Mikado is a pick-up sticks game originating in Europe, played with a set of same-length sticks which can measure between 17 and 20cm.

Classic Mikado consists of 41 sticks, coded with different values that have a total of 170 points and are around 15cm long.

The sticks are bundled and taken in one hand that touches the table or ground. The release creates a circular jumble. Now the players take turns, in which one stick after another should be taken up without moving or 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.

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 the total of the values of the sticks picked up is the winner.

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