Card games
Wizard
GigamicKen Fisher1984
- players
- 3–6
- minutes
- 45
- years
- 10+
In the box
60 cards: 52 cards, 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters · 1 score pad
Box details
- Designer
- Ken Fisher
- Artwork
- Polina Bivol, Ken Fisher, Franz Vohwinkel
- Publisher
- Gigamic
- Mechanics
- Betting and BluffingHand ManagementPredictive BidTrick-taking
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Bid exactly the number of tricks you will win, no more and no less, with one more card each round. A card turned up sets trumps, everyone announces their tricks out loud, then the tricks are played following the suit led if possible; Wizards and Jesters may be played even when you can follow suit; the first Wizard played wins the trick, and a Jester never wins it unless the trick is all Jesters. An exact bid scores 20 points plus 10 per trick, each trick of difference costs 10, and the game has 10 to 20 rounds depending on the number of players.
The rules, step by step
Setup
1 card in round 1, One more each round, 60 cards
- A 60-card deck: four suits from 1 to 13, plus four Wizards and four Jesters.
- In the first round, one card per player; one more is added each round.
How to play
Turn up trumps, Bid your tricks, Follow suit
- A card is turned up to set trumps, except in the last round, when all the cards are dealt.
- If the card turned up is a Wizard, the dealer chooses trumps; if it is a Jester, the round is played without trumps.
- Each player announces out loud the number of tricks they expect to win.
- The tricks are then played, following the suit led if possible.
- Wizards and Jesters may always be played, even if you hold the suit led.
- The first Wizard played wins the trick, whatever comes after. With no Wizard, the highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
- A Jester never wins the trick, unless the trick is all Jesters: the first one played then wins.
Scoring
Exact: 20 + 10 per trick, Each trick off: −10
- Exact bid: 20 points, plus 10 per trick bid.
- Missed bid: a 10-point penalty per trick of difference.
End of the game
20 rounds with 3, 15/12/10 with 4/5/6
- The game has 20 rounds with three players, 15 with four, 12 with five, 10 with six.
House rules and pitfalls
Unlike Chelem or Oh Hell, nothing here stops the total of the bids from matching the number of tricks…
- Unlike Chelem or Oh Hell, nothing here stops the total of the bids from matching the number of tricks: it is up to the dealer to take advantage of it, not up to the rules to prevent it.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Variants
Number of rounds
20 rounds (3 players)
15 rounds (4 players)
12 rounds (5 players)
10 rounds (6 players)
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
What is the idea?
A trick-taking game with bidding: before each round, everyone bets exactly how many tricks they will take. Hitting your target pays; missing it, even by one trick, costs.
How many cards per round?
One more each round: one in the first, two in the second… until the deck runs out. The difficulty rises as the hands grow.
What are the Wizards and Jesters for?
The first Wizard played wins the trick, whatever happens; a Jester loses it (unless the trick is all Jesters, won by the first). You may play them at any time, even holding the suit led: they let you force or avoid a trick — the key tool for making your bid.
How do you score?
Bid made: 20 points, plus 10 per trick bid. Bid missed: -10 per trick of difference. Bidding zero and making it therefore scores a flat 20 points.
How are trumps set?
The first card of the draw pile is turned up after the deal: its suit is trumps. If it is a Wizard, the dealer chooses trumps; if it is a Jester, the round is played without trumps.