Sakura Hunt Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objective
• Components
• Game Set-Up
• Gameplay
  • A. Progress the Blooming
  • B. Spot Scouting
  • C. Hanami
• Bloom Status at Hanami Spots
• Hanami Points
• Hand Size
• After Completing Hanami at All Spots
• Drink Card
• Game End
• Bonus Points
  • Panorama Bonus
  • 3 Card Bonus
• Bonus Point Accumulation
• Winner
• Ext. Additional Rule for 2-Player Game
• Ext. Additional Rule: Reserve A Spot

Game Objective

Sakura Hunt is a card game based on the Japanese tradition of Hanami with the goal to create a panoramic view of Sakura in full bloom using 10 Scenic Cards.

Players will perform Hanami at each of the 4 'Hanami Spots' by combining cards in hand with a displayed card to form 3 cards that are either identical or in sequence.

The objective is to accumulate the most points through performing Hanami at the right moment and creating a panoramic sequence of cards to receive bonus points.

Components

• Hanami Cards (x68): Scenic Cards (x60, 6 sets of cards numbered 1 - 10) and Drink Cards (x8).
• Scenic Cards: the six sets are Shrine Gate (1), Stand-Alone Tree (2), 5-Tier Pagoda (3), Bridge Over River (4), Mount Fuji (5), Temple & Tower (6), Afloat in Moat (7), Medieval Castle (8), Flower Raft (9) and Moon at Night (10).
• Hanami Spot Cards (x4).
• Hanami Markers (x20, 4 colors x5).
• Point Scales (x2).
• Scoreboard.
• Point Markers (x4).

Game Set-Up

1. Set up 4 'Hanami Spot Cards' in a vertical line, leaving space for 6 cards horizontally to be placed beside each of the Hanami Spot Cards.
2. Shuffle the Hanami Cards (Scenic + Drink) and distribute 6 cards to each player, and keep the remaining cards as House Deck.
3. Designate a color for each player in accordance to the Hanami Markers.
4. Each player keeps a Hanami Marker of their designated color and the remaining Hanami Markers will be placed alongside the Hanami Spot Cards, 1 marker each per Spot.
5. Ready the Scoreboard by placing each player's color-designated Point Marker on 0 points.
6. The game will progress clockwise from the player to have seen cherry blossoms at the most northern location of the world. If that is hard, please select an agreeable way for all players to determine who starts the game.

Now, let the hunt begin!

Gameplay

The game will move clockwise from the player chosen to start the game. A player has 3 options per turn:

• A. Progress the Blooming
• B. Spot Scouting
• C. Hanami

A. Progress the Blooming

Place Card on Hanami Spot to Progress Blooming.

1. Place 1 card from your hand onto any Hanami Spot. * Maximum number of cards to be placed per Hanami Spot is 6.
2. Take 1 card from the House Deck to put in your hand.

B. Spot Scouting

Exchange Card from Hanami Spot with Card in Hand.

1. Exchange a card from a Hanami Spot with a card in your hand.

For non-novice players, an additional rule exists in the Ext. section (see "Additional Rule: Reserve A Spot" below).

C. Hanami

Each player can Hanami once at each of the 4 Hanami Spots.

Hanami Spot: 1 displayed card plus 2 cards from hand.

Conditions for Hanami: 3 cards in sequence, or 3 identical cards.

To Hanami, create a trio of in sequence or identical cards using 2 cards from hand and 1 card from a Hanami Spot.

1. Create a set of 3 cards that are either in sequence or identical using 2 cards from your hand and 1 card from one of the Hanami Spots.
2. Display the 3 cards used to Hanami in front of you, in view of the other players.
3. Place the Hanami Marker, in the designated color of the player, in the vacated card space to signify the player's completion of Hanami at that Hanami spot. * Each player gets to Hanami once per spot.
4. The degree of how in bloom the Sakura is, which is the number of cards displayed in the Hanami Spot, determines the score of that Hanami session. * Point details in the next section.
5. On the Scoreboard, move the Point Marker in the player's color in accordance to the points captured.
6. Take 1 card from the House Deck to put in your hand.

Bloom Status at Hanami Spots

How much the Sakura is blooming is determined by the amount of cards displayed at each of the Hanami Spots. Sakura enhances its bloom with each displayed card, hitting its peak of 'Full Bloom' when 4 cards are displayed at a Hanami Spot. After that climax, the Sakura decreases its bloom with every card displayed thereafter.

