BoardGamesBot

Hanabi pocket rules
Game Material
•50 fireworks cards in five colours (red, yellow, green, blue,
white) 10 cards per colour with the values 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3,
3, 4, 4, 5
•10 multi-colour fireworks cards with values of 1, 1, 1, 2, 2,
3, 3, 4, 4, 5
•8 Note tokens (+ 1 spare)
•3 Storm tokens
Aim of the game
Hanabi is a cooperative game, meaning all players play
together as a team. The players have to play the fireworks
cards sorted by colours and numbers. However, they
cannot see their own hand cards, and so everyone needs
the advice of their fellow players to determine which cards
to play. The more cards the players play correctly, the more
points all players receive when the game ends.
The Game
Important: For the basic game, the multi-coloured
fireworks cards and the spare note token(s) are not needed.
They are only used for the advanced game (Farbrausch).
The oldest player is appointed first player and sets the
tokens in the play area. The eight note tokens are placed
scroll-side-up.
The three storm tokens are placed lightning-side-down.
Now the fireworks cards are shuffled. Depending on the
number of players involved, each player receives the
following hand:
• With 2 or 3 players: 5 cards in hand
• With 4 or 5 players: 4 cards in hand
Important: Unlike other card games, players may not see
their own hand! The players take their hand cards so that
the back is facing the player. The fronts can only be seen
by the other players.
The remaining cards are placed face down in the draw pile
in the middle of the table.
The first player starts.
Gameplay
Play proceeds clockwise. On a player's turn, they must
perform exactly one of the following:
A. Give a hint or
B. Discard a card or
C. Play a card
The player has to choose an action. A player may not pass!
Important: Players are not allowed to give hints or
suggestions on other players' turns!
A. Give a hint
To give a hint one note token must be
flipped from its scroll side to its blank
side. If there are no note tokens scroll-
side-up then a player may not choose
the give a hint action.
Now the player gives a teammate a hint. They have one of
two options:
1. Colour Hint
The player chooses a colour and
indicates to their teammate which
of their hand cards match the
chosen colour by pointing at the
cards.
Important: The player must
indicate all cards of that colour in
their teammate's hand!
Example: "You have two yellow cards, here and here."
Indicating that a player has no cards of a particular colour is
allowed:
Example: "You have no blue cards."
2. Value Hint
The player chooses a number
value and gives a teammate a hint
in the exact same fashion as a
Colour Hint.
Example: "You have a 5, here."
Example: "You have no Twos"
B. Discard a card
To discard a card, one note token must
be flipped from its blank side to its
scroll side. If there are no note tokens
blank-side-up, then a player may not
choose the discard a card action.
Now the player selects one card from their hand (without
looking at the fronts of their hand cards) and discards it
face-up in the discard pile near the draw deck. The player
then draws another card into their hand in the same fashion
as their original card hands, never looking at the front.
C. Play a card
By playing out cards, the fireworks are created in the middle
of the table. The player takes one card from their hand and
places it face up in the middle of the table. Two things can
happen:
1. The card can be played
correctly
The player places the card face up so
that it extends a current firework or
starts a new firework.
2. The card cannot
be played correctly
The gods are angry with
this error and send a flash
from the sky. The player

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turns a storm tile lightning-side-up. The incorrect card is
discarded to the discard pile near the draw deck.
The player then draws another card into their hand in the
same fashion as their original card hands, never looking at
the front.
The Fireworks
The fireworks will be in the
middle of the table and are
designed in five different
colours. For each colour an
ascending series with numerical
values from 1 to 5 is formed. A
firework must start with the
number 1 and each card played
to a firework must increment the previously played card by
one. A firework may not contain more than one card of each
value.
Bonus
When a player completes a
firework by correctly playing a
5 card then the players receive
a bonus. One note token is
turned from blank side to
scroll-side-up. If all tokens are
already scroll-side-up then no
bonus is received. Play then
passes to the next player,
clockwise.
Ending the Game
The game can end in three ways:
1.The third storm token is turned lightning-side-up. The
gods deliver their wrath in the form of a storm that puts
an end to the fireworks. The game ends immediately,
and the players earn zero points.
2.The players complete all five fireworks correctly. The
game ends immediately, and the players celebrate their
spectacular victory with the maximum score of 25
points.
3.If a player draws the last card from the draw deck, the
game is almost over. Each player - including the player
who drew the last card - gets one last turn.
Note: Cards cannot be drawn in this last round.
Finally, the fireworks will be counted. For this, each firework
earns the players a score equal to the highest value card in
its colour series.
The quality of the fireworks display according to the rating
scale of the International Association of Pyrotechnics is:
Important Notes and Tips
•Players may rearrange their hand cards and change their
orientation to help themselves remember the information
they received. Players must not ever look at the front of
their own cards until the play them.
•The discard pile may always be searched for information.
•Hanabi based on communication - and non-
communication - between the players. If one interprets
the rules strictly then players may not, except for the
announcements of the current player, talk to each other.
Ultimately, each group should decide by its own measure
what communication is permitted communication. Play so
that you have fun!
Variants
Difficulty Change
•Too easy? Play with only 2 or even only 1 storm token.
•Too difficult? Add in the spare note token(s), or use coins
to represent extra note tokens.
Farbrausch
Add in the 10 multi-coloured
firework cards as a 6th colour in
the game and shuffle them into
the draw deck during game setup.
They will act as a 6th Rainbow
firework that may be built. The colour
“multi-colour” is treated like any other
colour reference.
Example: “You have a multi-colour card, here.”
The maximum score increases 30 points.
To make Farbrausch even more difficult, add only five multi-
coloured firework cards (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) without the
dupilcates.
Farbrausch
2
As with normal Farbrausch, shuffle
the 10 multi-coloured firework cards
into the draw deck during game
setup. There is still a 6th suit multi-
coloured firework that may be built.
However in this variant the Rainbow
cards cannot be identified as such.
The multi-coloured cards can only
be identified as a specific colour.
Example: Player as two blue cards
and one multi-coloured card: "You
have three blue cards, here, here
and here."
Example: Player has no red cards
and one multi-coloured card: "You
have a red card here.”
0 - 5Oh dear! The crowd booed.
6 - 10Poor! Hardly applaused.
11 - 15OK! The viewers have seen better.
16 - 20Good! The audience is pleased.
21 - 24Very good! The audience is enthusiastic!
25 Legendary! The audience will never forget this
show!

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