Nihon no Asobi Series (日本の遊びシリーズ, “Games of Japan Series”) is series of video games for Windows by FEEL-GOOD, published between 2001 and 2013. It features various karuta video games, including Hanafuda, Kabufuda, Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, and Iroha Karuta, as well as Sugoroku board games.
While the developer’s website is no longer available, their software was hosted on Vector, where both paid and shareware versions are still available for download. In the free shareware versions, each game is limited to about half the full game length.
Nihon no Asobi Series: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (日本の遊びシリーズ 小倉百人一首) was first released in 2001. It includes Genpei War, Scatter and Pick up, Competitive Karuta, and Bōzu Mekuri game modes, as well as various tools to aid with memorization of cards. The game uses authentic recordings of a certified reader of the All-Japan Karuta Association.
Main article: Nihon no Asobi Series: Hanafuda
Nihon no Asobi Series: Hanafuda (日本の遊びシリーズ 花札) was first released in 2001. It includes the hanafuda games Koi-Koi, Hana-Awase, Hachi-Hachi and Mushi
Main article: Nihon no Asobi Series: Kabufuda
Nihon no Asobi Series: Kabufuda (日本の遊びシリーズ 株札) was first released in 2002. It includes the kabufuda games Kingo, Oicho-Kabu and Sashikomi
Nihon no Asobi Series: Iroha Karuta (日本の遊びシリーズ ) was first released in 2002. It features 4 different Iroha Karuta decks aimed at children, for learning hiragana and proverbs.
Nihon no Asobi Series: Yasagure Karuta (日本の遊びシリーズ やさぐれカルタ) was first released in 2002. A spin-off of the Iroha Karuta game, it features 4 humorous Iroha Karuta decks aimed at adults.
Nihon no Asobi Series: Sugoroku (日本の遊びシリーズ 雙六) was first released in 2001. It features Sugoroku, a genre of traditional Japanese board games similar to snakes and ladders. The game includes several game board by default, and more boards are available to download for free, as well as a free custom map maker.
Despite their age, the games run fine on Windows 11. However, as they still use Shift-JIS encoding instead of UTF-8, the computer must have a Japanese locale or use a locale emulator to work correctly, and to display Japanese text. The installers may also run into problems when not executed in a Japanese locale.