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Strategy and Chance in 'Kadi' Game.

Strategy and Chance in 'Kadi' Game.
5 min read
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All through my high school years, I was a boarder, I practically lived at home for 3 months a year. The highlights of my high school years were the times we played ‘kadi’. People gambled away their meat, eggs, bread. On some days you would find Opondo with about 10 eggs, 8 pieces of bread(2 full breads), and for supper a couple of pieces of meat, on the other hand, you’d find the degenerate having vegetable soup for dinner.

‘Niko Kadi’ were the words. When shouted, everyone’s adrenaline rose. Sweat trickled on the foreheads of those who had ‘bad’ cards. At the back of their minds ‘[insert barter trade item] imeenda!’. This was a risky business, it may sound petty but food in a public school of more than 1000 students at the end of the term(when pocket money was but a memory), was currency.

Anyway, these were fun memories, till today kadi is still enjoyed by most people fortunate enough to pass through the Kenyan education system or streets.

Kadi is a fast-paced Kenyan card game known for its simple rules and a perfect blend of strategy and chance. Some argue that luck plays a dominant role in the game however, a closer look will reveal it as a surprisingly fair game where skill beats luck.

I will explore the various kadi aspects that contribute to its fairness, pointing out opportunities for strategic decision-making.

The Deck and Card Distribution

The game uses a 54-card deck.

Once the card-deck has been shuffled, each player is handed an equal number of cards(four). This minimizes the initial advantage any player might have having a particularly strong starting set.

There are 54! (54 factorial) ways to arrange a standard 54-card deck. This is 54 * 53 * 52 * 51 * 50 …. * 1 which equals 230843697339241380472092742683027581083278564571807941132288000000000000.

This number is bigger than the total number of grains of sand on all beaches on Earth combined!

This means that every time a deck is shuffled, it's likely to end up in an order that has never occurred before since the invention of playing cards and never will.

So every time a deck is shuffled, it's highly likely to end up in an arrangement that has never been seen before in the history of card games making each game a unique experience.

Card Play Options

Kadi has a variety of play options that allow players to adapt to the situation.

The following are some key mechanics;

  • A player can make a play by matching the suit of rank.

  • A player can play multiple cards at once, given they are of the same rank. This means the player can discard unwanted cards potentially changing the suit in play, which hinders opponents who were ‘kadi’ from winning and finishing the game.

  • Question answer cards can add chance, however, the need for an answer is the balancing factor. Players strategically decide when to play a question card knowing well they have to either provide an accompanying answer or pick an answer from the draw pile which is unpredictable.

  • Jumps and Kickbacks allow a player to disrupt the flow of the game to potentially gain an advantage. The ability to counter jumps and kickbacks ensures balance preventing a single player from dominating the game through these special actions.

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  • Finally, announcing ‘Niko Kadi’ incentivizes strategic planning. Without announcing ‘Niko Kadi’ you cannot win the game. This aspect takes advantage of a player’s attention to the game.

Penalty Cards

2s, 3s, and the 2 Jokers are penalty cards. They are a misfortune to some and to others, there is the opposite. Penalties can be blocked by other penalty cards including Aces cards. These options provide players agency even when penalized.

When someone is about to finish a game, penalizing them is a good way to keep the game going.

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Strategy in Kadi

While kadi involves a tiny element of chance, the game rewards strategic people with their thinking and planning. These players can;

  • Read their opponent's hands. One can make educated guesses about their opponent's holdings allowing them to adjust their strategy accordingly.

  • Manage their card pool. The game requires strategic thinking, one balances the need to discard cards to avoid penalties while keeping options for future turns.

  • Plan. The game can be so engaging one forgets to mention Niko Kadi. Playing the game physically opened the door for opponents to distract you once they suspected you had one or two finishing cards, so you forget to say ‘Niko kadi’.

  • Adapt to the changing game state. Skilled players adapt their strategy based on the evolving game situation.

Mastery of these increases a player’s winning chances significantly.

Conclusion

Kadi is a fair game that strikes a balance between skill and chance. Even if there is a small element of luck, the game offers players numerous opportunities to diminish its impact through strategic decision-making. The game’s simplicity allows for easy learning while its depth offers a rewarding challenge for strategy junkies.