Kazoku - The rules

This game is actually an adaptation of the traditional Happy Families game.

The object of the game is to assemble matching families. To begin, each player is dealt 5 cards. The youngest player goes first.

During their turn, the player will ask one of their opponents for a card, indicating both the specific member and family. If the opponent has the desired card in their hand, they must give it to the player. The player then gets another turn.

If the opponent does not have the requested card, the player is able to pick a card from the pile. If the card they pick is the desired card, the player will say, “Good pick!” showing the card to the others and have another turn. If the card they choose is not the desired card, the player will add the card to their hand and their turn will be over.

Once the player gathers a complete matching family, they put the family on the table and their turn is over. A player cannot ask for a card of a family without having at least one member of the family already in their hand.

The game is over when there are no more cards in the pile. Whoever has assembled the most complete families at the end of the game is the winner.

The 9 families are: Tradition, City, Cooking, Country, Home, Sport, School, Art, Mystery.
Families have 5 members: CHICHIOYA (Father), HAHAOYA (Mother), MUSUKO (Son), MUSUME (Daughter) et DŌBUTSU (Animal).

For the youngests, family members may be called by their numbers, 1 to 5.

This variation insists on the learning of Japanese characters. The rules stay the same except that the families are now based on the kanas them-selves.

The 9 families are: A, KA, SA, TA, NA, HA, MA, YA, RA, WA.

The members of the families are the Japanese vowels: A, I, U, E, O.

This variation helps you learn the "alphabetical" order of the GOJÛONJUN. This is the order of the kanas (and the words) are listed in a dictionnary. The rules stay the same.

Here, there's only 5 families: A, I, U, E, O.

THe members of the families are as follow: A, KA, SA, TA, NA, HA, MA, YA, RA, WA. All families don't have the same number of members.

This game is between the Happy Families game and a famous word game. The object of this game is to score as many points as possible by forming words using the kana shown on each of the cards. At the bottom of each card is a kana, a word and the points given by each word when formed. There are 45 possible words to form.

To begin, each player is dealt 6 cards.

At each turn:
The player asks to every opponents for a card with a kana that can be used to form a word out of the cards in their hand. A player cannot ask for a kana that would not contribute to forming a word out of the cards in their hand. If any of the opponents have the card, they must give it to the player and pick a new card from the pile right after.
If none of the opponents have the kana that was asked for, the player will pick a card from the pile. If the card chosen shows the kana that was asked for, the player will say, “Good pick!” and show the card to the others. Then, the player will get another turn.
If none the opponents have the card the player asked for and the card picked from the pile was not the desired card, the player is finished their turn and the game moves onto the next player.

Making a word:
The player can make a word during their turn. When they form a word, they show the cards to the others and put the card of the word (1 card only) in front of them. This card counts in their score. The other cards needed to form the word are discarded to the bottom of the pile. A player may form only one word per turn. Once a player has formed a word, their turn is over and the game moves onto the next player.

Stealing a card:
To make a word, the player can also steal a card from other players, but only if their word is longer than the words of the stolen cards. The card can be stolen only at the time of forming the word. It is not possible to steal it and keep it for a later use. It is possible to steal several cards at once, but only one card from each player. Once a card had been stolen from a player, it is shown with the other card of the formed word. Thne it goes under the pile like the oter cards of the word. This card no longer counts in the score of player from who is has been stolen.

Ending the game:
The game has finished when a player has reach 15 points.

Additional information:
Words noted with a ☆ can only be formed using a joker. There are 4 jokers in the game which are used as wildcards to replace any kana in a word. Only one joker may be used per word. Once a joker has been used, it is discarded to the bottom of the pile. It is not possible to ask for a Joker.

The number of hearts at the bottom-left of the card indicate the quantity of words feasible with this kana.
- 0 heart: Only 1 word is feasible with this kana.
- 1 heart: 2 or 3 words.
- 2 hearts : 4 to 6 words.
- 3 hearts: 7 or more words.

3 cards from the pile are placed on the table (in case of a joker, it is placed back under the pile and a new card is chosen).

These cards are available to any player, but only when a complete word can be formed. Once a card is used in a word and put under the pile, a new card is picked up to replace it on the table. If a joker is picked up, it is put back into the pile.

In this variation, the game doesn't end when a player reaches 15 points but when the pile in empty. The winner is then whoever has the greatest score.

At the moment when a player picks the last card in the pile, every player has an oppurtunity to make a last word. It is not possible to steal card at this time.

Important: when a player forms a word, they place as usual the card of the word in front of them, but the other cards are not going under the pile. They are discarded out of the game and are not usable until the end of the game.

When you have in your possession several Kazoku games, it is possible to mix the games together and to play Happy Kana. Rules stay the same. If you want to shorten or lengthen the game, you can raise the number of cards dealt at the beginning or raise the number of points necessary to win.