Board Game Arena - User contributions [en]

Talk:Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-16T03:16:19Z

Mesentery: /* BGA Basic Conventions and Finesse Convention */

Talk:Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-16T03:15:59Z

Mesentery: /* Conventions list update */

== BGA Basic Conventions and Finesse Convention ==

[Finesse is too complicated for beginning players. If "Standard" was poorly defined, eliminating it was not the answer.]

*Basic Definitions

Bomb: A play that causes a misfire.

Chop: The oldest, unmarked card in a hand.

Convention: Agreed set of clue, play and discard interpretations. e.g. a number clue that marks the chop card should be interpreted as a unique card save (if there is a unique card of that number).

Draw: The newest card in a hand.

Marked: A card matched by a clue.

Focus: The target card of a clue.

Play clue: Clue that marks a focused card to play.

Playable: A card that can be marked by a play clue.

Save: A (number) clue that marks a chop card to prevent discard.

Strategy: Plan to achieve the highest score. e.g. to mark first copies of cards.

Trash: A card that can never be played successfully.

Unique: The last remaining card of its rank and colour (that can be played successfully at some point).

*BGA Basic Conventions

Players assume:
Every marked card will be playable at some point.
The oldest, unmarked (chop) card is safe to discard.
Cards known to be trash are discarded in priority e.g. cards marked blue when the blue stack is completed.

Save clue:
A (number) clue that marks a (unique) chop card¹.
[For beginners, make up your mind - Only number clues? Only unique chop cards?]
Focus is the chop card.

¹Two Player Game:
In a two-player game, if the two oldest cards have already been marked, marking the current chop card is a Play clue, not a save clue. However, if the clue also marks a younger card, the younger card is the focus.

Play clue:
A clue that does not mark a (unique) chop card¹.
Focus is the newest card.

Priority for choosing which play clue to make:
A play clue that leads to plays in other hands.
A play clue for a Lower rank card.

Fix clue:
A follow-up clue on the same hand as an initial play clue.
Required to change the focus (and prevent a misfire).

Examples of Bad clues:
Tell a lie e.g. a clue that marks red2 as playable without the required red1.
Mark unknown trash or duplicate cards e.g. mark 4s in another hand when your hand could have a copy of that 4.

Marked card discard:
If a non-trash marked card is discarded it means:
A copy of that card is already marked in someone else's hand (sarcastic discard); or
A copy of that card must be marked in a future save clue (use with caution); or
An unmarked copy of that card is playable (gentleman's discard)

Examples:
[I don't know haw to copy the appropriate examples. Here should go the following examples: Save Clue; Play Clue; Fix Clue.]

*Finesse Convention
When playing the finesse convention, all of the BGA Basic Conventions still apply, with modifications as stated below.
In Hanabi a finesse is a clue given to one player, not necessarily the player to the clue-giver's left, which requires a third player to notice what is happening and play a particular card.
[Here should go the following examples: Prompt; Finesse; Reversed Finesse; Bluff; Long Finesse.]

Talk:Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-16T03:15:46Z

Mesentery: /* Keep convention definitions simple */

== Conventions list update ==

[https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42903 Updating the wiki with the new Conventions list?]
Summary of proposed changes:

=== Conventions ===

# Merge "Standard" (which was never properly defined) into the "Finesse" section.
# Move "Save clue" above "Play clue" since it has higher priority in clue interpretation.
#: Met players recently who don't seem to understand that save has priority over play.
# Add a new save clue example.
# Remove avalanche fix clue (extraction) example and group the simpler example with the other examples.
# Move Long finesse & Layered finesse examples from Tips page to Help page.
# Definitions: it occurred to me that the concept of "bluff seat" is actually very unhelpful when learning about how bluffs work, and in fact H-Group created the concept because they do not allow distant bluffs at all. On BGA it is possible to bluff a player that is not next to them.
#: I suggest either adding a note that it is an H-Group concept or removing it completely.

=== Options ===

# Update conventions list with definitions.
# Move other conventions into a new "Other conventions" section.
# Remove "Chop-focus" 'convention' which was never really a convention.
#: The new H-Group option is likely what players meant by chop-focus (I'm making an assumption here)?

=== Cheating ===

# Rename "Cheating" section to "Chat".
#* There is minimal incentive to cheat at Hanabi now that ELO is hidden.
# Explain how chat can influence players moves.

