With this guide, you’ll learn the Madiao card game in Where Winds Meet, win every match, and secure valuable rewards.
Where Winds Meet offers a variety of mini-games alongside its main story, adding welcome variety and rewarding you with valuable bonuses. One of these is Madiao, a variation of a classic bluff-based card game. In this guide, we explain how Madiao works, where to find matches, and which strategies will help you come out on top.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- How the basic rules of Madiao work
- Which card types exist and how to use them
- Where to find all Madiao matches in Qinghe and Kaifeng
- What rewards await you
- How to bluff successfully and handle challenges
- Which strategies increase your chances of winning
- How the drinking mechanic works
What Is Madiao and How Does It Work?
Madiao is a turn-based card game for four players that revolves around bluffing and tactical card play. The goal is simple: either get rid of all cards in your hand or win by knocking out the other players.
If you’re caught bluffing, issue an incorrect challenge, or can’t play a matching card, you have to drink. Among the normal drinks, however, there’s also a poisoned variant. With every drink, the chance of getting poisoned wine increases, which immediately knocks you out.
Overview of Card Types
The Madiao deck contains three different card types you should know:
- Number cards (1 to 10): Each number card exists four times in the deck. They form the backbone of the game and must be played according to the current round’s declared number.
- Wild Cards (marked in yellow): These joker cards can be played as any number card. If you’re challenged after playing a Wild Card, it does not count as a bluff. Wild Cards are extremely valuable and should be used carefully.
- Poisoned wine: Not a card in the traditional sense, but a consequence. Every time you have to drink, there’s a chance of poisoned wine, which increases by 25% with each drink.
Madiao in Where Winds Meet: The Rules Explained
When it’s your turn and you open a round, you select any number of cards from your hand and “declare” them as a specific number. For example, you might play a 2, a 5, and an 8, but claim they are three nines. Other players can then challenge you.
Subsequent players must play cards of the same declared number—or pretend to do so. Bluffing is allowed here as well. You may play as many cards as you want at once, as long as you claim they match the current number.
Challenges and Their Consequences
Any player can challenge another immediately after their turn. However, once the next player has played their cards, the opportunity to challenge is lost.
If you successfully challenge a player and they were indeed bluffing, that player must drink and take all cards played in the current round back into their hand. You then get to open the next round and declare a new number.
If you challenge a player who told the truth, you have to drink instead. Each drink increases your pass-out chance by 25%. If you don’t have a matching card and don’t want to bluff, you can accept the penalty and drink without playing any cards.
Your pass-out chance starts at 25% and increases by another 25% with each drink. After the fourth drink, elimination is guaranteed. Always factor in the current risk when bluffing. Bluffing early in the game is far less dangerous than later, when your pass-out chance may already be at 75%.
All Madiao Locations in Qinghe
In the Qinghe region, there is one Madiao match you can play – Li Peiran in Blissful Retreat, Sundara Land: This match requires 20 commerce coins and 15 resolve as an entry fee. As a reward, you receive 7 resolve, 5 Echo Jade, 20 commerce coins, 8 Qinghe Exploration, 2,400 Character EXP, and 2,400 coins.
After the events of Chapter 1, Li Peiran’s match disappears from Blissful Retreat. You’ll then find him in the Dreamscape: Blissful Retreat. You can access this area by interacting with the sword beneath the burned tree in Blissful Retreat. Afterward, you can return via teleport using the Boundary Stone.
All Madiao Locations in Kaifeng
The Kaifeng region offers a total of 13 Madiao matches at various locations. Rewards vary depending on entry costs. Matches with higher entry requirements offer more Echo Jade and commerce coins.
Kaifeng City
- Zhu Daniang on South Gate Avenue charges 20 commerce coins and 30 resolve.
- You Lin at the Fairgrounds requires 20 commerce coins and 55 resolve.
- Zhang Feihu in the Kaifeng Prefecture demands 60 commerce coins and 30 resolve, the highest entry fee in the city.
- Shu Shier at the Velvet Shade needs 20 commerce coins and 50 resolve.
Granary of Plenty Region
- Shu Shijiu in Kaifeng Suburbs – East charges 20 commerce coins and 55 resolve.
- Yang Bao in Gracetown requires 20 commerce coins and 30 resolve.
- Bao Dating in the Ever-Normal Granary demands 20 commerce coins and 50 resolve.
Jadewood Court Region
- Long Aotian in Masterwood Hamlet has the highest entry outside the city, with 60 commerce coins and 30 resolve.
- Li Meng in the South Imperial Garden requires 40 commerce coins and 30 resolve.
- Uncle Ba in the North Imperial Garden charges 20 commerce coins and 30 resolve.
- Squireling Xu at Jinming Pool demands 20 commerce coins and 50 resolve.
Madiao: Rewards and Progression
The amount of rewards depends on the entry costs. Matches with higher requirements offer more valuable prizes. You can mark Madiao locations on your map by selecting them in the map filter.
Resolve can also be increased through the Pitch Pot mini-game, not just Madiao. Both activities contribute to character progression and shouldn’t be ignored.
Madiao Tips: Strategies for Victory
Start with the cheaper matches in Kaifeng City to get a feel for the game. Entry costs of 20 commerce coins and 30 resolve are manageable for beginners.
Focus first on getting rid of your hand cards rather than aiming to eliminate opponents. This approach is more direct and less risky.
Save your Wild Cards for situations where you’d otherwise be forced to drink. They’re your insurance against bad hands.
Challenge conservatively. Only challenge other players when you’re very confident. A failed challenge brings you one step closer to elimination.
Keep track of which cards have already been played. For example, if three sevens are already on the table and someone claims to play two more, at least one of them must be a Wild Card or a bluff.
Practice card counting gradually. You don’t need to be perfect from the start, but having a rough sense of which cards are still in play helps tremendously.
Observe your opponents’ behavior. AI opponents follow recognizable patterns you can exploit. Human players in multiplayer require more flexible strategies.
A specific tactic works well against AI opponents: As the declaring player, play multiple cards at once, then follow up in the next round with a Wild Card or another correct card. AI opponents often challenge these plays, giving you an advantage.
Vary your bluffing behavior. If you become too predictable, you’ll be challenged more often. Sometimes it’s worth bluffing even when you have the correct card to keep opponents guessing.
Use the psychology of the game: If your pass-out chance is already high, opponents are more likely to hesitate before challenging you, since they don’t want to risk drinking themselves. This opens the door for calculated bluffs.
In the early rounds, play the correct number cards when you have them. If you’re missing the right card, try bluffing first before using Wild Cards. Save those for the second half of the game or critical moments.
If an opponent plays more than four cards of the same number, always challenge them. Since each number card only exists four times in the deck, this is mathematically impossible without Wild Cards or a bluff.
Try to take the lead and be the one declaring. This lets you control the pace and use your hand more strategically. Play your regular number cards slowly and keep Wild Cards in reserve.
