Humble Tea Party Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
• Purpose of the Game
• Phases of the Game
• Elements of a Tile
• Phase 1: Take your own sweets
• Phase 2: Recommend sweets to others
  • ※1 Oribako Completion
  • ※2 Getting Some Tea
• Phase 3: Calculate the Score
• Elegant Arrangement of Japanese Sweets (Hands Charts)
• Samples of Point Calculation
• Optional Rules
• FAQ
• List of Japanese Sweets
• Cautions

Components

• Japanese Sweets Tiles ("Tiles") x 60
  • Nerikiri-style: 12 types x 3 each (Black #)
  • Others: 12 types x 2 each (White #)
• Player Cards x 8 (4 seasons x 2 each)
• Active Player Token x 1
• Tea Token x 1
• Point Token x 8

Game Setup

• Players are attendees of the "Humble Tea Party". Set all components on the table as shown in the below chart.
  • Example: For 4 players (diagram showing Oribako Area, Deck, Tea Token, Active Player Token and Player Card placement).
• Make sure all Player Cards are well shuffled and distribute one Player Card to each player, hiding the front side from other players in order not to disclose the season described on the front side (the "Favorite Season"). For 3 or 4 players, use only 1 Player Card per season (spring/summer/autumn/winter) and for 5 or 6 players, use 2 Player Cards per season (i.e. use all player cards). Once distributed, place undistributed Player Cards on the table showing the front side up.
• Each player should now check his/her Favorite Season. Be careful not to show it to other players as it affects the result of the game.
• Shuffle Tiles and divide them into three piles facing down ("Decks"). Then, turn Tiles on the top of each Deck face-up.
• The player who ate Japanese sweets most recently will be the starting player. The starting player will take the Active Player Token in hand.

Purpose of the Game

Complete the beautiful Oribako filled with nine Tiles (3 rows x 3 columns) for each player.

The player with the LOWEST SCORE shall win the game. Let's try to be the most humble player!

Phases of the Game

Each round has three phases:

1. Take your own sweets – From the starting player, pick one Tile from either Deck and place it in YOUR OWN Oribako. This action is taken only once per player.
2. Recommend sweets to others – From the starting player, pick one Tile from either Deck and place it in ANY OTHER PLAYER'S Oribako while consulting with other players. This action will continue until all players' Oribakos are completed.
3. Calculate the Score – All players calculate the score of each Oribako one by one to decide the winner who is the most "humble" player.

Elements of a Tile

Each Tile shows an illustration of Japanese Sweets, a Crest (3 types), a Season (frame/background: Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter) and a Month (Jan. - Dec.).

Phase 1: Take your own sweets

From the starting player, pick one Tile from the top of either Deck and place it in YOUR OWN Oribako.

Then, flip a Tile just beneath the Tile taken. If more than two Tiles on the top of Decks are the same, "Reset" all Decks.

Reset: Move all Tiles on the top to the bottom of each Deck with faced-down, then, flip Tiles on the top of all Decks.

Finish the turn and pass the Active Player Token to the player on your left.

Once all players complete their turns, move to the next phase "2. Recommend sweets to others".

Phase 2: Recommend sweets to others

Step 1: From the starting player, pick one Tile from the top of either Deck and place it in ANY OTHER PLAYER'S Oribako while consulting with other players. If there is no space in all other players' Oribako to place a tile, pass his/her turn and move to the step 3.

A Tile can be placed following below rules:

• Not in your OWN Oribako
• Not under the "Oribako Completion1" or under the "Getting Some Tea2" status
• Not being isolated from Tiles already placed
• Not outside of the 3x3 boundary

※1 Oribako Completion

The "Oribako Completion" is the status when all 9 Tiles are placed in a 3x3 field.

When the Oribako Completion is achieved, the player has to disclose his/her Favorite Season to other players.

※2 Getting Some Tea

Each player is able to go "Get Some Tea" any time but only once throughout the game by taking the tea token on his/her own Oribako. Other players cannot place a Tile to the Oribako on which the Tea token is placed.

