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Cleocatra
- 2–4 players
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- 2020
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HANIWA
2023
Rules assistance for HANIWA
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 15–20 min
- 6+
- Complexity 2.0/5
Rules assistant for HANIWA
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
HANIWA is a board game released in 2023 for 1–4 players, 15–20 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. It was designed by Akira Yasunaga and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Tile Placement, and Pattern Building.
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About the game
This game Haniwa is a puzzle like tile placement game. In the kofun period, during a festival in honour of the gōzoku, two haniwa sculptors compete to see who is the most talented. When it is their turn, each sculptor (in this case, each player) offers their most beautiful haniwa (in this case, a haniwa tile) to one of the four gōzoku chiefs present at the festival. The players each have an area of the field and will have to get the highest score on the columns in order to be the gōzoku's favourite. At the same time, they will try to accumulate an exact score of 8 on these rows in order to get the bonus linked to the dogū, alien-looking statues. Several game modes available, including a single-player mode!
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
- Musoka Studio
Questions and answers
HANIWA supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for HANIWA is 15–20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists HANIWA for ages 6 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
HANIWA has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
HANIWA belongs to these categories: Number, Puzzle, and Ancient. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Tile Placement, and Pattern Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of HANIWA are: Akira Yasunaga. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists HANIWA as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.