Gamehelphanabi

Overview

• Hanabi is a cooperative game. Your goal, as a team, is to build a fabulous fireworks show.
• You have to put together fireworks (red, yellow, green, blue and white) by playing each individual colour in series (1 ⇨ 2 ⇨ 3 ⇨ 4 ⇨ 5).
• You cannot see your own cards; you can only see the cards of your teammates.
• You can only communicate with your teammates via clues, playing and discarding cards (see below).
• No other communication is allowed.

Final Score Ratings

Points	Overall impression
0-5	horrible, booed by the crowd...
6-10	mediocre, just a spattering of applause.
11-15	honourable, but will not be remembered for very long...
16-20	excellent, crowd pleasing.
21-24	amazing, will be remembered for a very long time!
25-29	legendary, everyone left speechless, stars in their eyes!
30	Divine, the display outshines the stars!

Setup

Deal

# Players	2-3	4-5
# Cards	5	4

8clue tokens clue tokens

Game play

Players take turns to either:

• Give a clue
• Play a card, or
• Discard a card

Clue

Possible with at least 1clue tokens available:

• All cards of a colour, or
• All cards of a number, or
• No cards of a colour, e.g. "Player1 to Player2: you have no red card" or
• No cards of a number e.g. "Player1 to Player2: you have no 5"

1. The active player selects a card in another player's hand.
2. The active player selects a clue option.
3. 1clue tokens is moved from 'available' to 'used'.

Play

1. The active player selects a card in their hand.
2. The active player selects the 'Play selected card' button.
   • If the played card fits in any of the sequences, it is placed in the appropriate colour stack on the table.
   • If the played card does not fit, it is placed in the discard pile and the team gets a misfire token.
3. A replacement card is drawn.

Discard

Possible with fewer than 8clue tokens available:

1. The active player selects a card in their hand.
2. The active player selects the 'Discard selected card' button.
3. The discarded card is placed in the discard pile.
4. 1clue tokens is moved from 'used' to 'available'.
5. A replacement card is drawn.

Game end

The game can end in several ways:

• All cards have been drawn from the deck. After this happens, each player has one more turn. The game ends with the score after the last turn.
• Your team played all possible cards. In this case, the game ends immediately.
• Your team made three mistakes that caused misfires. In this case, all players lose the game and receive -10 ELO points.
• Your team concedes the game. All players receive -10 ELO points.
• A player quits the game. Only the player that quit first receives -10 ELO points. All other players' ELO is unchanged.

Conventions

• There are not enough ​clue tokens to clue both colour and number of every played card, so the team must agree on a set of clue, play and discard interpretations, known as a convention.
• Many players use different conventions and if teammates have very different clue interpretations, the game becomes unsuccessful.
• Read about some of the most common conventions in this forum post by Romain672.

Note: the BGA list of conventions does not cover all conventions, so please respect the convention the table creator wants to play. This is why there is an option to display the convention for the table.

Standard convention

This convention is suitable for beginners, since very little assumptions need to be made.

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.

Play-clue

• A Colour-clue.
• Focus is the newest, previously card. This means when multiple cards are marked, you know that the NEWEST is the "next playable".

When a player has multiple cards to play, the best strategy to prioritze playing:

1. The card that allows visible / marked cards in other players hands to be played.
2. Fives, when playing without flamboyants, to generate a clue-token. (When playing with flamboyants, 5s should be played as last possible strategic option.)
3. The card in the oldest position.

Standard convention: Play clue

red1

r

,with a

red1clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green1

g

,with a

green1clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice to Bob: these 2 cards are red.

red1

r

,with a

red1clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green1

g

,with a

green1clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob now knows his newest card is the next playable in the sequence (
  red2

  r

  ,with a

  red2clue,
  ), and the other marked card is NOT
  red1

  r

  ,with a

  red1clue,
  , or
  red2

  r

  ,with a

  red2clue,
  (because every marked card will be playable at some point).

Standard convention: Prompt

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green1

g

,with a

green1clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice to Cathy: this card is red.

