2014 Puesto n.º 4145 en BGG

Haru Ichiban

2 jugadores 20 min A partir de 8 años 1.8/5 de complejidad 5.9/10 de valoración

Acerca de este juego

In Haru Ichiban, or "The Wind of Spring", two apprentice gardeners compete to use this wind to their advantage to create harmonious patterns of their blossoms upon the lilypads. Each gardener has eight flower buds numbered 1-8, with three of those buds being in hand at the start of a round. Sixteen lilypads are placed in the 5x5 pond, with one of them turned to its dark side. Each gardener simultaneously chooses a reveals a bud, with the player with the lower number becoming the Little Gardener and the other becoming the Grand Gardener. In order: The Little Gardener places one of his colored blossoms on the dark lilypad. The Grand Gardener places one of his colored blossoms on the lilypad of his choice. The Little Gardener moves one lilypad to an adjacent space, possibly moving other lilypads at the same time. The Grand Gardener flips one unoccupied lilypad to its dark side. Each gardener takes a new bud. As soon as a gardener creates a specific pattern with blossoms of his color, he scores points: 1 point for a 2x2 square, 2 points for a horizontal or vertical row of four blossoms, 3 points for a diagonal row of four blossoms, and 5 points for a row of five blossoms. If the gardener has fewer than five points, the gardeners reset the board and start a new round with three buds of their eight; if the gardener has five or more points, the game ends and he wins!

Qué sensaciones ofrece

Grid Movement Simultaneous Action Selection Pattern Building Memory Hand Management Abstract Strategy Animals Puzzle Flowers Gardening

Explora estas mecánicas en Cardboard

Crea un prototipo original con patrones de diseño reutilizables, no con el contenido de este juego.

Abrir el taller de mecánicas

Inteligencia del juego

Aprende el juego

100% de cobertura de conocimiento

Preparación

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table with a pier on each side. 2. Each player chooses a colour (red or yellow) and takes all 8 corresponding flowers (numbered 1–8), shuffles them value-side down, then draws 3, placing them value-side down in front of themselves. 3. Place the 16 water lilies in the prescribed starting pattern on the board. 4. Identify the single water lily with two dark sides — this is the dark lily for the first turn. Turn all other water lilies light side up. 5. Place each frog on the water lily showing eggs in its corresponding colour. 6. Place the scoring track beside the board and put both player characters on the track in front of a stone path.

Flujo del turno

Each turn consists of four sequential steps: **Phase 1 — Flower Selection (Simultaneous):** Both gardeners look at the values of their 3 face-down flowers, secretly choose one, then reveal simultaneously. The player with the lower value becomes the "junior gardener"; the player with the higher value becomes the "senior gardener." **Phase 2A — Junior Flowers the Dark Lily:** The junior gardener automatically places their chosen flower on the current dark (darkest) water lily. **Phase 2B — Senior Flowers a Lily of Choice:** The senior gardener places their chosen flower on any empty (unflowered) water lily of their choice. If that lily is occupied by a frog, the senior gardener moves the frog to any empty lily (no flower, no frog) of their choice. **Phase 2C — Junior Calls the Wind (Slide Move):** The junior gardener may slide one water lily or a contiguous group of water lilies one space horizontally or vertically. A slide that would push any lily off the pond is not allowed. **Phase 2D — Senior Selects New Dark Lily:** The senior gardener picks any water lily and turns it dark-side up to be the dark lily for the next turn. If the chosen lily has a frog, the senior gardener moves that frog to any empty lily of their choice. **Turn End — Draw:** Each gardener draws one new flower from their personal stock so they again hold 3 flowers, then a new turn begins.

