Negative information in Hanabi

[danwizard208]

As most people who play Hanabi will come to know, clues pack a large amount of "negative information" in addition to the "positive information". That is, if for example I am given the clue that 2 cards in my hand are green, I also gain from that clue the knowledge that the rest of the cards in my hand are not green. Over time, this can build up a lot of information in your hand, and help you understand what a card is without ever being clued on it.
Now one of the benefits of online Hanabi is not having to memorize which clues you were given; if a card is clued green, a green reminder tag will stick with the card as long as it is in your hand. However, at the moment, the negative information is not tracked; it is entirely up to the player to remember.
I think it would be a great improvement to the interface if symbols displaying what a card "is not" were added every time a clue was given. Imo, Hanabi should be a game about logic, deduction, creativity, and not about memorization.

[IPlayRed]

don't ever play it IRL then when you don't even get the tags to say what it is!!
Though, seriously, Hanabi after a few drinks is hilarious!! 'I know this one is red'.. whole table nods no..

[shparks79]

I was curious about how this game would work in real life - how everyone keeps track of what clues they have been given. If you have to just remember, I would definitely suck big time.

Other people have suggested giving everyone the ability to take notes on any turn-based game. That would help with the Hanabi issue of negative information.

[Nyx]

Perhaps stick tiny sticky notes on the screen, e.g. "not green"

[GingoO]

I was curious about how this game would work in real life - how everyone keeps track of what clues they have been given. If you have to just remember, I would definitely suck big time.

Other people have suggested giving everyone the ability to take notes on any turn-based game. That would help with the Hanabi issue of negative information.

In real life, you can move your cards around, and separate some from the pack, which greatly helps remembering.

[aghagh]

Hi,

I think negative information would be a nice add-on, as sometimes you forget it. It could be tracked with small icons at the right of each card, something like this:

A 1, color unknown

Hanabi_1.jpg (18.37 KiB) Viewed 5031 times

A card that is not a 2

Hanabi_not2.jpg (16.12 KiB) Viewed 5031 times

A card which is not a 1, a 2, red or green

Hanabi_not12_notRG.jpg (15.94 KiB) Viewed 5031 times

Cards would start with all icons (1-5, 5/6 colors). They would disappear as clues are received, cards are played and cards are discarded. Not so sure about cards in other players' hands, as you could forget why you know that card is not something and make a comment on the chat. When cards are clued on color in multi hard, all color icons would disappear except multi and the color clued, so it would be easier to track if a card is multi or not.

Well, just an idea.

[danwizard208]

Apologies for the late reply, but I really like your implementation suggestion aghagh.

[Tyeor]

Now one of the benefits of online Hanabi is not having to memorize which clues you were given

No :

In real life, you can move your cards around, and separate some from the pack, which greatly helps remembering.

Online Hanabi as it is now compensate for not being able to move cards, and for the absence of oral communication.

In Hanabi you have 4 or 5 cards - it's easy to remember those ones, and it's part of the game. It's more difficult to remember other people's cards in a 4-5 players game. But it's still part of the game.

Hanabi should be a game about logic, deduction, creativity, and not about memorization.

I understand that. It's not the way it is in actual rules, though. You got all 4 right now. You want to take one out. It could be an improve for some people.

But, if it is ever developped on BGA, please make it an option

[danwizard208]

I support negative information tracking being an optional feature. Heck, I would even support making all information tracking optional, for people who really want to challenge their memory or note taking skills. I just think having it as an option for players who don't like memorization would be nice. Hanabi can and should be played differently by different people and different groups.

[euyvudci]

I support this idea, this is how I play too.