How to Play Koi-Koi

In Japanese culture, Koi means ‘carp’ and it symbolizes prosperity and good fortunes, but did you know that if you repeat the word ‘Koi’ twice, it becomes a whole new thing?

Japanese Koi-Koi (こいこい) is a traditional card game played between two players like the Japanese Daifugō. However, Koi-Koi uses a special deck called Hanafuda or ‘Flower’ deck. Before you begin learning how to play Koi-Koi, you have to familiarize yourself with the deck and terms used in playing first.

Laying the Groundwork for Japanese Koi-Koi

The deck used in playing Japanese Koi-Koi is Hanafuda (花札) which literally means ‘Flower’. The deck has 12 flower suits that represent months. Each suit has four cards which are used to form Yaku or special card combinations.

To start the game, you have to designate an Oya or ‘initial dealer’ between the two players. You can decide on it by drawing a random card from the deck. Whoever gets the card with the earliest month or highest value becomes the Oya. 

The Oya deals eight face-down cards for himself and his opponent, and eight face-up cards to the table. The remaining cards are set aside for the draw pile.

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to learn how to play Koi-Koi!

How to Play Koi-Koi

You begin your turn by placing a card on the table, either from your hand or the draw pile. When it matches with another card on the table, you’ll win both cards to add to your collection. When your card fails to match with any card on the table, it will remain there.

You can end your turn by stating if you have any Yaku and if you want to stop the current month. If so, the points will be scored and you can begin another month. 

This is where Koi-Koi enters. If you decide that you want to gain more points, you can say Koi-Koi or ‘come in’ to keep playing for as long as you want.

However, if your opponent says Koi-Koi but you already formed Yaku, you have the option to stop the game and collect your points, leaving your opponent with no points for the current month. 

Play Japanese Koi-Koi!

You win by getting 50 points or by having the most points when you reach December, the last month in the deck. There are many variations in playing Japanese Koi-Koi, but most of them are easily decided upon once you know how to play Koi-Koi.

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