A game by Antoine Bauza Illustrations by Albertine Ralenti For 2 to 5 players 8 years and above
- 50 Hanabi cards
- 4 Rules cards
- 8 Blue tokens
- 3 Red tokens
Note: The values on the cards to be dealt are 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 for each colour.
Hanabi is a cooperative game, i.e. a game where the players do not play against each other but work together towards a common goal. In this case they are absent minded firework manufacturers who accidentally mixed up powders, fuses and rockets from a firework display. The show is about to start and panic is setting in. They have to work together to stop the show becoming a disaster! The pyrotechnicians have to put together 5 fireworks, 1 white, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 green), by making series rising in number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) with the same coloured cards.
Place the 8 blue tokens in the lid of the box and the 3 red tokens just next to it. Shuffle the 50 cards to make a deck and put them face down. Deal a hand of cards to each player: Important: The players should not look at the cards which are dealt to them! They pick them up so that the other players can see them but so that they cannot see them themselves (so back to front!) They are not allowed to look at their own cards at all during the game. This would dishonour them and taint their reputation as master pyrotechnicians!
The player with the most colourful clothing begins the game. The players then take their turn going in a clockwise direction. On his turn, a player must complete one, and only one, of the following three actions (you are not allowed to skip your turn): Note: When it is a player’s turn, his teammates cannot comment or try to influence him.
- Give one piece of information.
- Discard a card.
- Play a card.
If there are 2 or 3 players, each player receives 5 cards. If there are 4 or 5 players, each player receives 4 cards.
1. Giving a piece of information
In order to carry out this task, the player has to take a blue token from the lid of the box (he puts it at the side with the red tokens). He can then tell a teammate something about the cards that this player has in his hand.
Important: The player must clearly point to the cards which he is giving information about.
Two types of information can be given: Information about one colour (and only one).
Examples: «You have a red card here» or «You have two green cards, here and here» or «You have two black cards, there and there». Information about a value (and only one).
Examples: «You have a card with a value of 5 here» or «You have two cards with a value of 1 there and there» or «You have two cards with a value of 4 there and there».
Important: The player must give complete information: If a player has two green cards, the informer cannot only point to one of them!
Note: This action cannot be performed if the lid of the box is empty of blue tokens. The player has to perform another action.
2. Discarding a card
Performing this task allows a blue token to be returned to the lid of the box. The player discards a card from his hand and puts it in the discard pile (next to the box, face up). He then takes a new card and adds it to his hand without looking at it.
Note: This action cannot be performed if all the blue tokens are in the lid of the box. The player has to perform another action.
3. Playing a card
The player takes a card from his hand and puts it in front of him. Two options are possible: The card either begins or completes a firework and it is then added to this firework. Or the card does not complete any firework: it is then discarded and a red token is added to the lid of the box. He then takes a new card and adds it to his hand without looking at it.
How the fireworks are made up: There can only be one firework of each colour. The cards for a firework have to be placed in rising order (1, then 2, then 3, then 4 and finally 5). There can only be one card of each value in each firework (so 5 cards in total).
When a player completes a firework – i.e. he plays the card with a value of 5 – he puts a blue token back in the lid of the box. This addition is free; the player does not need to discard a card. This bonus is lost if all the blue tokens are already in the box.
There are 3 ways to end the game of Hanabi:
- The game ends immediately and is lost if the third red token is placed in the lid of the box.
- The game ends immediately and it is a stunning victory if the firework makers manage to make the 5 fireworks before the cards run out. The players are then awarded the maximum score of 25 points.
- The game ends if a firework maker takes the last card from the pile: each player plays one more time, including the player who picked up the last card. The players cannot pick up cards during this last round (as the pile is empty). Once this last round is complete, the game ends and the players can then add up their scores.
In order to calculate their scores, the players add up the largest value card for each of the 5 fireworks.
Example: 3 points + 4 points + 4 points + 5 points + 2 points for a total of 18 points.
Artistic impression is determined by the Firework Manufacturers International Federation reference scale:
Points Overall impression 5 ou - horrible, booed by the crowd... 6-10 mediocre, just a spattering of applause. 11-15 honourable, but will not be remembered for very long... 16-20 excellent, crowd pleasing. 21 - 24 amazing, will be remembered for a very long time! 25 legendary, everyone left speechless, stars in their eyes.