Hanami Points

Number of displayed cards	1 card	2 cards	3 cards	4 cards (Full Bloom)	5 cards	6 cards
Points	0	1	2	5	3	0

Hanami Points are determined by the bloom status of Sakura (number of cards being displayed) at Hanami Spots. The more the Sakura blooms, the more points are awarded. The player may use any of the displayed cards to Hanami and points will be awarded according to the bloom status, regardless of whether the player uses the 1st or the 4th displayed cards. It is 'when' to Hanami rather than 'with which card' that becomes vital to accumulating points.

Hand Size

The number of cards in a player's hand will decrease with every Hanami that the player performs. Please use the chart below for reference:

Time	Start	After 1st Hanami	After 2nd Hanami	After 3rd Hanami	After 4th Hanami
Number of cards	6	5	4	3	2

After Completing Hanami at All Spots

Players that have completed their Hanami at all 4 spots, will be able to perform only action [A] Progress the Blooming thereafter.

Drink Card

Drinks are necessities for Hanami. The awe-inspiring view of Sakura is enhanced with the taste of Japanese Sake or with one's preferred drink. However, we must always keep in mind not to overdrink.

• Non-Sake beverages for children and non-alcoholic drinkers.

Drink Cards are used in the same manner as the Scenic Cards and furthermore it can act as any of the numbered cards from 1 - 10. For example, if a 3 is displayed then the player may Hanami with 5 and a Drink Card (acting as 4).

2 Drink Cards may even be used at one time to Hanami, either in sequence (2 Drink Cards + Scenic Card) or as a triplet (3 Drink Cards).

However, please keep in mind that Drink Cards do not get counted in the final bonus calculation. Thus, do not overdrink!

Game End

The game ends when either of the below options are met:

1. All players complete Hanami at all 4 Spots.
2. Full 6 cards are displayed at all 4 Hanami Spots.

Bonus points are calculated thereafter with the cards that were used to Hanami. (12 cards total if the player was able to Hanami 4 times).

Bonus Points

Bonus points are awarded at the very end.

Panorama Bonus

Connect the cards in the sequenced order to create a panoramic view of Sakura. The longer the sequenced cards, the greater the view, and more points are awarded.

Drink Cards can be used as any card within the panoramic sequence but it will not be counted in when accumulating bonus points.

Panorama sequence	5 cards	6 cards	7 cards	8 cards	9 cards	10 cards
Points	1	3	6	10	15	21

3 Card Bonus

5 point bonus for having 3 cards of the same kind.

As in the Panorama Bonus, the Drink Card may not be used to accumulate points as a Scenic Card. However, 3 Drink Cards will be rewarded with a 5 point bonus.

Bonus Point Accumulation

Line up the cards horizontally in sequenced order, while placing the same cards vertically, for easy calculation of bonus points.

Drink Cards may act as any of the Scenic Cards and be used as part of a sequenced panorama. Though Drink Cards may be used, they cannot be counted into the bonus point calculation. In the above example, the Drink Card is used as 6 to connect the panorama from 1 to 9. The total number of panoramic cards is 9 but the Drink Card is omitted so the bonus points are calculated for 8 cards (10 points). Without the use of the Drink Card, the longest sequence will be 1 – 5 for only 1 bonus point.

Bonus Points example:

• Panorama: 8 cards = 10 points
• Triplets: Triplet of 4 = 5 points
• Total Bonus Points: 15 points

Winner

The winner is the player with the most total points, calculated by adding the points gathered during Hanami and the bonus points. The winning feeling is shared whenever there exists a tie in points.

Ext. Additional Rule for 2-Player Game

Additional rule when playing the game with 2 players.

When selecting option A (Progress the Blooming) to place a Drink Card at one of the Hanami Spots, the player must:

1. Place the Drink Card at a Hanami Spot.
2. Draw 3 cards from the House Deck.
3. Throw away any 2 cards from own hand. 2 cards are openly displayed and discarded from the game.

Ext. Additional Rule: Reserve A Spot

Additional rule to spice up the game.

When selecting option B (Spot Scouting), the exchanging of a displayed card at a Hanami Spot with a card from the player's hand, the player must have the received card open in front of them in view of the other players. The player may still use the open card to Hanami just like any other card in hand and a player can have multiple open cards which may be used together to Hanami.

[Reserve A Spot] may not be selected when the player has only 1 card left.