=== ELO rating ===

# Move to the end since ELO is mostly hidden and therefore rather inconsequential.

<hr>
* Collapse all examples in wiki page view for a better overview
--[[User:Sammy McSam|Sammy McSam]] ([[User talk:Sammy McSam|talk]])

== BGA Basic Conventions and Finesse Convention ==

[Finesse is too complicated for beginning players. If "Standard" was poorly defined, eliminating it was not the answer.]

*Basic Definitions

Bomb: A play that causes a misfire.

Chop: The oldest, unmarked card in a hand.

Convention: Agreed set of clue, play and discard interpretations. e.g. a number clue that marks the chop card should be interpreted as a unique card save (if there is a unique card of that number).

Draw: The newest card in a hand.

Marked: A card matched by a clue.

Focus: The target card of a clue.

Play clue: Clue that marks a focused card to play.

Playable: A card that can be marked by a play clue.

Save: A (number) clue that marks a chop card to prevent discard.

Strategy: Plan to achieve the highest score. e.g. to mark first copies of cards.

Trash: A card that can never be played successfully.

Unique: The last remaining card of its rank and colour (that can be played successfully at some point).

*BGA Basic Conventions

Players assume:
Every marked card will be playable at some point.
The oldest, unmarked (chop) card is safe to discard.
Cards known to be trash are discarded in priority e.g. cards marked blue when the blue stack is completed.

Save clue:
A (number) clue that marks a (unique) chop card¹.
[For beginners, make up your mind - Only number clues? Only unique chop cards?]
Focus is the chop card.

¹Two Player Game:
In a two-player game, if the two oldest cards have already been marked, marking the current chop card is a Play clue, not a save clue. However, if the clue also marks a younger card, the younger card is the focus.

Play clue:
A clue that does not mark a (unique) chop card¹.
Focus is the newest card.

Priority for choosing which play clue to make:
A play clue that leads to plays in other hands.
A play clue for a Lower rank card.

Fix clue:
A follow-up clue on the same hand as an initial play clue.
Required to change the focus (and prevent a misfire).

Examples of Bad clues:
Tell a lie e.g. a clue that marks red2 as playable without the required red1.
Mark unknown trash or duplicate cards e.g. mark 4s in another hand when your hand could have a copy of that 4.

Marked card discard:
If a non-trash marked card is discarded it means:
A copy of that card is already marked in someone else's hand (sarcastic discard); or
A copy of that card must be marked in a future save clue (use with caution); or
An unmarked copy of that card is playable (gentleman's discard)

Examples:
[I don't know haw to copy the appropriate examples. Here should go the following examples: Save Clue; Play Clue; Fix Clue.]

*Finesse Convention
When playing the finesse convention, all of the BGA Basic Conventions still apply, with modifications as stated below.
In Hanabi a finesse is a clue given to one player, not necessarily the player to the clue-giver's left, which requires a third player to notice what is happening and play a particular card.
[Here should go the following examples: Prompt; Finesse; Reversed Finesse; Bluff; Long Finesse.]

Talk:Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-16T03:15:32Z

Mesentery: /* Post changes in the Hanabi forum before editing */

== Keep convention definitions simple ==

I don't see the reason to push here a set of conventions that very few players use. Of course the discussion of which conventions are ``best'' is interesting, but it's definitely misleading if it appears in a wiki targeted to novices.

To the best of my knowledge, very few people use this wiki in any case, but I think we are doing them a disservice if we give them a set of conventions that will not help them while playing, and will create misunderstandings when, for example, people play cards just because they've been skipped while the intent is almost always to either let them play or induce them to discard because they have a trash/duplicate card in chop. [[User:Bobtables|Bobtables]] ([[User talk:Bobtables|talk]])

== Conventions list update ==

[https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42903 Updating the wiki with the new Conventions list?]
Summary of proposed changes:

=== Conventions ===

# Merge "Standard" (which was never properly defined) into the "Finesse" section.
# Move "Save clue" above "Play clue" since it has higher priority in clue interpretation.
#: Met players recently who don't seem to understand that save has priority over play.
# Add a new save clue example.
# Remove avalanche fix clue (extraction) example and group the simpler example with the other examples.
# Move Long finesse & Layered finesse examples from Tips page to Help page.
# Definitions: it occurred to me that the concept of "bluff seat" is actually very unhelpful when learning about how bluffs work, and in fact H-Group created the concept because they do not allow distant bluffs at all. On BGA it is possible to bluff a player that is not next to them.
#: I suggest either adding a note that it is an H-Group concept or removing it completely.