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green1

g

,with a

green1clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Cathy now knows her marked card is the next playable in the sequence ⇨
  red4

  r

  ,with a

  red4clue,
  , because
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  is already marked.
• Bob now knows his marked red card is
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  and he must play it now.

Save-clue

• A number-clue.
• Focus is the chop card. This means that saved cards shall be played from oldest to newest, when it is 100% safe to do so.

Examples:

1. A 2 can be played when all 1s are on the table.
2. Non-blue 3 can be played when all 2s, except b2 are on the table.
3. A 4 can be played when r3, y3, b3 are on the table, and g4 and w4 are visible and marked in other players' hands.

Fix-clue

Sometimes it cannot be avoided that the best strategic choice is to give a clue that doesn't follow the assumptions. This is rare for experienced players. However, less experienced players might not see the optimal solution to a situation and violate assumptions anyway. In both cases, a fix-clue is needed.

• A follow-up clue on the same hand as an initial play clue.
• Required to change the focus (and prevent a misfire).
• A fix-clue can NEVER mean "play".

Fix clue example 1

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white5

w

,with a

white5clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Cathy's
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  must play next.
• The focus of a 3 clue on its own will be
  green3

  g

  ,with a

  green3clue,
  and the focus of a red clue will be
  red5

  r

  ,with a

  red5clue,
  .
• Alice to Cathy: these two cards are 3.

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white5

w

,with a

white5clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob to Cathy: these 2 cards are white - this fix clue changes the focus from
  white3

  w

  ,with a

  white3clue,
  to
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  (now visible).

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white5

w

,with a

white5clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Note: If Alice had given a red-clue to Cathy, and Bob had fixed it with a 3-clue, it would mean that newest red is "next playable", so Cathy should assume
  red4

  r

  ,with a

  red4clue,
  instead of
  red5

  r

  ,with a

  red5clue,

Fix clue example 2

red3

r

,with a

red3clue,

yellow3

y

,with a

yellow3clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob's
  red4

  r

  ,with a

  red4clue,
  must be saved.
• The focus of a 4 clue on its own will be
  red4

  r

  ,with a

  red4clue,
• Alice to Cathy: these two cards are 4.

red3

r

,with a

red3clue,

yellow5

y

,with a

yellow5clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob will play
  red4

  r

  ,with a

  red4clue,
  and make the (wrong) assumption that his other four is
  yellow4

  y

  ,with a

  yellow4clue,
  . After Cathy discards
  green3

  g

  ,with a

  green3clue,
  , Alice must fix the situation.

red4

r

,with a

red4clue,

yellow3

y

,with a

yellow3clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice will give white-clue to Bob. Note that a fix clue NEVER means "play". So Bob should NOT assume that his newest white card is
  white5

  w

  ,with a

  white5clue,

red4

r

,with a

red4clue,

yellow3

y

,with a

yellow3clue,

green5

g

,with a

green5clue,

blue5

b

,with a

blue5clue,

white4

w

,with a

white4clue,

Bob 🡲​

Cathy 🡲​

Bad clue

• A clue that violates any of the assumptions.

Examples:

1. A clue that marks
   red2

   r

   ,with a

   red2clue,
   as playable (with colour) when
   red1

   r

   ,with a

   red1clue,
   is not yet played on the table, or marked in someone's hand.
2. A clue that marks known trash or potentially duplicate cards, such as 4s-clue when your hand could have a copy of that 4.

• A clue that marks zero new cards.

Example:

A common beginner mistake is to rush a saved card into play by re-cluing it. You should wait until the next playable card is drawn, and then clue that card to "prompt" the saved card.)

Finesse convention

Players assume:

• Standard convention
• Play clues may also include the newest, unmarked cards in every hand.

Finesse example

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice to Cathy: this card is blue.