The player who is gone to get some tea will return the Tea Token to the center of the table at the beginning of his/her next turn, then take a Point Token in hand for recording purpose.

Step 2: Flip a Tile just beneath the Tile taken. If more than two Tiles on the top of Decks are the same, "Reset" all Decks. If one of the Decks is out of tiles, take Tiles from other Deck to always keep three Decks.

Step 3: Finish the turn and pass the Active Player Token to the player on your left. Once all players complete their Oribakos, move to the next phase, "3 Calculate points".

Phase 3: Calculate the Score

All players calculate the score together.

Step 1: Calculate the score referring to the next page for each player, then place a point token on the corresponding number on the Player Card.

Step 2: Compare your scores with others' and the player with the LOWEST SCORE will be the winner of the game.

*If several players share the same score, the player with the smallest number of "#1 : Four Seasons" wins the game. Similarly, if the numbers of "Four Seasons" are the same, compare hand #2, #3 and #4 in a similar manner.

Elegant Arrangement of Japanese Sweets (Hands Charts)

• #1: Four Seasons – 1pt / set. Place all seasons (spring/summer/fall/winter) in a 2 x 2 square box.
• #2: Delicious Trimester – 1pt / line. Place three Tiles in 1 line (including diagonally) so that months become sequential. Of course, January comes after December.
• #3: Seasonal Assortment – 1pt / line. Place three Tiles sharing the same season in 1 line (including diagonally).
• #4: Crest Assortment – 1pt / line. Place three Tiles sharing the same crest in 1 line (including diagonally).
• #5: Favorite Season Bonus – 1pt / Tile. Add 1 point per 1 Tile with the same season as player's Favorite Season.
• #6: Duplication Penalty – -2pts / duplicated Tile. Deduct 2 points per 1 duplicated Tile in one Oribako.

Samples of Point Calculation

• Player Card: Winter
  • #1: Four Seasons x 0
  • #2: Delicious Trimester x 1
  • #3: Seasonal Assortment x 1
  • #4: Crest Assortment x 2
  • #5: Favorite Season Bonus x 3
  • #6: Duplication Penalty x 0
  • Total: 7 pts
• Player Card: Autumn
  • #1: Four Seasons x 4
  • #2: Delicious Trimester x 0
  • #3: Seasonal Assortment x 0
  • #4: Crest Assortment x 4
  • #5: Favorite Season Bonus x 2
  • #6: Duplication Penalty x 3 (-6pts)
  • Total: 4 pts

Optional Rules

You can play this game with various optional rules. Here are 2 ideas of rules that you could use.

1. No chatting – When placing a Tile in another player's Oribako, players cannot discuss with each other.
2. Team Battle – Divide all players into 2 teams. Play the game so that the sum of the score of all team members will be the final score.

Enjoy the game with all your favorite optional rules!

FAQ

Q: If a player uses "Getting Some Tea" during Tile placement, what happens? A: "Getting Some Tea" prevails against Tile placement if both happen at the same time.

Q: Can a player go to get some tea while another player is already "Getting Some Tea"? A: No, if any player is already getting some Tea, other players have to wait until it ends.

Q: Is the "Delicious Trimester" valid even if months are not aligned in order? A: No. It is valid only if three months are aligned in a sequential manner. (e.g.) 7,6,5→OK 11,12,1→OK 5,7,6→NG

Q: What should we do if we have to Reset several times? A: Use Reset up to three times. If it comes up more than 3 times, just continue with the game as-is.

List of Japanese Sweets

Month	Nerikiri-style	Others
Jan.	Red Snapper	Hanbira-mochi
Feb.	Strawberry	Strawberry Daifuku
Mar.	Peach	Hishi Mochi
Apr.	Cherry Blossom	Sakura Mochi
May	Wisteria	Kashiwa Mochi
Jun.	Loquat	Hydrangea Wharf
Jul.	Moth	Milky Way
Aug.	Sun Flower	Kingyokukan - Gold fish
Sep.

Cautions

• Be careful for children not to swallow small components of the game.
• Do not leave it in a hot/humid place. There is a risk of deformation/deterioration.
• Keep it away from fire. It may cause fire or deformation.