The Club

	This article is about an organization in Higurashi When They Cry.

This article is under construction and may be incomplete. Please be patient while the rewrite is in progress.

"What our club does, you see... In order to cope with our complicated society, we perform various activities under different sets of rules. ...Sometimes they are in your favor. And sometimes they work against you...!!"

"...To sum it up, it's a club where we play games together."

— Mion Sonozaki and Rika Furude

The Club (雛見沢分校の我が部, Hinamizawa Bunkou no Wagabu, lit. "Our Club" of the Hinamizawa Branch School) is a games club at the Hinamizawa Branch School led by Mion Sonozaki.

Overview

Club members participate in various competitive activities, where the loser(s) has to undergo any penalty dictated beforehand or by the winner(s) without complaints.

These penalty games may range from trivial requests such as shopping for someone else's groceries in their stead to downright embarrassing or horrifying demands; such as pulling a prank on the school staff members or sporting embarrassing outfits on the walk back home from school. The fear of receiving a terrible penalty game or the allure in bestowing one onto other members motivates them to become desperate to not lose or inspired to aim for victory. They often resort to all available means including underhanded tactics to turn the games in their favor.

At times, the club bands together as a team to defeat a common enemy, such as the Okinomiya Titans; combining their individual strengths and compensating for the others' weaknesses in order to win. However, even such a scenario may warrant a penalty for any member who didn't prove to be useful enough as a part of the team.

The club usually partakes in indoor games but also don't shy away from outdoor activities. Any sort of situation, no matter how trivial or serious, can spark the urge to turn it into a club activity based on the whim of the members.

Rules

1. Aim only for first place! ...Going at it half-assed just because 'it's a game' is not allowed!
2. For that reason, you are obligated to make all possible efforts!
3. You must partake in the game, enjoying it without question!!!
7. You cannot refuse any penalty!!!

Unknown:

• When making a critical decision (such as inviting a new member), the members will come up with a democratic resolution. (implied)
• Fleeing from the battle warrants a penalty!

The rules of the club permit and encourage the use of underhanded tactics in order to secure victory. Such tactics include but are not limited to: secret agreements, memorization of card markings, and preparation of resources beforehand. Cheating however should not be blatant, and a club member with solid evidence is allowed to call out another club member for cheating, which disqualifies the latter.

Note that rules 4 to 6 have not been mentioned as of yet. The rules themselves don't seem to be properly codified and seem as if they were made up on the spot, at least in their wording.

Members

Club members are required to be residents of Hinamizawa, although there are exceptions where temporary members may be recruited on a whim. Mion makes new members participate in one of the activities with the established members as an initiation ritual for the new member to prove themselves—where the odds stacked against the inexperienced candidate. She skips over this requirement for Tomitake in Onikakushi and also recognizes him as an honorary citizen of Hinamizawa so that he can join their club activities during the Watanagashi Festival.

Main Members

• Club President: Mion Sonozaki
• Kyute Mode: Rena Ryuugu
• Trapmaster: Satoko Houjou
• The Charmer: Rika Furude
• Magician of Words: Keiichi Maebara

Other

• Jirou Tomitake (temporary)
• Satoshi Houjou (former)
• Shion Sonozaki
• Promising Newcomer: Hanyuu Furude

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei

• Kazuho Kimiyoshi
• Miyuki Akasaka
• Nao Houtani

Other people may also participate or be indirectly involved in the club activities, as is the case with many club activities that take place during school hours. They however may not officially participate or benefit from the penalty games that the club plays. The assistance and favors from non-club members is often used by the club members in order to turn the tide of the game in their favor.

