Rate the Fun: Hanabi

Only two sleeps till International Tabletop Day. So many games to be played this Saturday! In

anticipation the Rate the Fun game review countdowns continue. Today's game is Hanabi.

Hanabi is a cooperative card game about building a grand fireworks show. This is achieved by placing correct cards 1-5 in the five colour suits. The challenge is you can see everyone's cards but your own. This is similar to the headbands deduction games.

The game rules say it is for 2-5 players, takes 30 minutes, and is for 8 and up. The Hanabi Board Game Geek page suggests that 4 is the best, play time is 25 minutes, and agrees with the 8 and up recommendation. I have mostly played it with 2 players; I think 4 would be a neat challenge.

Good Stuff:

• I like the Japanese theme. Hanabi, as I understand, is the Japanese word for fireworks. "Hana" is flower and "bi" is fire.
• The game designer is Antoine Bauza. I've enjoyed all that I've played by him and Hanabi is no different. Some of his other games are 7 Wonders, Takenoko, and The Little Prince: Make Me A Planet.
• I like that it is cooperative, quick and different then all the other cards games I own. The price point also makes it a reasonable edition.
• The card box is small and compact and production is good with lovely artwork. I enjoy the design on the backs of the cards.
• There are four alternatives rules suggested.
• You can only preform one of three possible actions and normally you want to do two. I have found that this frustrating feature of wanting to do more then you can during your turn (meaning you have choice and risk) that the game is well designed and going to a lot of re-playability.

Less Than Good Stuff:

• The communication limits are a challenge that can make the game frustrating past the point of enjoyment. This is especially annoying if a player generally struggles to remember facts. I think we've bent the rules about giving information every time I've played.
• I've not tried the rainbow suit at all. I am considering how to make wild card variant for first time players or an easier "beginner" challenge.

Final Thoughts:
I like Hanabi and would like to play it more. If the information in "good stuff" sound interesting to you then I expect you would like it too.

Rate the Fun Score: 6.8
You can find the list of rated games and the Rate the Fun score guide here.