Fukuwarai

Rules and how to play

In Fukuwarai, a blindfolded player places cut-out parts on a paper outline of a face that has no brows, eyes, nose, or mouth. When the parts are placed, the blindfold comes off, and everyone looks at the face and laughs.

On this page, each turn goes in this order: look at the sample, blindfold yourself, place 6 parts, and remove the blindfold. The sample is a face with the parts in the correct positions on the outline. When you press “Blindfold”, the outline is hidden, and the parts are handed to you one at a time.

The parts are 2 brows, 2 eyes, a nose, and a mouth, 6 in all. The order in which they are handed to you changes at random each turn. While you are blindfolded, the parts you have placed are not visible (except when the blindfold is set to “Easy”). Once placed, a part cannot be moved.

The position of the outline shifts slightly on the paper each turn. Even if you memorize where the outline was on screen from the previous person’s result, it will not match the outline of your next turn.

When you have placed all 6 parts, the blindfold comes off and the score is shown. When you compare scores with the computer or take turns on one device, everyone plays the same face once, and the player with the highest score wins. If two or more players have the highest score, the game is a tie.

How points are scored

Each part gets a score from 0 to 100 based on the distance between the center of the part you placed and the center of the sample’s part. The distance is measured with the width of the face (the left-to-right width of the outline) as 1. A part that is off by 10% of the face width scores 75 points, and a part that is off by 40% or more scores 0 points. The face score is the average of the 6 part scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.

The brows and eyes are also counted with left and right swapped, and the higher total is used. If you place the left brow in the right brow’s position and the right brow in the left brow’s position, both score full points.

The result labels below the score are: 90 points or more, “Almost the same face as the sample”; 70–89 points, “A little off”; 40–69 points, “Far off”; and 39 points or less, “A different face from the sample”. Parts are always placed in the same orientation, so orientation does not affect the score.

Blindfold levels

Under “Blindfold” in the menu, choose one of 4 settings for what you can see on the screen while blindfolded.

• “Easy”: The outline stays faintly visible while blindfolded, and the parts you have placed are visible too. This suits playing with young children.
• “Normal” (default): Only the edge of the paper stays faintly visible. The outline and the parts you have placed are not visible.
• “Hard”: The paper is not visible either. The sample disappears after 3 seconds, and the parts in your hand show only gray shadows of their shapes, so you tell them apart by shape.
• “Don’t hide the screen”: The outline and the parts you have placed stay on the screen the whole time. Blindfold yourself with a cloth or towel, and place the parts by listening to the people around you.

At every level, the part you are carrying with your mouse or finger is visible. Because you cannot check the position of a part after placing it, and because the outline is hidden, the parts end up in the wrong positions.

The best score on this device is recorded for each face and each blindfold level (“Easy”, “Normal”, and “Hard”). Scores under “Don’t hide the screen” are not recorded.

The faces

There are 4 faces: Okame, Hyottoko, Daruma, and Oni (a horned ogre). If you choose “Random” in the menu, one of the 4 is picked at random each time you start. The operator drew all of these faces. They are not copies of commercial Fukuwarai illustrations.

Hyottoko’s left and right sides differ in shape: the left brow is higher than the right, the left eye is larger than the right, and the mouth is pushed out and shifted to the right. Remembering which side is which in the sample improves your score.

For Daruma, the mouth part is one piece that combines the mustache, the mouth, and the chin beard. The horns and curly hair of Oni are drawn on the outline and are not parts.

Playing alone, with the computer, or with family and friends

“Play alone” lets you make a face by yourself and see your score. Your best score on this device is also recorded.

“Compare scores with the computer” has you play first, followed by 1 to 3 computer players, who place parts on the same face in turn. While the computer places parts, you can see the outline and the parts, just as the people watching around you can. You can choose the computer level from Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

“Take turns on this device” has 2 to 4 people pass one PC or phone around in turn. When everyone has finished, the faces and scores of all players are lined up under the board, and pressing a face shows it in 3D.

To play with a friend, send them the URL shown in the results. The person who opens it sees the face and score of the person who sent it, then presses “Play the same face” and plays the same face with the same blindfold level to compare scores. The URL contains only the face, the blindfold level, and the number of part positions.

Print it and play on paper (free PDF)

To make Fukuwarai on paper, the 4 faces on this page are available as A4 PDFs. The first page is the outline, and the second page is the parts. You can print and play at home, at school, or at a nursery without any permission or notice.

Use page 1 as it is, as the base. Cut out the parts on page 2 along the gray lines with scissors. The parts are printed at the same scale as the outline on page 1, so print without enlarging or reducing (choose “Actual size” or “100%” in your print settings).

You can play while blindfolded with a cloth or towel tied over your eyes, or simply with your eyes closed. With paper Fukuwarai, you can also play in the following ways.

• The people around you help the person placing the parts by calling out, such as “Higher”, “Right”, or “There”. Two people can also form a team, one calling out and one placing the parts.
• Limit the time to place each part, such as 10 seconds.
• Everyone makes the same face, and the faces are lined up for comparison.

Controls on this page

Choose the way to play, the face, and the blindfold level in the menu to the right of the 3D display (below it when the screen is narrow), then press “Start”. For “Compare scores with the computer”, you also choose the number of players and the computer level. For “Take turns on this device”, you choose the number of players.

When the sample is shown, look at the face, then press “Blindfold”. If the blindfold level is “Hard”, the blindfold is applied automatically after 3 seconds. The name of the part in your hand and its number are shown at the top left of the board.