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Cathy now thinks her marked card
  blue2

  b

  ,with a

  blue2clue,
  is the "next playable".
• Bob knows that Cathy will bomb her
  blue2

  b

  ,with a

  blue2clue,
  as
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  unless a
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  is played first.
• So Bob assumes he has the connecting
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  in a logical spot in his hand.
• Bob does not have a marked card that could be
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  (prompting has priority over finesse), so Bob blind plays his newest unmarked card.
• blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  successfully plays.

Reversed finesse example

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice to Bob: this card is blue.

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob now thinks his marked
  blue2

  b

  ,with a

  blue2clue,
  is the "next playable".
• Bob sees the newest, unmarked card in Cathy's hand is of the same colour and playable now. Bob assumes it is a finesse with the players in reversed order and his blue card is
  blue2

  b

  ,with a

  blue2clue,
  .

Bluff example

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Alice to Cathy: this card is blue.

red​

r

,with a

red​clue,

yellow​

y

,with a

yellow​clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue​

b

,with a

blue​clue,

white​

w

,with a

white​clue,

Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Cathy now thinks her marked card
  blue3

  b

  ,with a

  blue3clue,
  is the "next playable".
• Bob sees that
  blue3

  b

  ,with a

  blue3clue,
  , is NOT playable, so he has to fix it.
• Contrary to "Standard Convention", where a fix-clue should be given, Bob can also blind plays his newest unmarked card.
• white1

  w

  ,with a

  white1clue,
  successfully plays.
• Before Bob played, Cathy thought her marked card was
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  . Since, in response to the blue-clue
  white1

  w

  ,with a

  white1clue,
  was played AND
  white1

  w

  ,with a

  white1clue,
  does not match the clue, Cathy knows her blue card is NOT
  blue1

  b

  ,with a

  blue1clue,
  .
• Note: Cathy SHALL NOT assume that her blue card is
  blue2

  b

  ,with a

  blue2clue,
  . It is NOT promised that bluffs shall only be done with 1-away cards.

When playing more complex conventions, interpretations can be more stringent, where bluffs can only be done using 1-away-from-playable

blue2

b

,with a

blue2clue,

.

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).

Note: Other conventions also use something called a "gentlemen's discard". This move cannot be used when you assume that a copy of that card must be marked in the future. Since a gentlemen's discard is a relatively weak move (in finesse convention), it is preferred to not use it.

Finesse example

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow1

y

,with a

yellow1clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white1

w

,with a

white1clue,

Alice 🡲​ Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• The first yellow 3 is already discarded. Alice sees that y3 in Cathy's hand needs to be saved. It can only be saved with a 3s-clue. That 3s-clue will mark a copy of
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  , so Alice pre-emptively discards her
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  . This will give Bob confidence to mark copy
  red3

  r

  ,with a

  red3clue,
  in Cathy's hand, without having to worry about a fix-clue (later).

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow1

y

,with a

yellow1clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white1

w

,with a

white1clue,

Alice 🡲​ Bob 🡲​ Cathy 🡲​

• Bob clues 3s to Cathy.

red2

r

,with a

red2clue,

yellow1

y

,with a

yellow1clue,

green​

g

,with a

green​clue,

blue3

b

,with a

blue3clue,

white1

w

,with a

white1clue,

Alice 🡲​ Bob 🡲​

Cathy 🡲​

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Definitions

Basic

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).

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

Marked: A card touched 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.

Trash: A card that can never be played successfully.

Bomb: A play that causes a misfire.

Draw: The newest card in a hand.

Chop: The oldest, unmarked card in a hand.

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

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

Prompt: A play clue that causes connecting marked card(s) to play.

Intermediate

Good Touch Principle: All marked cards will eventually be played.

Splash: Additional new colour or rank information of cards that are not the focus.

Locked: A hand with all cards marked without any plays.

Reclue: A repeated clue that causes marked card(s) to play.

Fix clue: Follow-up clue required to change the focus of a play clue (and prevent a misfire).

Discard clue: Clue that marks trash card(s) to be discarded (to prevent a misfire or unwanted discard).

Stall clue: A clue given to avoid discarding.