Puntuación y victoria

First player to reach or exceed 5 total victory points across rounds wins. Points are scored by forming geometric shapes of same-colour flowers. If both players tie at or above 5 points simultaneously, the higher score wins; if equal, play additional rounds until one player leads. Puntuación objetivo: 5 Fuentes de puntuación: 4-flower 2×2 square: 1 point, 4-flower horizontal or vertical line: 2 points, 4-flower diagonal line: 3 points, 5-flower line (any direction): 5 points and immediate victory

Fuente: Rulebook

Reglas que debes conocer

Las reglas más útiles para jugar bien la primera partida.

Setup

Place board, water lilies in starting pattern, dark lily, frogs on egg lilies, and scoring track.

Place the game board centrally with a pier on each side. Arrange all 16 water lilies in the prescribed starting pattern. The single water lily with two dark sides is the dark lily for the first turn; all others are placed light-side up. Each frog is placed on the water lily showing eggs matching its colour. Place the scoring track beside the board with both player characters on it at the starting position.

Setup

Each player shuffles their 8 flowers face-down and draws 3 to form their starting hand.

Each player takes their 8 flower tiles (numbered 1–8 in their colour), shuffles them value-side down, and draws 3 at random, placing them value-side down in front of themselves. The remaining 5 tiles form the player's personal stock.

Turn structure

Both gardeners secretly choose one flower from their 3, then reveal simultaneously.

At the start of each turn, both gardeners look at the values of their 3 flower tiles. Each privately selects one flower. When both have chosen, they reveal their selections simultaneously. The revealed values determine role assignment for the rest of the turn.

Turn structure

Lower-value flower = junior gardener; higher-value flower = senior gardener.

After simultaneous reveal, the gardener who revealed the lower-valued flower is the 'junior gardener' for this turn, and the gardener who revealed the higher-valued flower is the 'senior gardener'. These roles persist until the end of the current turn and determine the order and nature of actions in Phase 2.

Turn structure

Junior gardener automatically places their flower on the current dark water lily.

The junior gardener has no choice: they must place their selected flower on the water lily currently designated as 'dark' (dark-side facing up). This action is automatic and mandatory. The dark lily must be empty (no flower already on it) for this to be possible — the dark lily designation procedure ensures this.

Turn structure

Senior gardener places their flower on any empty water lily of their choice.

After the junior gardener flowers the dark lily, the senior gardener places their selected flower on any empty (unflowered) water lily of their choice. 'Empty' means no flower is currently on it. If the chosen lily is occupied by a frog (of either colour), the senior gardener must also move that frog to any water lily that is empty (has neither a flower nor a frog) of the senior gardener's choice.

Movement

Junior gardener slides one lily or a contiguous group of lilies one space horizontally or vertically.

The junior gardener 'calls the first wind of spring', sliding one water lily or a contiguous group of water lilies exactly one space either horizontally or vertically. All tiles in the moving group must be contiguous. Any movement that would push a water lily off the edge of the pond is forbidden. Flowers and frogs on the moving lily/lilies travel with them.

Turn structure

Senior gardener picks any water lily and turns it dark-side up as next turn's dark lily.

After the wind slide, the senior gardener selects any currently unflowered water lily and turns it so its dark side is visible — this will be the dark lily for the next turn. If the chosen lily is occupied by a frog (of either colour), the senior gardener first moves that frog to any empty water lily (no flower, no frog) of their choice, then designates the lily as dark.

Informe estratégico

Wind Slide as the Decisive Offensive Weapon

The junior gardener's wind slide (Phase 2C) is the most powerful single action in the game — it can complete a scoring shape without using a new flower, often surprising the opponent. Deliberately choosing a low-value flower to become junior gardener gives you control of the slide at the cost of being forced onto the dark lily. Evaluate whether the slide opportunity is worth the loss of flower placement choice.

Dark Lily Designation as Defensive Control

The senior gardener's choice of the next dark lily (Phase 2D) is a critical defensive tool. By designating a lily in an inconvenient location as dark, the senior gardener forces the junior gardener next turn to place there automatically, disrupting the opponent's pattern-building. Prioritise designating lilies that break up the opponent's emerging shapes.