Club Activities

Onikakushi

Activity	Old Bachelor (ジジ抜き, jiji-nuki)
Rules	Old Bachelor is a variant of the classic card game Old Maid (ババ抜き, baba-nuki). Participants play with an evenly split deck of cards and take turns drawing unknown cards from their opponents' hands in order to find matching pairs with their own cards. Each matched pair is discarded openly, and the objective of the game is to clear your hand of cards. The catch is that one of the cards, referred to as the "old maid/old bachelor" has no pair, and players have to avoid being stuck with that card by having another player draw it. The strategic element comes with trying to read the facial expressions of your opponents. Unlike in Old Maid, where a joker is added to the deck as the unpairable card, Old Bachelor involves a random card being taken out of the deck at the start of the game.
Gameplay	Soon after the game starts, Keiichi realizes that his poor performance is due to the ability of the other club members to identify the cards by their marks and scratches, which they had memorized beforehand. While he starts off losing badly, he manages to make a comeback with his own strategies of reading changes in his opponents' expressions as well as making new marks on the cards to cause them to be misidentified. Despite the fact that he would still lose overall, Mion offers Keiichi a duel to allow him to trade first and last place with her if he wins. She holds one card in each hand and has Keiichi attempt to guess the joker. Keiichi figures out that the left card is the Seven of Clubs, but overthinks the situation by guessing that Mion had hidden the joker behind that card. Mion had gambled on Keiichi making this move, and despite his loss, she is impressed by his performance and accepts him as a member of the club.
Results	Winner: Mion Sonozaki Loser: Keiichi Maebara
Penalty Game	Mion doodles on Keiichi's face with a felt-tip marker and makes him walk home in that state.

Activity	Zombie Tag
Rules	The game starts with one player as the "zombie". Any player that a zombie manages to tag (touch) will also become a zombie. The objective is to evade being tagged before the bell rings.
Gameplay	The club members decide on the first zombie by asking each other questions on foreign word meanings. Satoko loses and has to answer a riddle before she can start chasing them. Realizing that Satoko is using her classmates to help her find him, Keiichi also takes advantage of this and starts telling his classmates to spread false information beneficial to him while hiding on the roof of a shed. Keiichi soon begins to hear increasingly bizarre rumors being spread about him in an attempt to bring him out of hiding. Keiichi overhears Rika and Rena's voices and discovers that Mion has become a zombie, before witnessing Rika reveal that she too is a zombie and advance towards Rena. Rena spots Keiichi and calls out to him, grabbing the attention of Rika, Mion, and Satoko. He jumps off the roof but slips and is caught by Satoko and Rika. Now a zombie, Keiichi closes in on Rena, but is caught off guard when she makes a statement that arouses him, causing him to freeze long enough for the bell to ring. At the end of the game, Mion reveals that she had only been pretending to be a zombie, and thus won with Rena.
Results	Winners: Rena and Mion
Penalty Game	None

Activity Name	President (大貧民, Daihinmin)
Rules	Players are dealt out cards and must be the first to get rid of their hand. To play a card, it must have a higher value than the previous card played. Cards can be played in straights or pairs, with pairs required to belong to the same rank. Techniques like reversals can spice up the game. The first player to empty their hand is considered the President while the last player is the Peasant. The club uses some house rules for President: No jokers and no wild cards. Two is the highest value of card. Reversals can be reversed. Can only perform reversals with four-of-a-kind, not three. Peasants cannot send good cards to the President.
Gameplay	The club members write down punishments on slips of paper and have the losers draw one from a bag at the end of a round. "No penalty" slips are forbidden. First round: Keiichi is first to clear his hand, followed by Satoko, Rika, and Rena. Mion is therefore the last one to empty her hand and the loser of that round. Second round: Mion clears her hand first, then Rika, Keiichi, and Satoko; Rena is last. Third round: Mion clears her hand first again, followed by Satoko, Rika, and Keiichi. Rena is last again. Keiichi proceeds to win the next few rounds, drawing punishments for all the losers. Rika, who has evaded winning and losing so far, declares an end to Keiichi's tyranny. She and Mion swap cards during the next round and Keiichi notices, but he lets it slide, thinking it won't be enough to stop him. Keiichi pulls off a chain of reversals, earning Rika her first loss. In the final round, Keiichi is the last to clear his hand. Satoko draws a final punishment for him.
Results	First Round: Keiichi wins, Mion loses. Second Round: Mion wins, Rena loses. Third Round: Mion wins, Rena loses. Fourth Round: Keiichi wins, Satoko loses. Fifth Round: Keiichi wins, Mion loses. Sixth Round: Keiichi wins, Rena loses. Seventh Round: Keiichi wins, Satoko loses. Subsequent Two Rounds: Keiichi wins twice and Satoko and Mion lose again. Tenth Round: Keiichi wins, Rika loses. Final Round: Winner unclear, Keiichi loses.
Penalty Game	First Round: Mion has to pet the school principal, who is bald, on the head. Second Round: Rena has to speak like a maid. She starts addressing her friends as "Master", greatly enthusing Keiichi. Third Round: Rena has to remove one item of clothing from her top and bottom portions of her body. She undresses into her PE uniform that she was wearing underneath, still continuing her maid mannerisms. Fourth Round: Satoko has to speak like a little sister. She starts calling Keiichi "Onii-chan". Fifth Round: Mion has to wear a girl's school swimsuit. Sixth Round: Rena has to let the round winner rest their head on her lap. Keiichi relishes in lying on Rena's bare legs as she continues to address him as "Master". Seventh Round: Satoko has to obey the round winner. Keiichi has her give him a shoulder massage. Subsequent Two Rounds: Satoko wears a collar and Mion starts fanning Keiichi. Tenth Round: Rika has to wear cat ears, a bell collar, and cat tail. Final Round: Keiichi must do every punishment up until now. Keiichi begrudgingiy puts on the girls's school swimsuit, the cat gear, the collar, and is acting like a maid. The group sends him off to pet the principal's head, still dressed up. Keiichi does so and faces the principal's wrath immediately after.

