'Lead'
96 points
Red Four
'Red' and 'Four'
108 points
One Slip Four
'One Slip' and 'Four'
108 points
One Ten Four
'One Ten' and 'Four'
108 points
Wither Four
'Wither' and 'Four'
120 points
One Light Four
'One Light' and 'Four'
120 points
Red Haneken
'Red' and 'Haneken'
120 points
One Slip Haneken
'One Slip' and 'Haneken'
120 points
One Ten Haneken
'One Ten' and 'Haneken'
120 points
Wither Haneken
'Wither' and 'Haneken'
132 points
One Light Haneken
'One Light' and 'Haneken'
132 points
Red Four Two One
'Red' and 'Four Two One'
132 points
One Slip Four Two One
'One Slip' and 'Four Two One'
132 points
One Ten Four Two One
'One Ten' and 'Four Two One'
132 points
Wither Four Two One
'Wither' and 'Four Two One'
144 points
One Light Four Two One
'One Light' and 'Four Two One'
144 points
One Slip Four Three
'One Slip' and 'Four Three'
276 points
One Ten Four Three
'One Ten' and 'Four Three'
276 points
Wither Four Three
'Wither' and 'Four Three'
288 points
One Light Four Three
'One Light' and 'Four Three'
288 points

Note: the Japanese use two counters for scoring Hachi-Hachi, one worth 12 points and the other 1. All of the above are multiples of 12. You might come across that scoring system if you use Japanese software.

If a player has a dealt hand, the points listed above are the amount they receive from each other player, so the points are effectively doubled. It is possible for all three players to have dealt hands, in which case scorekeeping can get a little complicated. In order to claim a dealt hand, a player must show the relevant cards to the other players.

Once dealt hands have been scored, play begins. Starting with the dealer and continuing in a counter-clockwise direction, each player captures cards (as described in the General Rules).

Once a player has formed a captured hand they have to decide whether or not to end the round. If they decide to end the round they receive the point value of their captured hands from the other players and become the dealer for the next round. If the player does not wish to end the round they announce 'Sage'. If a player chooses 'Sage', the game continues as before. 'Sage' is a way for a player to bet that he can form a new captured hand before his opponents can form a hand. If the player succesfully forms a new hand before his opponents do he does not gain any bonus points for doing so. If the round ends because all of the cards have been captured and the player has not been successful in his attempt he must pay half the value of his captured hand to each player. So, if he had an 84 point hand he would pay 42 points to each of the other players. If the player is not successful because another player successfully forms a hand, the player must pay all of the points for that new hand. The third player does not have to pay any points.

Once dealt hands have been scored, play begins. Starting with the dealer and continuing in a counter-clockwise direction, each player captures cards (as described in the General Rules). The round ends once all players have run out of cards or a player has formed a captured hand.

There is a special rule regarding forming a captured hand. If a player forms the 'Red Poems', 'Blue Poems', or 'Four Lights' hand, and they form the hand using a card played by another player into the field, and that player had more than 1 card in their hand at the time they played it, the player who played that card must pay the full cost of the captured hand.

Captured Hands

Five Lights
五光
144 points
Four Lights
四光
120 points
The above hands are mutually exclusive.
Blue Poems
青タン
84 points
Red Poems
赤タン
84 points
Seven Poems
七タン
120 point
Any 7 poetry slips other than the November slip can be used.


If no players have formed any captured hands and none of the players have any cards remaining in their hands, the players add up the total value of the cards they have captured using the standard points. They then subtract 88 points from that total and multiply by the field multiplier. For example, if a player ends a round with 4 animals, 4 slips, 7 dregs, and the Curtain card in a Grand Field round, they would score 81 points (1x20, 4x10, 4x5, 7x1) minus 88 (for a subtotal of -7) multiplied by 4 for a total of -28 points. That is the player's score for the round.

There are five special captured hands that only come into play now, while adding up the value of the captured cards. If a player has one of these hands, they receive the points listed in the chart below from each of the other players. The other players do not receive any points for their captured cards. Also, if one of these hands have been formed, all points gained by any players from dealt hands must be returned. The special hands are:

Special Captured Hands

All 8's
総八
All 3 players capture 88 points of cards each.
The dealer collects these points.
120 points
Double 8's
二八
The player's total after subtracting 88 points is 80 points or higher (before multiplying)
120 points
Simple 16
素十六
The player has captured 16 or more dregs cards
144 points
Note: each additional dregs card is worth 24 points.
Diving
飛び込み
The player had the 'Three' or 'Standing Three' dealt hand and captures those three cards
12 points
Escape
抜け役
The player had the 'Red', 'One Slip', 'One Ten', or 'Wither' dealt hand and captured 89 points or more of cards
12 points


Scoring Example

The following example shows all of the scoring that is involved in one round of Hachi-Hachi.

Field : Grand Field (x4)

Subscore A : Dealt Hands

Player A - 'Standing Three' (36)
Player B - None
Player C - 'Three' (24)

Player A receives 36x4 points from each player (x4 because of the grand field), and pays 24x4 to Player C
Player B pays 36x4 points to Player A and 24x4 points to Player B
Player C receives 24x4 points from each player and pays 36x4 points to Player A

A : 192
B : -240
C : 48

Subscore B : Captured Hands

Player A - 'Diving' (12)
Player B - None
Player C - None

Player A receives 12x4 points from each player
Player B pays 12x4 points to Player A
Player C pays 12x4 points to Player A

A : 96
B : -48
C : -48

Subscore C : Captured Cards:

Player A - 68 points
Player B - 125 points
Player C - 71 points

A : -80 (68 - 88) x 4
B : 148 (125 - 88) x 4
C : -68 (71 - 88) x 4

Total:

Player A : 208 (192 + 96 - 80)
Player B : -140 (-240 - 48 + 148)
Player C : -68 (48 - 48 - 68)


2-Player Hachi-Hachi

Hachi-Hachi for 2 players is essentially the same as above. The only differences are that the special captured hands are not used, and when calculating a player's score for a round in which no captured hands have been formed, the players add the total value of their cards and compare them. The player with the lower value cards pays the winner the difference. So, if one player's cards are worth 53 points and the other player's cards are worth 60 points in a large field round, the first player scores 13 points for the round.