MRP inflation

Much of India's economy is based on 'buying and selling'. The game is simple: buy low, sell high. And high can be as high as you want. Even though merchants add very little value, with bartered prices they can make an enormous margin on goods sold to unwary customers. The manufacturers don't want this slice of the pie taken from them, and so most packaged foods and many goods come with a Maximum Retail Price (MRP) printed on the item. (Akin to RRP in the UK).

For a while this worked, but unfortunately in this game the merchants work against the customer. Why should they stock their store with an item where the margin was very small. Instead the temptation is to stock brands with the lowest purchase price but the highest MRP. In theory a savvy user should be able to shop around and find a better deal, but in practise the small shops in India will all be stocked with the same brands. Even if the price is the same, quality is driven down.

The result is two fold, firstly many packaged goods cost more in India than in European countries, and secondly that you can no longer trust the MRP on some items, as it is grossly inflated. You pay Rs350 for olive oil with a printed MRP of Rs650. You pay Rs40 for toilet paper with a printed MRP of Rs80. You pay half the labeled MRP on imported China made shoes (you can guarantee the price on the customs slip is 10% of the MRP). For other items the price is revealed when an honest merchant sells below MRP.

With bottled water the game is subtly different. Bottled water is typically Rs20/litre, which is actually quite a high price. It's comparable to Greece, and more expensive than in Nepal (which imports it's oil and has even worse infrastructure). It's possible to market the same product with a retail price of Rs15 (Rail neer, common at railway stations). In fact, it's very popular and profitable for the state owned IRCTC. But why would you stock a product with the lower sale price, there isn't any incentive!

The game of Kabul

Kabul is a card game based on the game with many names, which I described here:

the-game-of-cabo-cambio-tamul-kabo-cabu

There are many possible variations of the game and everyone has their own idea on how it should be played! This set of rules is the one I use and makes for an exciting and balanced game.

A note on names:

Suit = (clubs ♣, hearts ♡, spades ♠, diamonds ♢)

Face up = the card has the suit and number showing

Face down = the card is turned over. The back of the card is showing

Shuffle = mix the cards

Deck = the shuffled cards not used yet

Discard = throw away
Round(s) = playing one set of 4 cards until someone calls Kabul.
Dealer = person who shuffles and gives out the cards

The game progresses in rounds, in each round you want to get the lowest score.
After the round you need to add your score to your total (best have paper and pen).
The game ends when the highest scoring player has a score bigger than a limit you choose at the start, Eg. When the first player reaches over 100.
At the end of the game the player with the lowest total score wins.
The score at the end of a round is determined by the sum of the value of your face down cards, with scores as follows:
Jokers = 0 points
A = 1 point
2 to 10 = the number on the cards
J,Q = 10 points
Black kings = 10 points
Red kings = -1 point (negative!)
The objective is to finish a round with only a small number of low value cards (such as jokers, aces, 2s, red kings) in order to get a low score.

Setting up a round:
Shuffle the cards.
Deal 4 cards to each player, face down, arranged in a square.
Place the deck face down in the centre of the table.

Each player can now look at the two of their cards on the bottom row of the square (nearest the player). Be careful not to let other players see the card, and put it back in the square. You can only look once!
Even if you forget before the game begins, you can't look again! If you catch someone looking twice they get a penalty card. Take an extra card and place it face down next to their square.

To decide who goes first:
The dealer turns over the top card of the deck, and places it face up on the discard pile (next to the deck).
If any player has the same card they can turn this over and put it face up on the top of the discard pile.
If no player has the same card turn over another card, continue until someone can put their card on top.
The player who placed their card on the top has already had their turn, and the player on their left begins the first normal turn. For this game play clockwise, the next player is the player on your left.

Turning over one of your 4 face down cards and placing it face up on the discard pile is called a smash.
You can smash at any point in the game, even if it's not your turn. This is good because fewer cards is fewer points.
Only one player can smash on a card. If two players have the same card only the fastest player gets to smash. The slower player must take it back to the original position in their square.
If you make a mistake and smash an incorrect card you must take it back. You then get an extra card from the deck added face down next to your square. This is treated like the other 4 cards in your square.
You can also smash the cards of other players! This can be done during the course of the game if you know one of their cards and have faster reactions. If you smash someone else's cards you give them one of your cards to replace it (it's a benefit to you).

On your turn:
Take a card from either the deck or the top card of the discard pile.
If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and this becomes the new deck.
Depending on the card you may choose one of three options:
- throw the card away, face up on the discard pile
- replace one of your face down cards with this card, also face down. Quickly turn over the replaced card by rotating it away from you so it is revealed fairly to all players and place it on the discard pile quickly. You are not allowed to pick up the replaced card, have a look and then show it to the other players.
- perform the action associated with the card, by placing it face up on the discard pile and then doing the action set by the number.
7 or 8 = peek at one of your face down cards
9 or 10 = peek at one of someone else's face down cards. Do not reveal this to other players.
J or Q = swap one of your face down cards with the face down card of another player. You are not allowed to look at either of the cards (you must already know them).
Black kings = you can pick up one of your cards and one of someone else's cards, of your choosing, and look at them both. You can then decide to swap if you want, you must say this out loud. Now return the chosen cards face down to the squares.

Each turn involves throwing a card onto the discard pile at the end of the turn. At this moment anyone can smash, as described above, but only the first player to react. In the event of a tie the winner is the one whose card is below touching the discard pile, unless a third player rules they have slid the card in unfairly from the side. Smashing does not count as part of your turn, you can smash and then immediately take your turn if you are next.

As the game progresses you aim to know more of your cards (by using the action of 7s and 8s, or by replacing unknown cards with known cards). Known cards can be smashed if the right card is discarded, reducing the score of the cards in front of you. You can aim to replace high cards with low cards such as joker, ace or red king to reduce your score.

If at the start of your turn you think you have the lowest score you can choose to call Kabul instead of taking your turn. The game continues until each other player has had one more turn, and then all cards are revealed to count the score. Only one player may call Kabul.
If a player has no cards remaining at the start of their turn they must call Kabul (unless someone else already has).

The player calling Kabul must have the lowest score. If they do not have the lowest (for example a tie, or worse) they get a penalty. A minor penalty is to start the next round with 5 face down cards instead of 4. If this is too weak a score penalty can be introduced instead.