Mario Hanafuda
- Not to be confused with Club Nintendo Hanafuda.
The Mario Hanafuda deck is a deck of Japanese playing cards known as hanafuda. It was introduced during the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary. The illustrations on the cards, including the ones on the inner box, are derived from the currently produced "President" set, which has been Nintendo's flagship brand of traditional hanafuda for over a century.[1] Red- and black-decked versions of Mario Hanafuda were later made available on the My Nintendo Store in Europe on June 16, 2020,[2] along with postcards based on them.[3] Instructions for playing Koi-Koi are also included with the deck. In the English instructions, each type of card is officially translated as Light, Seed, Scroll and Basic.[4]
Illustrations on the cards[edit]
Like the earlier Club Nintendo Hanafuda deck from 2007, the Mario Hanafuda deck modifies the cards' traditional illustrations to incorporate elements from the Super Mario franchise, sometimes taking substantial liberties (such as adding characters to several of the basic cards). While some designs in the Mario set are directly based on their Club Nintendo counterparts (such as the replacement of the full moon with a Boo on the August light card and the addition of a Blooper to the water in the May seed card), most of them are original. A close inspection of the illustration reveals that a new printing method has been used with respect to the one used in the Club Nintendo Hanafuda deck. Some months now follow a theme:
- January is dedicated to the Yoshi's Island series.
- February is dedicated to Yoshi characters in the Super Mario series.
- March is dedicated to main female characters in the Super Mario universe.
- April is dedicated to the Donkey Kong Country series.
- May features water-themed illustrations.
- August is dedicated to Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.
- December is dedicated to Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings. The December light card is the only one whose illustration is identical to its counterpart in the Club Nintendo set.
| Month and flower | Light (光, hikari) | Seed (種, tane) | Scroll (短冊, tanzaku) | Basic (カス, kasu) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January (pine) |
 |
— |  |
 
|
| February (plum blossom) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| March (cherry blossom) |
 |
— |  |
 
|
| April (wisteria) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| May (water iris) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| June (peony) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| July (bush clover) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| August (susuki grass) |
 |
 |
— |  
|
| September (chrysanthemum) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| October (maple) |
— |  |
 |
 
|
| November (willow) |
 |
 |
 |
|
| December (paulownia) |
 |
— | — |   
|
Appearances in games[edit]
In Mario Kart Tour, the first illustrations of January, March, May, June, August, September, November, and December; the second illustration of October; the third illustration of July; and the fourth illustrations of February and April appear as tour-exclusive High-End gliders available as tour gifts for Gold Pass subscribers.
Each one was released during its respective month from the card set. All the gliders are modeled after the Full Flight and its variants.
Gallery[edit]
Cameo of the first illustration of August as seen in the promotional artwork for Culdcept Revolt from Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s LINE account
Cameo of the first illustration of December as seen in Nintendo's recruitment book
Notes[edit]
- A hanafuda-themed cover plate for the New Nintendo 3DS features a design based on the September seed card for its upper plate. The lower plate is instead based on the August light card from the Club Nintendo Hanafuda deck.
References[edit]
- ^ Official site of the Hanafuda and Kabufuda sets currently produced by Nintendo. Nintendo of Japan official site. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ @NintendoEurope (June 16, 2020). "Themed Hanafuda and playing card sets are now available from the #MyNintendo Store, while stocks last!" Twitter. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ @NintendoEurope (June 16, 2020). "This Mario Hanafuda postcard set is now available as a #MyNintendo Reward for 400 Platinum Points + shipping costs, while stocks last!" Twitter. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ Mario Hanafuda How to Play Koi-Koi (pdf). Nintendo of Europe. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
External links[edit]
- Official Japanese site
- Article about Mario Hanafuda (in Japanese)
- Mario Hanafuda on the European My Nintendo Store[dead link]
