Mikado is a pick-up sticks

Pick-up sticks

Pick-up sticks is a game of physical and mental skill. A bundle of 'sticks,' approximately 6-8 inches long, are held in a loose bunch and released on a table top, falling in random disarray. Each player, in turn, must remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the remaining ones...

 game originating in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. In 1936 it was brought from Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 to the USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and was mostly called pick-up sticks. This term is not very specific in respect to existing stick game variations. Probably the "Mikado" name was not used because it was a brand name of a game producer. The game got its name from the highest scoring (blue) stick "Mikado

Mikado

Mikado may refer to:* Mikado, alternative term for Emperor of Japan* The Mikado, a 1885 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan- Foods :* Mikado, the European brand name for Pocky, a Japanese chocolate-covered breadstick...

" (Emperor of Japan

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

). The buddhistic

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 Chien Tung

Chien Tung

Kau Cim is a fortune telling practice that originated in China in which the querent requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in a Taoist or Buddhist temple in front of an altar. Kau Cim is often referred to as Chien Tung or Chinese Fortune Sticks by westerners. In...

 also contains a stick called "emperor".

The house of "Tsuchimikado" adapted in the 16th century some culture, possibly also the "Chien Tung" oracle. Maybe in the course of Japonism in the 19th / 20th century the "Zitterwackel" game had changed to "Mikado" (probably first named "Tsuchimikado").

Rules

The classic Mikado game consists of 41 sticks. They are coded with different values that have a total of 170 points and are around 15 cm long.

Name	Traditional wood type	Coding	Point value	Number of sticks
Mikado	walnut Walnut Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...	blue	20 pts	1
Mandarin	cherry Cherry The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....	yellow/black, middle wide two narrow stripes on the ends	10 pts	5
Bonzen (jp. bouzu)	oak Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...	orange, five stripes	5 pts	5
Samurai	beech Beech Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...	green, three stripes	3 pts	15
Kuli (cn. guli) / Worker	ash Ash tree Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...	red, two stripes	2 pts	15

The sticks are bundled and taken in one hand that touches the table/ground. The release creates a circular jumble. Now one stick after another should be taken up without moving/touching others. The take away could be by hand, possibly through pressing on a stick's tip or if one has already picked up a special stick (Mikado/Mandarin), it could be used as a helper, possibly to throw up another stick.

It is allowed to stand up on but not to leave the own place. A bad throw could be rerun and the rules should be kept strict in respect to moving sticks to enjoy the game.

On a fault the turn ends (the last stick taken is not counted). The next player bundles and drops the sticks again. After several rounds, normally five, the one with the highest score is the winner.

Rule Variations

• The starting player could be determined with a die

On a player's turn:

• the sticks are rebundled and dropped
• the stack is taken over from the previous player

Allowed helpers:

• only the Mikado if the player has at least one of all other sticks (Kuli, Samurai, Bonzen, Mandarin)
• Mikado (traditional)
• Mikado / Mandarin (simplified)
• Mikado / Mandarin / Bonzen (casual)

The last stick taken when the stack moves:

• added to the score
• not added
• not added and drop immediately (stack take over variant)

• The exact sequence of Kuli, Samurai, Bonzen and Mandarin may double the points of a turn.

• A player who does not use the correct helper may lose all points of the actual turn.

Normal Mikado

As described above. It is normally made out of 1 wood type like beech.

Sizes:

• standard: length 17 cm, mm thick
• large: length 28 cm, mm thick
• super: length 50 cm, 8 mm thick

The large and super variants may use the 26 sticks Giant Mikado variant.

Mini Mikado

Made of 31 toothpicks painted in the middle. The game has a total of 145 points.
name / coding / value / number of the sticks:

• Mikado, 1 blue stripe, 20 points, 1 stick
• Mandarin, 3 yellow stripes, 10 points, 5 sticks
• Bonzen, 2 orange stripes, 5 points, 5 sticks
• Samurai, 3 green stripes, 3 points, 10 sticks
• Kuli, 2 red stripes, 2 points, 10 sticks

Rules and values are the same as with normal Mikado sticks.

Giant Mikado

This type is thought for outdoor use. There are 26 sticks with a length of 93 cm and 10 mm diameter. The game has a total of 200 points.

Name	Value	Number of the sticks
Mikado	50 points	1 stick
Mandarin	10 points	5 sticks
Samurai	5 points	10 sticks
Kuli	5 points	10 sticks

Rules and markings are the same as with normal Mikado sticks. The play is more enjoyable on a flat and fixed table.