High vs. Low Value Flower Selection Trade-off

Choosing a high-value flower makes you senior gardener, granting free choice of any empty lily (Phase 2B) and control of the dark lily designation (Phase 2D) — maximum strategic flexibility. Choosing a low-value flower makes you junior (forced onto dark lily) but awards the potentially game-winning wind slide. Each turn, weigh your board position: if a slide can score or threaten a score, go low; if placement control is more valuable, go high.

Frog Displacement as Positional Leverage

When the senior gardener flowers a frog-occupied lily, they gain a bonus action: moving the frog of either colour to any empty lily. This can reposition the opponent's frog to an inconvenient location for tie-breaking purposes, or set up future frog-based traps. Plan flowers on frog lilies intentionally.

Diagonal Lines are the Highest-Value Non-Instant Shape

At 3 points, a 4-flower diagonal line is the most efficient path to 5 points short of a 5-flower line (two diagonals = 6 points, game over). Diagonals are also harder for opponents to disrupt via the wind slide since slides are only horizontal or vertical. Build diagonal threats while using the slide to complete them.

Frog Removal Timing Near Round End

When only 2 unflowered lilies remain, frogs are removed from the game for the rest of the round. This eliminates the tie-breaking frog-croaking mini-game and removes the auto-flower target for ties. If you rely on a tie to place on a specific lily, act before the 2-lily threshold is reached.

Preguntas frecuentes y casos límite

Can the junior gardener win the round by sliding water lilies into a scoring formation?

Yes. The wind slide in Phase 2C moves flowers already placed on lilies along with the lily itself. If the resulting positions form a scoring shape of 4 or 5 flowers of one colour, the round ends immediately and the relevant gardener(s) score points. The junior gardener's wind slide is a powerful offensive tool.

What happens if the wind slide causes both players to form a scoring shape at the same time?

Both players score the points corresponding to their own achieved shape independently. Both characters advance on the scoring track. The win condition is then checked — if both reach or exceed 5 points, the player with the higher score wins; if tied, additional rounds are played.

The senior gardener wants to place a flower on a lily that has a frog. Is this allowed, and what happens to the frog?

Yes, this is explicitly allowed. The senior gardener places their flower on the frog-occupied lily, and then moves the displaced frog (of either colour) to any lily that has neither a flower nor a frog, of the senior gardener's choice.

The senior gardener wants to designate a dark lily that currently has a frog on it. Is this allowed?

Yes. The senior gardener may designate a lily with a frog as the new dark lily. They first move the frog to any empty lily (no flower, no frog) of their choice, then turn the lily dark-side up.

On a tie, both players must flower their frog's lily, but a frog's lily is already flowered. What happens?

The dark lily designation procedure and frog removal rules (when 2 unflowered lilies remain) are designed to prevent this. However, the frog removal rule (frogs removed when 2 unflowered lilies remain) also protects against this edge case by removing frogs before the situation can arise.

When a new round begins, do water lilies return to their original starting positions?

No. Water lilies are only flipped to their light sides in their current positions on the board. They are NOT reset to the original starting arrangement. Only the flowers are returned to players and only the frogs are repositioned. This means the board layout evolves across rounds.

Can the junior gardener choose NOT to flower the dark water lily and flower a different one instead?

No. The junior gardener's flowering of the dark lily is automatic and mandatory. They have no choice — their selected flower goes on the dark lily only.

Can a slide move push some lilies off the board as long as others remain on it?

No. Any movement that would push ANY water lily in the moving group off the edge of the pond is completely forbidden. The entire slide must be cancelled if even one lily would go off the board.

Which lily becomes the dark lily at the start of a new round?

The rulebook specifies that for the FIRST round the single double-dark lily is used. At the start of subsequent rounds, all lilies are flipped light-side up in their current positions. The senior gardener from the last turn designates a new dark lily as part of Phase 2D, which carries over into the new round's first turn. (The double-dark lily retains its special identity but after round one all resets begin from the light side with the senior gardener's designation.)