Finesse: A play clue that causes connecting unmarked card(s) to play.

Bluff: A play clue that causes a non-connecting unmarked card to play immediately.

Bluff seat: The player directly before the player who is bluffed.

Bottom-decked: When the remaining copy of a playable card is too near the bottom of the deck to achieve a perfect score.

Early save: A save clue with a known playable card in the same hand, or does not mark the chop card¹. i.e. a play clue.

Double save: Two consecutive saves in the same hand.

Double discard: Two consecutive players discard copies of the same chop card, resulting in a unique discard. A special problem, since, to each of the consecutive players, a number clue that marks their chop card does not look like a save clue (and therefore looks like a play clue).

Sarcastic discard: Discard of a duplicate marked copy of a card in another hand.

Skip / steal: When a player gives a clue that could have been given by one of the skipped players.

Scream discard: An unexpected discard to save a unique card in another hand.

Advanced

Long finesse: A finesse of three or more cards lasting more than one complete round.

Layered finesse: A finesse with unrelated playable card(s) in front of the target card(s).

Scream play: An unexpected chop play to save a unique card in another hand.

Clued misplay: A play clue that causes a misfire to prevent a unique discard in the same hand.

Positional misplay: An unexpected play that marks the same slot position in another hand to play immediately.

Gentleman's discard: Discard of a playable card to play an unmarked copy in another hand.

Play refusal: Instead of playing, a player clues or discards their chop.

Hesitation play: After a play refusal of a playable card, another player may be able to blind play an unmarked card.

Generation discard: An unexpected discard to gain 1clue tokens.

Options

Colors

Normal: 5 colors

50 cards

Red (r)	red1 r ,with a red1clue, red1 r ,with a red1clue, red1 r ,with a red1clue,	red2 r ,with a red2clue, red2 r ,with a red2clue,	red3 r ,with a red3clue, red3 r ,with a red3clue,	red4 r ,with a red4clue, red4 r ,with a red4clue,	red5 r ,with a red5clue,
Yellow (y)	yellow1 y ,with a yellow1clue, yellow1 y ,with a yellow1clue, yellow1 y ,with a yellow1clue,	yellow2 y ,with a yellow2clue, yellow2 y ,with a yellow2clue,	yellow3 y ,with a yellow3clue, yellow3 y ,with a yellow3clue,	yellow4 y ,with a yellow4clue, yellow4 y ,with a yellow4clue,	yellow5 y ,with a yellow5clue,
Green (g)	green1 g ,with a green1clue, green1 g ,with a green1clue, green1 g ,with a green1clue,	green2 g ,with a green2clue, green2 g ,with a green2clue,	green3 g ,with a green3clue, green3 g ,with a green3clue,	green4 g ,with a green4clue, green4 g ,with a green4clue,	green5 g ,with a green5clue,
Blue (b)	blue1 b ,with a blue1clue, blue1 b ,with a blue1clue, blue1 b ,with a blue1clue,	blue2 b ,with a blue2clue, blue2 b ,with a blue2clue,	blue3 b ,with a blue3clue, blue3 b ,with a blue3clue,	blue4 b ,with a blue4clue, blue4 b ,with a blue4clue,	blue5 b ,with a blue5clue,
White (w)	white1 w ,with a white1clue, white1 w ,with a white1clue, white1 w ,with a white1clue,	white2 w ,with a white2clue, white2 w ,with a white2clue,	white3 w ,with a white3clue, white3 w ,with a white3clue,	white4 w ,with a white4clue, white4 w ,with a white4clue,	white5 w ,with a white5clue,

Tricky: 6th color (10 cards)

• These cards are marked by a separate multicolour clue.

+10 cards

Multicolour (m)	multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue, multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue, multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue,	multicolour2 m ,with a multicolour2clue, multicolour2 m ,with a multicolour2clue,	multicolour3 m ,with a multicolour3clue, multicolour3 m ,with a multicolour3clue,	multicolour4 m ,with a multicolour4clue, multicolour4 m ,with a multicolour4clue,	multicolour5 m ,with a multicolour5clue,

Difficult: 6th color (5 cards)

• These cards are marked by a separate multicolour clue.