=== Options ===

# Update conventions list with definitions.
# Move other conventions into a new "Other conventions" section.
# Remove "Chop-focus" 'convention' which was never really a convention.
#: The new H-Group option is likely what players meant by chop-focus (I'm making an assumption here)?

=== Cheating ===

# Rename "Cheating" section to "Chat".
#* There is minimal incentive to cheat at Hanabi now that ELO is hidden.
# Explain how chat can influence players moves.

=== ELO rating ===

# Move to the end since ELO is mostly hidden and therefore rather inconsequential.

<hr>
* Collapse all examples in wiki page view for a better overview
--[[User:Sammy McSam|Sammy McSam]] ([[User talk:Sammy McSam|talk]])

== BGA Basic Conventions and Finesse Convention ==

[Finesse is too complicated for beginning players. If "Standard" was poorly defined, eliminating it was not the answer.]

*Basic Definitions

Bomb: A play that causes a misfire.

Chop: The oldest, unmarked card in a hand.

Convention: Agreed set of clue, play and discard interpretations. e.g. a number clue that marks the chop card should be interpreted as a unique card save (if there is a unique card of that number).

Draw: The newest card in a hand.

Marked: A card matched by a clue.

Focus: The target card of a clue.

Play clue: Clue that marks a focused card to play.

Playable: A card that can be marked by a play clue.

Save: A (number) clue that marks a chop card to prevent discard.

Strategy: Plan to achieve the highest score. e.g. to mark first copies of cards.

Trash: A card that can never be played successfully.

Unique: The last remaining card of its rank and colour (that can be played successfully at some point).

*BGA Basic Conventions

Players assume:
Every marked card will be playable at some point.
The oldest, unmarked (chop) card is safe to discard.
Cards known to be trash are discarded in priority e.g. cards marked blue when the blue stack is completed.

Save clue:
A (number) clue that marks a (unique) chop card¹.
[For beginners, make up your mind - Only number clues? Only unique chop cards?]
Focus is the chop card.

¹Two Player Game:
In a two-player game, if the two oldest cards have already been marked, marking the current chop card is a Play clue, not a save clue. However, if the clue also marks a younger card, the younger card is the focus.

Play clue:
A clue that does not mark a (unique) chop card¹.
Focus is the newest card.

Priority for choosing which play clue to make:
A play clue that leads to plays in other hands.
A play clue for a Lower rank card.

Fix clue:
A follow-up clue on the same hand as an initial play clue.
Required to change the focus (and prevent a misfire).

Examples of Bad clues:
Tell a lie e.g. a clue that marks red2 as playable without the required red1.
Mark unknown trash or duplicate cards e.g. mark 4s in another hand when your hand could have a copy of that 4.

Marked card discard:
If a non-trash marked card is discarded it means:
A copy of that card is already marked in someone else's hand (sarcastic discard); or
A copy of that card must be marked in a future save clue (use with caution); or
An unmarked copy of that card is playable (gentleman's discard)

Examples:
[I don't know haw to copy the appropriate examples. Here should go the following examples: Save Clue; Play Clue; Fix Clue.]

*Finesse Convention
When playing the finesse convention, all of the BGA Basic Conventions still apply, with modifications as stated below.
In Hanabi a finesse is a clue given to one player, not necessarily the player to the clue-giver's left, which requires a third player to notice what is happening and play a particular card.
[Here should go the following examples: Prompt; Finesse; Reversed Finesse; Bluff; Long Finesse.]

Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-16T03:13:59Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelpcarcassonne

2026-07-14T05:44:26Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelpcubirds

2026-07-14T05:43:34Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-14T05:42:06Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelpchinesecheckers

2026-07-01T06:22:29Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-01T06:20:56Z

Mesentery: Blanked the page

Gamehelphanabi

2026-07-01T06:20:07Z

Mesentery:

== Overview ==

Hanabi is a cooperative game where your collective goal is to build a fabulous fireworks show. Like any decent show, you should start with small fireworks and finish with the big ones. You will do this by playing red, blue, green, yellow, and white cards from ranks 1 to 5. The problem? You don't know what cards you have. But you know which ones your fellow players do. So you must communicate with each other to build a proper show by placing cards in sequential order with no misfires.

