Kemps Card Game
The objective of the game is to win all of the cards. The deck is divided evenly among the players, giving each a down stack. In unison, each player reveals the top card of their deck—this is a 'battle'—and the player with the higher card takes both of the cards played and moves them to their stack. KEMPS is a card game that originates from Cass Technical high school in Detroit, MI but is similar to the card game Kent. It's fun, very interactive, and competitive. This game is best for Young Adults but can be played by any age group. CardGames.io is a game site focused on classic card and board games. Our goal is to make great versions of the games you already know and love in real life. We try very hard to make the games simple and easy to use, and hope you enjoy playing them as much as we enjoy making them 🙂.
Posted on 2014-07-10 Comments (14)
In the card game Cash, also known as Kemps or Kent, the majority of the game’s opportunities for strategy are found in the signals used in the game. The most important rule in choosing a signal is to choose something that works for your partnership! Not all players notice or react well to the same same thing, so get to know your partner and learn what works and what doesn’t.
Keep in mind that part of a successful Cash game is fooling your opponents. Turn the pitfalls mentioned here around on your opponents—watch them to see if they are committing these errors, or commit them yourself with a phony signal to trick your opponent into calling “Counter cash!”
Verbal signals
Verbal signals (a spoken word used as a signal) are the easiest to successfully communicate and are therefore also the easiest for your opponents to detect. Most of the time, you will be able to use a verbal signal only once. For this reason, it can be pretty much anything, because even if it’s something that you would obviously never say unless it was a signal, like “shark putty”, all you have to do is call “Cash!” before your opponents can call “Counter cash!” and you’re good.
But if you do want to reuse a verbal signal, you can attempt to camouflage it. You can use a single word and bury it within a longer sentence, for instance. Make sure it’s a word that is common enough that it won’t stick out like a sore thumb, but not so common that you will say it on accident. It should also be something that doesn’t force an awkward change in subject—you don’t want to be talking about your grandmother’s cookies, then suddenly bring up Breaking Bad because that’s your signal word. Something that can help camouflage a signal is deliberately waiting for a few moments before calling “Cash”, in the hopes of keeping your opponents from associating the signal with you winning.
There is some merit in pretending an already-used signal is your code word, when in reality you have since changed your signal. The reason for this, of course, is to trick your opponents into losing by calling a bogus “Counter cash!” If that’s what you’re trying to do, re-read that last paragraph, and do everything it tells you not to!
Non-verbal signals
With non-verbal signals, many of the same rules apply. You will want something natural enough that your opponents will not notice, but conspicuous enough that your opponent will. Practically anything will do—taking a drink, fanning your cards out wider or narrower than usual, fiddling with your watch, slowly swaying your chair side to side. Just don’t pick anything like scratching your head or rubbing your eye—you are guaranteed to get a sudden itch in that spot when the hand starts!
One thing to watch out for is that you don’t fixate on wherever your partner’s signal will be coming from. If your partner will signal by adjusting their glasses, don’t stare at their glasses! Your opponents may notice and start staring too, and will call “Counter cash” whenever they notice anything amiss.
And remember, just because non-verbal signals have a higher shelf-life, it doesn’t mean they have an indefinite shelf life. You should still probably use the same signals for no more than three hands. Your opponents are bound to catch on eventually.
Posted in Game Strategy Tags: cash, game strategy, kemps, kent
Hold cards in one hand when don’t have cash, kemps, etc. and hold in the other when you do
We play in band, so my signal is fixing the music stands, or saying “I just need one more card”. Stuff like that
I pick up a card and then lay the same card down. No one has ever figured it out.
I just look at the person, not noticeably, but when my partner is looking at me, and no other people are, I just nod my head.
If you are playing under a table I like to step or give a knudge underneath the table
I like to put my elbows on my knees when I have a match.
My partner and I will run our hand through our hair. We also have a sign to check our phone when we have a match.
Me and my partner always make fake signals
Just say ¨I have Kemps(or whatever depending on what you call it)¨ the others will never suspect it and its the easiest/quickest way to get it across
me and my friend say random letters but if we say AZ iit means we have a set of four, it always works and people call counter kemps on a random set of letters eg: Me: AR Opponent: Counter kemps! Me: Ha ha!
my favorite code i’ve made up is: (you and your partner must be quick at multiplication and subtraction.)
doubles: a singular word, i.e. duck
triples: plural, i.e. logs
kemps: a verb, i.e. walkingthe number code starts with your number – Ace = 1, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13. The rest are just the number on them.