On a PC, move the mouse over the board, and the part in your hand follows the pointer. Click where you want to place it. On a phone, press the board, and the part appears under your finger. Move your finger and lift it where you want the part placed. With the keyboard, move the part with the arrow keys (hold the Shift key to move it farther), and place it with the Enter key or the Space key.

When the blindfold comes off, the score for the face and the score for each part are shown. If you check “Compare with the sample”, the sample parts are shown faintly and connected to your placed parts with lines.

On this page, sound effects are off by default. Turn them on or off with the speaker button at the top right of the board. Switch the viewpoint with “From an angle” and “From above” at the top right of the board.

Tips for winning

• While you look at the sample, memorize the distance from the edge of the paper to the outline. On “Normal”, the edge of the paper stays faintly visible while blindfolded, so you can use it as a reference.
• Remember each part’s position relative to the other parts. The eyes are about halfway between the top and bottom of the outline, and the nose is between the eyes and the mouth. The height of the brows differs from face to face, and Okame’s brows sit high on the forehead.
• Remember where you placed the first part, and place the next part by its distance from there. While blindfolded, you cannot see the parts you have placed, so line up their positions in your head.
• The score is the same whichever brow or eye goes on which side. Look only at the name of the part in your hand, and place it on an empty side.

The computer on this page places each part at the sample position plus an offset for the whole face and an offset for each part, and on Beginner and Intermediate it sometimes places a part far off. When the operator had the computer place the 4 faces 10,000 times each, the average scores were about 51 points on Beginner, about 74 points on Intermediate, and about 88 points on Advanced.

In the same trials, 80% of the Advanced scores were between 83 and 92 points. To beat the Advanced level, you need about 90 points.

Origin and history of Fukuwarai

Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Japan’s encyclopedia) describes Fukuwarai as one of the paper toys. It explains it as a game in which a blindfolded player places eyes and a nose on the paper outline of an Otafuku (Okame) mask, using a towel or similar cloth. In haiku, fukuwarai is a seasonal word for the New Year.^[1]

It is not clear when the game began. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho says it seems to have become popular from the mid-Edo period, and that after the Meiji period, until before World War II, it was popular as an indoor New Year game. Web Japan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it spread in the late Edo period and became a New Year game in the Meiji period, and that until around 1960 it was played mainly by children at home.^[1][2]

Okame and Hyottoko are the faces most often used. Web Japan explains that both are considered faces of good fortune, so they are used for the New Year game. The name Hyottoko is said to come from “hio-toko” (fire man), a man who blew into a fire in a stove through a bamboo tube, and whose name became slurred. According to the Sekai Daihyakka Jiten (World Encyclopedia), Fukuwarai faces were also made of Ebisu and Daikoku, as well as of people in the news at the time.^[2][1]

As an example of play, Web Japan describes a blindfolded player who is lost being helped by the people around them, who call out, such as “Higher”, “Left”, or “There”. The “Don’t hide the screen” setting on this page is designed for this style of play.^[3]

In English-speaking countries, a similar game is “Pin the tail on the donkey”, in which a blindfolded player pins a paper tail onto a picture of a donkey on the wall. According to English Wikipedia, the oldest known example dates from 1899.^[4]

Sources

1. Kotobank, “Fukuwarai” (Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponica), revised edition of the Sekai Daihyakka Jiten, and Digital Daijisen) (opens in a new tab)
2. Web Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), “What Is Fukuwarai? A Game That Brings Luck” (Kids Web Japan) (opens in a new tab)
3. Web Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), “How to Play Fukuwarai” (Kids Web Japan) (opens in a new tab)
4. Wikipedia (English), “Pin the tail on the donkey” (opens in a new tab)

Frequently asked questions

Is Fukuwarai free to play?

Yes, it’s free. You don’t need to sign up or install an app. Open this page to play the 4 faces in 3D in your browser. You can also download the printable PDFs for free.

Can I print the faces and parts of Fukuwarai?

Yes. In the section “Print it and play on paper (free PDF)”, there are A4 PDFs (2 pages each) for Okame, Hyottoko, Daruma, and Oni. The first page is the outline, and the second page has the parts (2 brows, 2 eyes, a nose, and a mouth). Cut out the parts along the gray lines. The parts are drawn at the same scale as the outline, so print without enlarging or reducing.

How many people can play?

You can play alone or with 2 to 4 people. With 2 to 4 people, you can either compare scores with the computer or take turns on one device, passing it around. To play with a friend who is far away, send them the result URL, and you can play the same face and compare scores.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. Open this page in your phone’s browser and play without downloading an app. Press the board, and a part appears under your finger. Move your finger and lift it where you want the part placed. While you press the board, the page does not scroll.

How are the points decided?

For each part, a score from 0 to 100 is given based on the distance between where you placed it and the sample position, and the average of the 6 parts is the face score. A part that is off by 10% of the face width scores 75 points, and one that is off by 40% or more scores 0 points. Swapping the brows and eyes left and right does not change the score.

What is Fukuwarai called in English?

In English, it is commonly written as fukuwarai, using the Japanese reading. Web Japan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes fukuwarai as a game somewhat like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, in which a blindfolded player pins a tail on a picture of a donkey. On the English version of this page, the name is also Fukuwarai.

Are my placements or scores sent to a server?

No. Your records (the best score for each face and blindfold level) and your settings are saved only in the browser on this device. This site’s server receives statistics such as the fact that you started playing, whether you placed all the parts, a range for how long you played, and your settings for face, blindfold level, and number of players. You can stop sending statistics with the switch at the bottom of the page. When you send a result URL, the number of part positions is included in the URL.

Similar games

• Bozu Mekuri

  The rules are simple, so young children can play too

• Concentration

  You remember where you saw a card and find it while it is hidden