How to Play (Forums) Kabu

It's the first of May and that means it's time for Zoofights Roleplay! Since this time around I'm roleplaying a character who canonically is all about the card game Kabu, I thought it would be fun to learn about the game and maybe roleplay playing it with everyone's characters. It could be a lot of fun to have rankings with small prizes (nothing at all on the scale of the derby that CW is organising - I have some simple ideas for this if we ever get that far!).

With that in mind, I've been reading bits and pieces on the game and trying it out myself over the last couple of days. I hope you will all experiment with me on this one and that we can all have fun with this. :)

There is surprisingly little information on the game in English and I can't find an English website that has rules for the game without it being part of some larger game. When I ended up checking the video games that feature Kabu, the rules used in Suikoden differ slightly to the rules used in Yakuza 3 which are again a little different to the Oicho-Kabu android app that I downloaded to actually have a go at playing.

In order to have a stable set of rules to play the game with, I have taken elements that align from the different sets of rules I found. These are the ground rules which I have written out below. I believe the game should work correctly and everything should be explained but let me know if anything isn't clear and I will revise it!

Kabufuda - the Kabu card deck 

Kabu in a Nutshell

Kabu is a Japanese card game that uses a 40 card deck. The simplest description is "a combination of Blackjack and Baccarat" and I think that fits it pretty well.  The game pits a dealer against up to 3 players who are each trying to beat the dealer's hand. The best normal hand is "Kabu", where the cards added together equal a number with a final digit of "9".

How to Play (Forums) Kabu - Updated 11 May 2015!

You will need:

• a minimum of 2 players (ideally 4)
• random.org playing card shuffler for the Dealer

Gameplay: 

1. Decide on the dealer (Mike!).
2. Choose the turn order for the players - the dealer will always go last.
3. The dealer deals 3 cards to the board and 1 to himself. The cards are open/face up.
4. The players choose a card each and make their wager within the bet limit. This is done in turn order.
5. The dealer deals everyone 1 card. This card is closed/face down.
6. The players and dealer may choose to hold/stick or twist/hit for 1 additional card in turn order.
7. Everyone reveals their cards. The scores are noted and wagers completed.
8. Go back to 2.

The Dealer's Role:
The dealer is responsible for drawing all of the cards in the round and choosing whether to receive a third card for their own hand.

The Player's Role:
The player is responsible for choosing an initial card, making a wager, choosing whether to receive a third card and collecting winnings.

The Kabu Deck:
Kabu is played with a deck of 40 cards called Kabufuda, although it can be played with normal playing cards with some adjustments. A Kabufuda deck has four sets of cards numbering from 0 to 9. For the purpose of playing online, the Dealer can use the random.org Play Card Shuffler. They will need to ensure Jacks, Queens and Kings are turned off in order to simulate a Kabufuda deck - Aces will be treated as 1s and 10s will be treated as 0s.

Drawing Cards:
The Dealer will set random.org to complete a card draw of 12 cards from 1 deck. This will give the Dealer all of the necessary cards to complete a game without the possibility of drawing the same card twice. Each time a card is drawn in the game, the Dealer should refer to the next card in the sequence given. Drawing an "open" card means posting it directly for all to see. Drawing a "closed" card means posting it in spoiler tags marked for the specific player.

Winning:
Each player is competing directly against the dealer only. The player wins if their hand is of higher value than the dealer's hand. The player loses if their hand is of equal or lower value than the dealer's hand. Winners receive double their initial wager as winnings and losers give their initial wager to the dealer.

Common Hands:
The following hands can be made with non-specific combinations of cards and are sorted in value order, from lowest to highest. The value of a hand is determined by the final digit of the total sum of the cards - for example, receiving cards 3 7 5 would give a sum of 15 so the value of the hand would be 5.

• 零 - Buta - A hand with a value of 0.
• 一 - Pin - A hand with a value of 1.
• 二 - Nisou - A hand with a value of 2.
• 三 - Santa - A hand with a value of 3.
• 四 - Yotsuya - A hand with a value of 4.
• 五 - Goke - A hand with a value of 5.
• 六 - Roppou - A hand with a value of 6.
• 七 - Shichiken - A hand with a value of 7.
• 八 - Oicho - A hand with a value of 8.
• 九 - Kabu - A hand with a value of 9.

Special Hands:
The following hands can only be made with specific combinations of cards. Special hands also have an order of precedence. The highest level special hands also boost the winnings received.

• シッピン - Shippin - A player-only hand made with [1 and 4] or [4 and 1]. Beats any common hand.
• クッピン - Kuppin - A dealer-only hand made with [1 and 9] or [9 and 1]. Beats any common hand and Shippin.
• アラシ - Arashi - A hand made with three of a kind (eg 3 3 3). Beats any common hand, Shippin and Kuppin. Tripples the initial wager.

Example Game:

1. Mike is chosen as the dealer.
2. Sarah is Player 1, Alex is Player 2, Sine is Player 3.
3. The available cards are 7, 4, 1. Mike is dealt 9.
4. Sarah choses 4, Alex choses 7, Sine choses 1. Each gamble 1 point.
5. Everyone is dealt a card face down.
6. Sarah, Alex and Mike chose to receive a third card.
7. Result! Sarah's hand is 4 7 2 - Santa. Alex's hand is 6 9 1 - Roppou. Sine's hand is 1 4 - Shippin. Mike's hand is 9 4 2 - Goke. Alex and Sine win 2 points each!