Take the number, i.e. 2, multiply by 3 (6), and subtract by 2. (5)So, if I had triple jacks, I might say –
Wires 31
or, kemps –
Jumping 65 (I like to add a random number on kemps to throw people off.)
or doubles of 4s –
apple 10
I’ve got to say, that’s pure brilliance. My code is:
32 would be 5, because you’re adding up the 2 numbers, but to hide it, you can say 7’32’.Tthen you could put a number after to say how many of that card you have. I.e, 7,324 would mean: 3+2=5, 7 is extra, and for means you have a Kent.
How do you like that?
when all my cards are different, i hold my cards with one finger at sight, when i got two likewise cards, i hold em with two fingers, when i got three cards, the fingers, and when i got em all 4, i hold the cards with 4 fingers. this always works and this way my teammate always knows how many cards i got.
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Posted on 2014-05-08 Comments (0)
Cash (also called Kemps or Kent) is an interesting social card game for four to eight players. Players form two-player partnerships, competing to make four of a kind, then successfully send and receive a secret signal without it getting intercepted by their opponents.
Object of Cash
The object of the game is for one player of the partnership to call out “Cash!” upon receiving a signal from their partner that they have obtained four of a kind. Alternately, notice that one of the opponents is attempting to signal their partner, and call out “Counter cash!” before their partner calls “Cash!”.
Setup
All players divide into pairs. The game is best with four players (two partnerships), but can be played with six (three partnerships) or eight (four partnerships). Players may mutually decide a method for determining partnerships, which may be as simple as merely selecting who they would like to be paired with, or by some random process. One such method for a four-player game is to remove two red and two black cards from the deck, shuffle them, and deal one to each player. The players receiving the red cards play against the two with the black cards. Seating arrangements must take care to allow all players to be clearly visible to one another, and partners should not sit directly next to one another.
Prior to the game, each partnership excuses themselves to a secluded place where they are unable to be seen or heard by any other player. They then agree upon a secret signal, which can be a hand signal, innocuous action such as taking a drink or tapping the table with your cards, or a verbal phrase. Signals that might be unintentionally sent, like scratching your head or rubbing your eye should be avoided!
The deal
Kemps Card Game Rules
Cash requires one 52-card deck of playing cards. Since players will be quickly grabbing for cards, you don’t want a flimsy deck of cards that will get easily beaten up. Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards are made to last and are sturdy enough for even the most rambunctious games.
Kemps Card Game Online
Shuffle and deal four cards to each player. Then deal four cards face down to the center of the table, forming the board, and place the deck stub in front of the player to the left of the dealer, forming the stock.
Game play
The dealer calls, “3…2…1…GO!”, then turns the four board cards face up. Each player may then grab whatever board cards they find useful, take them into their hand, and discard back down to four (returning the board to four cards). There are no turns! If two players grab a card at the same time, whoever touched the card first (or whose hand is on the bottom!) is entitled to it.
Game play continues until this card-swapping stops because nobody wants any of the cards on the table. The player with the stock in front of them discards the board cards, then deals a new, face-down board, passes the stock to the left, and flips the cards over with a countdown, as before. (Passing the stock and the board-refreshing duties around the table ensures that the mental overhead of refreshing the board doesn’t burden any player greater than any other.)
Play continues, with players swapping cards out as they see fit, and refreshing the board as necessary.
Ending the hand
Whenever a player achieves four-of-a-kind, they send their secret signal to their partner. When the partner notices the signal, they call out “Cash!” (or “Kemps!”, or “Kent!”, or whatever the name of the game is). All players reveal their hands; if the player whose partner called “Cash!” does, in fact, have four-of-a-kind, that partnership wins. However, if there is no four-of-a-kind, they lose. If a player suspects at any time before “Cash!” is called that an opposing partnership is signaling, they can call “Counter cash!” The hands are revealed, and if a four-of-a-kind is present, the partnership that called “Counter cash!” wins (but, as with cash, if there is no four-of-a-kind, calling “Counter cash!” loses).
Some players play that the losing team receives a letter in the word “CASH” (or “KEMPS” or “KENT”, as appropriate), and that whichever partnership spells out the word first loses the match. Otherwise, play can continue indefinitely, with each hand standing alone as a separate game. Partnerships are given the opportunity to change their signal between hands, then all cards are shuffled and new hands and a board are dealt.
“Real deal”
A real deal is when the stock runs out without “Cash!” or “Counter cash!” being called. In this case, the hand is a draw. If the game is being scored where partnerships receive letters for losses, no letters are received for a real deal.
See also
Posted in Game Rules Tags: cash, commerce games, game rules, kemps, kent, partnership games, reaction games