==Gameplay==

====Cards and Firework Stacks====

The deck has 50 cards. The cards come in five colors: {{pill|Red|firebrick}} {{pill|Blue|royalblue}} {{pill|Green|green}} {{pill|Yellow|gold}} {{pill|White|white}}

Each color has 10 cards. Three are {{HCard|1|silver}}, two are {{HCard|2|silver}}, two are {{HCard|3|silver}}, two are {{HCard|4|silver}}, and one single {{HCard|5|silver}}.

There is only one firework of each color. Each firework only has one of each number and must be placed in ascending order. So at the end (if successful), you should have 5 fireworks of 5 cards each, 1 through 5. Placing a duplicate on any stack will result in a misfire. '''If three misfires occur, the game is over and the players lose.'''

====Communication====

You can only communicate with your teammates via '''clues'''. You have a limited number of clues, represented by tokens like this: {{Hclue|s=1}}

These are displayed in the upper right corner. Each time you give a clue, a {{Hclue|s=1}} moves from the white area (available tokens) to the black (played tokens). If there are no tokens available, you must play or discard on your turn.

{{InfoBox|title=Chat|background=red|body=Do '''not''' use the chat to communicate with each other. That is cheating. If you do, you are dishonored and your reputation as a master pyrotechnician is tainted.}}

==Setup==

In a 2-3 player game, each player gets a hand of 5 cards. In a 4-5 player game, each player gets a hand of 4 cards.

==Gameplay==

On your turn, you can do one of three things.

<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>Give a clue.</li>
<li>Discard a card.</li>
<li>Play a card.</li>
</ul>

==== Give a Clue ====

To give a clue, there must be at least 1 {{Hclue|s=1}} in the white area. Click on another player's card. You have the choice of telling the player

<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>Which cards '''of that color''' the player has</li>
<li>Which cards '''of that number''' the player has</li>
</ul>

At that point, the {{Hclue|s=1}} is moved from the white "available" zone to the black "used" zone.

The game records these clues, so you can tell which cards other players have pointed out are what number and what color.

==== Play a Card ====

Choose a card in your hand and select to play it. It will move automatically to the appropriate color stack.

<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>If it '''is''' the next card in sequence for a color, it is placed on the appropriate stack, adding to or completing the firework.</li>
<li>If it '''is not''' the next card in sequence for any color, then the firework has misfired and the card is discarded. The player draws a replacement card.</li>
</ul>

If the played card completes a firework, a {{Hclue|s=1}} moves from the spent black area to the white available area.

==== Discard a Card ====

To discard a card, there must be at least 1 {{Hclue|s=1}} in the black area. Click on the card you wish to discard. A replacement card is drawn and a {{Hclue|s=1}} moves from the black area to the white area, making it available.

Discarding is a necessary part of the game as you will need to restore {{Hclue|s=1}}. Plus your hand will have unplayable duplicates so you must discard at some point. (e.g., if you play a {{Hb|3}} and the {{pill|Blue|royalblue}} stack already has a {{Hb|3}} in it, that results in a misfire.)

== Game End ==

There are three ways the game can end.

<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>If the players cause 3 misfires (misplayed cards), the game immediately ends and the players lose.</li>
<li>If all 5 firework stacks get completed, the players have won. and granted a stunning victory with 25 points.</li>
<li>If the deck is empty, each player plays one more time (including the player who emptied the deck). Once this last round completes, the score is tallied.</li>
<ul class="bulletlist" style="padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li></li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Scoring====

To calculate score, add the largest value card (top card) in each of the firework stacks. Artistic impression is determined by the Artisan League of Fireworks Technicians reference scale:

{| class="wikitable" style="width:auto;" border="2"
|- style="background-color: #eaecf0;text-align: center;font-style: normal;font-weight: 600;"
!Points
!Overall impression
|-
|0-5
|Horrible, booed by the crowd...
|-
|6-10
|Mediocre, just a spattering of applause...
|-
|11-15
|Honorable attempt, but quickly forgotten...
|-
|16-20
|Excellent, crowd pleasing.
|-
|21-24
|Amazing, will be remembered for weeks!
|-
|25-29
|Legendary, everyone left speechless, stars in their eyes!
|-
|30
|Divine, the display outshines the stars!
|}