Charmaine Radway plays hand with Yawd Cards

It’s all fun and games until a pandemic sends the world into complete lockdown. Queen of the pack, Charmaine Radway, realised that if she played her cards right, she could create something special in this anomalous time. So she came up with an ingenious idea of bringing festivities back into the mix with Yawd Cards.

Born and raised in Jamaica, Radway migrated after college to the United States of America. But with the protocols and restrictions presented by the coronavirus, it was difficult for her to connect with people. It didn’t help that there was a travel ban, preventing her from returning to her roots when she desperately needed that breath of fresh, familiar air

The podcaster decided to make a product that aligned with her diasporic brand. Branching off into games, she wanted to build something fun that would give people a well-deserved escape from the doom and gloom of reality. “I could not find any game that spoke to me or any that looked ‘vibesy’ or ‘islandy’, as we like to say. So, I thought, let’s create something that is like me, 100 per cent authentic and Jamaican,” she told Living. The idealist sat down, pencilling out 10 games in the space of two weekends, the rising divorce rate leading her to start out with ‘Date Night’ cards.

ENGAGE COUPLES

Categorised into ‘New squeeze’ and ‘Long time squeeze’, the two 54-card decks engage couples, old and new, in scintillating conversation, sparking romance and heartwarming connection. People looking to choose a good partner will have a solid yet fun deck of questions from the ‘New squeeze’ pack to find out if they have found the one. The ‘Long time squeeze’ is designed for busy couples who have been together for a while and need to unwind from the stresses of the real world. The questions will help to rekindle the fire and desire, and in a new and exciting way. Laughter, in both games, is guaranteed.

RELATIONSHIP

After launching the ‘Date Night’ packs, the decks were sold out in a week. The feedback, though positive, revealed another audience on the market. Many persons explained that they were neither in a relationship nor dating, but still wanted the opportunity to play games with friends and family members. That’s when the portfolio expanded to ‘Yawd Style Story Time’, “Story Time is really a spin on how extra and funny Jamaicans are at telling stories. Each card has a pair of words that players will use to ignite the nostalgia of growing up Jamaican, such as ‘mawga dog’ and ‘blue soap’. The words alone will have you laughing, but the stories told are even better.”

Radway’s mission is for the card packs to cover these four key aims: to bring people together, strengthen relationships, assist persons in finding great partners, and to preserve the memories of growing up Jamaican. She plans to expand the friends-and-family edition in July with two decks; a hilarious yawd-style twist on the traditional Truth or Dare and ‘Dash Way Dat’. “We have not forgotten the kids, especially in the diaspora, so we have games coming up for them as well,” Radway added.

For more information on how to get your hands on a pack of Yawd Cards, follow @yawdcards on Instagram or visit the website: yawdcards.com.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com