Introduction

Kadi is a Kenyan card game that can be played with 2-5 players using a standard 54-card deck. The game is fast-paced and simple to learn.

Objective

The goal of Kadi is to be the first player to play all the winning cards in a single move. Card Types

A standard 54-card deck is used, consisting of 4 suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs) and 2 Jokers. Each suit has 13 cards, including Ace, 2 to 10, Jack, Queen, and King.

In Kadi, cards are specified as follows:

• Jack cards (J) are Jump Cards.
• Queen (Q) and 8 cards are Question Cards.
• King cards (K) are Kickback Cards.
• 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and Ace (A) cards are Answer Cards.
• 2, 3, and Jokers (JOK) are Penalty Cards.

Dealing

The dealer shuffles the deck and deals 3 or 4 cards to each player (depending on the number of players in the game). The remaining cards form the draw pile, and the top card of the draw pile is placed face up to start the discard pile.

The following cards cannot start the discard pile:

• 2 and 3 cards
• Question Cards
• Kickback Cards
• Jump Cards
• Joker Cards
• Ace Cards

If one of these cards is drawn, the dealer returns it to the draw pile, shuffles the deck, places the top card face up, and repeats the process until a valid card is drawn.

Rules

• The previous winner or the dealer (if it's a new game) starts the game and determines direction of play.
• Players must play a card that matches the suit or rank of the top card on the discard pile.
• If a player plays a card that does not match the suit or rank of the top card on the discard pile, they are penalised by picking a card from the draw pile and game proceeds to next player.
• If a player cannot play a card, they must draw a card from the draw pile.
• If a player plays a Question Card, it must be accompanied by a matching answer card. If the player does not have an answer card, they must draw a card from the draw pile.
• If a player plays a Jump Card, the next player is skipped. However, the player who was to play next can counter the move by playing their individual Jump Card, and the rules for Jump Cards apply based on this move.
• If a player plays a Kickback Card, the game direction reverses. The player who was to play next can counter the move by playing their individual Kickback Card, and the rules for Kickback Cards apply based on the move made.
• Multiple Jump Cards can be played by the same player, and with each card, a player is skipped in the direction of play. Similarly, if multiple Kickback Cards are played, the direction reverses with each card.
• If a player plays an Ace card, they can declare the suit that the next player must play. If they do not, the game continues as usual.
• If a player realizes they can win on the next round of play, they must announce "Niko Kadi." Otherwise, they cannot win.
• If the draw pile runs out of cards, the discard pile (excluding the top card) is shuffled to form the draw pile.
• Penalty Cards (2, 3, and Jokers) must be followed by the next player drawing 2, 3 or 5 cards, respectively. The next player can avoid the penalty by:
  • Playing a Penalty Card of the same rank.
  • Playing an Ace card. The game continues with the suit from the previous Penalty Card.
  • Note that playing a Penalty Card only forwards the penalty to the next player.
• After a Joker card is played the game continues with the suit/rank from the Penalty Card.

Winning

A player cannot win if any of the players is cardless.

For a player to win, they must play all their winning cards in one move and, have had said “Niko Kadi” in the previous round.

The winning cards are:

• Answer Cards
• Question Cards followed by their matching answer cards.