Activity Name	Watanagashi Five-Demon Fire Fight
Rules	A series of competitions involving carnival games at the Watanagashi Festival. Those that they participated in include: Takoyaki eating race Shaved ice eating race Cotton candy eating race Kyute things scavenger hunt Shooting gallery
Gameplay	The takoyaki eating race is difficult since some members eat freshly-made hot takoyaki. Others eat takoyaki that has already cooled and is therefore easier to eat. The shaved ice race is difficult since the treats are too cold. Mion orders hers with syrup to make it melt faster while Keiichi seemingly melts his with goldfish water. The cotton candy race is easy since Satoko, Keiichi and Rika compress their candy into a small ball before eating it. Rena judges the kyute things scavenger hunt and gives everyone 1 minute to find something. Mion presents several tin signs. Satoko presents a crudely-drawn anthropomorphic corncob taken from a roasted corn stall; this ellicits a much greater reaction from Rena compared to Mion's items. Rika trips herself and acts incredibly innocent and vulnerable, letting out a small "meep" when Rena helps her up. Not wanting to be shown up, Keiichi pulls Rena beind a stall in private, and when they emerge, Rena says she saw Keiichi's "furry little seal". Mion and Satoko beat up Keiichi and call him a pervert, but Rena explains it was actually a little fur seal keychain Keiichi made for a school assignment long ago. Tomitake is made an honorary Hinamizawa citizen and joins the club for a shooting gallery game. Mion gives everyone 3 shots and the goal of snatching the biggest prize. Most of the club considers shooting for a giant teddy bear to guarantee their victory. A rock-paper-scissors game decides Mion as the first to go, who snipes 3 candy boxes in succession. Satoko goes next. She shoots twice at the bear's torso but fails to move it and uses her last shot for a candy box to avoid being dead last. Rena goes third. She shoots the bear's head 3 times and makes it rock, but to no avail. The stall owner gives her a free candy box. Tomitake goes next. He shoots at the bear 3 times in rapid succession, but also falls short. Keiichi is fifth. He asks the stall owner for 2 more rifles. Tomitake had the right idea, but reloading each bullet took time. Keiichi meanwhile shoots the bear with one rifle each and uses the momentum to successfully knock it down. Keiichi bestows the bear onto Rena. Keiichi is considered the winner of the event while Tomitake is the loser since he's prizeless.
Results	Winner: Keiichi Maebara Loser: Jirou Tomitake
Penalty Game	The club all write signed messages on Tomitake's shirt with a marker. Tomitake is asked to wear it home to Tokyo.

Activity Name	Cluedo (the game is not named in the story)
Rules	Cluedo is a deduction game featuring 3 types of cards: suspect, murder weapon, and location. The club uses custom suspect cards with the club's names written on them. One card from each is set aside as the answer cards and placed in a box while the remaining cards are distributed between players. Players must then figure out what the answer is by asking other players, and if they get the answer right then they get a point. Getting the answer wrong will deduct a point. When a player asks about a suspect, weapon, and location, other players simply need to say they have a card matching one or more of the items. It is not required to specify which.
Gameplay	Mion goes first and asks if the answer is "Mion", "Knife", and "Study"; Keiichi, Rena, and Rika each say they have one, meaning those 3 cards are not the answer. Rena asks if "Rena", "Axe", and "Lounge" is it, and gets two responses. She thinks one person may actually be holding two cards. Keiichi's turn is up but he struggles to think of a guess. Mion declares the answer is "Rika", "Infirmary", and "Poison", and confirms that it is correct. After several losing rounds, Keiichi leaves to use the bathroom and signals towards Rena to meet him in private. They agree to share card info with each other under the table whenever a round starts since they sit next to each other. Keiichi is interrupted by Chie before he can return to the game however. After a talk with Ooishi, Keiichi returns to join the last round, where Rena is now sitting at -1 points. In the final round Keiichi and Rena pull off their secret communications, and Rena successfully deduces the answer as "Rena", "Poison", and "Entrance". Rena finishes with 0 points, tying with Keiichi as the losers.
Results	Winner: Mion Sonozaki Losers: Keiichi Maebara, Rena Ryuugu
Penalty Game	Mion gives Rena and Keiichi a shopping list and some money, asking them to buy all that stuff for her.