+5 cards

Multicolour (m)	multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue,	multicolour2 m ,with a multicolour2clue,	multicolour3 m ,with a multicolour3clue,	multicolour4 m ,with a multicolour4clue,	multicolour5 m ,with a multicolour5clue,

Avalanche of Colors: Multicolor (10 multicolor)

• These cards are marked by any colour clue.

+10 cards

Multicolour (m)	multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue, multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue, multicolour1 m ,with a multicolour1clue,	multicolour2 m ,with a multicolour2clue, multicolour2 m ,with a multicolour2clue,	multicolour3 m ,with a multicolour3clue, multicolour3 m ,with a multicolour3clue,	multicolour4 m ,with a multicolour4clue, multicolour4 m ,with a multicolour4clue,	multicolour5 m ,with a multicolour5clue,

Black Powder

• Clues cannot be given for the colour black.
• Black cards must be played in reverse order 5 ⇨ 4 ⇨ 3 ⇨ 2 ⇨ 1.

+10 cards

Black Powder (p/k)	black powder5 ​ ,with a black powder5clue, black powder5 ​ ,with a black powder5clue, black powder5 ​ ,with a black powder5clue,	black powder4 ​ ,with a black powder4clue, black powder4 ​ ,with a black powder4clue,	black powder3 ​ ,with a black powder3clue, black powder3 ​ ,with a black powder3clue,	black powder2 ​ ,with a black powder2clue, black powder2 ​ ,with a black powder2clue,	black powder1 ​ ,with a black powder1clue,

5 flamboyants

After playing the last card of a colour, randomly draw a bonus card and apply its effect:

1. Gain 1clue tokens
2. Gain 1clue tokens and recover a life.
3. Give a colour clue.
4. Give a number clue.
5. Shuffle a discarded card into the deck (optional).
6. Play a discarded card (optional).

Convention used

Name	Summary	References
Standard	BGA convention without blind-plays.	Standard convention above Hanabi "reference" for bga
Finesse	BGA convention with blind-plays.	Finesse convention above Hanabi "reference" for bga
Hat-guessing	Clues relate to slot position, not the cards marked.	H-Group Robert Kaspar H-Group empty clues
Logical Leftism	No convention, just logic.	hanabi logic
Closest Friend	Clue interpretation depends on which player gave the clue.	H-Group
Secret convention	Each player randomly selects a secret restriction.	Secret variant Secret hanabi restriction
Conventional Leftism	Same as Standard.	hanabi logic Postmans
Chop-focus	The focus of a clue that marks a chop card is always the chop card.	H-Group

Preset deck

Preset decks are useful for comparing teams/conventions using the same deck:

• No (cards are shuffled)
• Preset deck #1 of the day
• Preset deck #2 of the day
• Preset deck #3 of the day
• Preset deck #4 of the day
• Preset deck #5 of the day

Preset decks are changed at 0:00 (?) UTC

Unofficial variant

Deal

# Players	2	3	4	5
# Cards	6	5	4	3

ELO rating

Rating is visibly hidden around tables (apart from the setup screen i.e. where players accept to start the game).

The 7 distinct ELO skill levels replace the ELO number:  Beginner  Apprentice  Average  Good  Strong  Expert  Master.

1. Hanabot's ELO is generated from:
   • Final score¹
   • Average team ELO
   • Colour option²
2. ELO change is calculated as if tied with Hanabot³.

Hanabots' ELO ratings were set by an experienced player - i.e. ratings are not random or simply proportional to score or players' ELO.

¹Hanabot's ELO = 0 with scores < 18 (5 colours) and < 21 (6 colours).

²+5 card multicolor option is unrated (too dependent on draw to reflect skill).

³ELO change with a perfect score is calculated as if Hanabot lost.

Cheating

• Players can cheat at Hanabi by sharing information via the chat user interface. This is why ranking has been disabled for this game.