Dare [誰 - ダレ (pronounced ‘dah-reh’), lit. ‘who?’] is a simple game based on luck in which players attempt to discard sets of 3 cards that have the same total value as that of the 3 cards on the field.
This game can be played by 2 to 4 players at the same time.
Similar games exist, such as Gomai-Kabu and Dorijitgo-ttaeng.
¶ Setup
Determine who will be dealer. If playing for money or points, set an agreed-upon bet size for the round.
¶ Equipment
39 cards of a kabufuda deck are used. Remove the Special 1 card (the red one).
The game has also been attested to be played using a one-suited mekurifuda deck called Komaru.
If needed, a kabufuda deck can be emulated with a hanafuda deck by removing the November and December suits and assigning a value to each of the cards equal to the month it represents (January = 1, February = 2, et cetera). If playing for money, chips or other small tokens should be used to represent points and assist in tracking bets.
¶ Gameplay
The dealer begins by dealing out 9 cards to each player’s hand, and 3 cards face-up on the field. The rest of the cards, if there are any, will not be used during the remainder of the round.
Each player then places the agreed ante for the round into the pot.
Next, the reference value of the field will be determined. Add up the card points of the cards on the field, and get the ones digit of that total. This will be the reference value during the round.
Starting with the player seated at the dealer’s right and continuing counter-clockwise, each player looks at the cards in their hand, and discards sets of 3 cards whose total card points has a ones digit that matches the reference value. Put the discarded cards face-up onto the table near them, keeping the cards within a set close to each other but visible to all players.
If a player manages to discard all 3 sets from their hand, it is called “Dare”. The round ends immediately and that player becomes the winner for that round.
If nobody forms “Dare”, then player who have discarded 2 sets from their hand must reveal the remaining cards in their hand for a showdown.
These players’ hands are then counted using normal Oicho-Kabu rules (Yaku hands are optional and must be agreed upon before playing the game). The player with the best hand becomes the winner (a tie-breaking method must be agreed upon as a house rule).
The winner collects the pot and becomes the dealer for the next round.