Watanagashi

Activity Name	Game Tournament at Yoshirou's toy store in Okinomiya
Rules	The club members and several kids meet at the toy store for a games tournament. Groups of kids will play games of their choice with each other, with the winners moving on to play against other winners. Losers would have to buy the game they lost at. The grand prize is 50,000 yen from Mion's own pocket.
Gameplay	The 15 participants are split into 5 groups by way of a drawing, rigged so that the club members don't face each other in the first round. Keiichi is paired up with his classmates Tomita and Okamura, and they have Yoshirou pick out "Billionaire" for them after some disagreement. Keiichi faces a losing advantage at Billionaire due to its luck-based nature. Meanwhile, Mion has already won her group's game with no effort. Rena wins a game of karuta, snatching up kyute matching cards as soon as they are announced. Satoko plays Concentration, and despite struggling for a bit she comes out on top. Rika plays a fishing game and charms her opponents such that they're unwilling to play against her. Mion is disappointed that Keiichi doesn't seem interested at all in winning his game and leaves in a huff. Keiichi gets a flash of inspiration and barters with Tomita and Okamura, asking that they allow him to win. Using the knowledge that they have crushes on Satoko and Rika, Keiichi promises that if he wins then he'll order Satoko to wear a collar and act like Tomita's little sister for a day while Rika will wear cat ears and be walked around by Okamura on a leash. The boys readily accept his offer, and Keiichi claims victory. Mion postpones the tournament however, as she has to work her part-time job. Yoshirou gives the club members except Mion some complimentary prizes. Keiichi obtains a doll and hands it over to Rena.
Results	Keiichi, Rena, Satoko, Rika, and Mion each win their respective games.
Penalty Game	None. The intended penalty game was for the winner to give one order to each of the losers.

Activity Name	Sympathy
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Activity Name	Curry Cooking Contest
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Activity Name	Watanagashi Five-Demon Fire Fight
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Tatarigoroshi

Activity Name	Bento Contest
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Activity Name	Baseball Tournament
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Tsumihoroboshi

Activity Name	Water Gun Battle
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Minagoroshi

Activity Name	Game Tournament at Yoshirou's toy store in Okinomiya
Rules
Gameplay
Results
Penalty Game

Other Club Games

Higurashi: When They Cry - GOU

Activity Name	Scavenger Hunt
Rules	Find a black marker located somewhere in the school. A special rule is added where if Keiichi wins, he can use it to draw on Mion's face as payback for the card game,
Gameplay	Keiichi searches several lockers but finds nothing. He realizes that because he's new and Mion won't let him win so easily, she must have hid it somewhere he wouldn't know about. He goes into the school's storage warehouse and encounters Rena, and the two stand off before Satoko and Rika suddenly emerge. The marker is lying in the middle of the floor, which Satoko and Rika run towards. Rika reaches out for it but Satoko activates a trap and buries Rika in metal pans. Satoko picks up the marker and claims victory.
Results	Winner: Satoko
Penalty Game	While this club game doesn't have an official punishment, Rika gives Satoko a wrapped gift box which turns out to be a boxing glove trap. Satoko hits a button on the box and is sent flying when the glove bursts out, stamping a red K.O. on her face.

Trivia

• Satoko's riddle in zombie tag is referenced in Umineko When They Cry Episode 8, where Lambdadelta gives that riddle at the party and Bernkastel makes her entrance by remarking that she was tricked by that riddle once before.
• In zombie tag, Keiichi asks a classmate to tell Satoko that her parents are at the gate to trick her into running into Mion. Unknown to him and the reader, Satoko's parents had actually died three years prior.