There are some characteristics common to all the games played with Hanafuda cards. They are all played with one or more of the Asian flower card decks. This deck is common in a number of Pacific regions including Hawaii. There are twelve suits of four cards each. The suits are associated with the twelve months of the year.
Most of the flower card solitaire games are played like western deck games with minor changes. See the General Rules for basic instructions on how to play solitaire. The object in most cases is to move all the cards from the tableau to the foundations.
In a hanafuda deck, the suits have their own ranking, arranged by the month they represent, and in many games, the order of the suits plays an important role. The order of the suits is as follows:
Probably the most difficult part of learning to play with hanafuda cards is learning which cards belong in which suits and what their ranking is. The ranking of the suits is sometimes as important as the ranking of the cards in the suit. As you are learning, try keeping this hanafuda help image displayed where you can refer to it as you play.
