How to Learn Japanese

Moekana Product Specifications

Moekana

Moekana are a set of cards to help you learn the basic Japanese syllabary: hiragana. The cards feature the mascot characters of the TV show and website produced by Danny Choo called Culture Japan who are, Mirai Suenaga, Haruka Suenaga and Kanata Hoshikawa.

Players: 1-4 players
Requirement: 2 packs of Moekana
Difficulty Level: Lesser Ninja

Setup

Pick out 10 pairs of cards per player from the two decks
Lay out all the cards face up neatly in any order
Spend a minute to memorize where all the cards are
Flip all the cards over

Gameplay

Take turns in clockwise order to flip any 2 cards over
If both cards are the same, the player keeps those cards
If the cards are different, flip them back face down
The game ends when all the cards have been taken

Objective
Player with most pairs of cards wins

Players: 2 players, 1 judge
Requirement: 2 packs of Moekana
Difficulty Level: Ninja

Setup

Lay all 50 cards face up on the floor in the middle of the room
Both players sit in Seiza style at opposite ends of the room
The judge shuffles a second deck of Moekana and places it face down in front of her

Gameplay

The judge flips over the top card of the deck, and shouts out the Japanese word on the top right of the card
The players rush to the cards, and slams their palm down on the corresponding card
The first player to put her hand on the right card keeps the card
Both players return back to their positions and repeat steps 1-4
The game ends when all the cards have been taken

Objective
Player with most number of cards win
If there is a tie, the player with the most number of special cards (Character Cards or Moekana Card) wins
If a tie still persists, the player with the Mirai Suenaga card wins

Players: 2-4 players
Requirement: 1 pack of Moekana
Difficulty Level: Greater Ninja

Setup

Remove the special cards (Character Cards or Moekana Card) and shuffle the deck
Deal the cards out in clockwise order starting from the dealer's left
Each player receives one special card

Gameplay

The player on the dealer's left starts by forming a noun that has 2 or more syllables with the hiragana available in her hand, and places the corresponding cards down in the pot (pile of cards in the middle)
The next player must form a noun that has 2 or more syllable, and starts with the last hiragana of the previous player's word, with the cards available in her hand, and places those cards in the pot
Special cards can be used to represent any hiragana syllable. (Wild Card)
Dakuten and Handakuten may be ignored (eg. は can be used to represent ば and ぱ)
Only nouns are allowed
If a player is unable to form a connecting word with the cards available in her hand, she keeps all cards in the pot into her hand
If a player forms a word that ends with the hiragana "ん" (n), that player keeps all cards in the pot into her hand

Objective
Player who plays out all the cards in her hand first wins