WIZARD RULES

Hey there! Let me tell you about Wizard, a really cool card game that was created back in 1984 by a guy named Ken Fisher. You can either buy the game or play it with a regular deck of cards and some Jokers from a few other decks.

The version you can buy in stores comes with a deck of 52 cards, plus 4 shiny Jester cards and 4 powerful Wizard cards. You’ll also get some scoresheets to keep track of your points.

Now, here’s how the game works: each player tries to guess how many tricks they can win in each round. You’ll earn or lose points depending on how close your guess is to the actual number. It’s a really challenging game, but loads of fun!

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

When building a Wizard deck, you’ll need four decks that look the same. It’s vital for all the cards to have matching backs. I’ll use one full deck for the construction. Then, I’ll remove the colored and colorless Jokers from the other three decks.

Imagine you have a deck of cards with a total of sixty cards. This special deck consists of fifty-two cards ranked from 2 to Ace. In addition to that, there are four Jokers in different colors to represent the Jesters, and another four Jokers in different colors to represent the Wizards.

Now, let’s talk about how the game works. In this game, the lowest-ranked cards are always the Jesters, while the highest-ranked cards are always the Wizards.

Now, let’s figure out who will be the first dealer and the scorekeeper. Each player should draw a card from the deck, and the player who gets the highest card becomes the first dealer. On the other hand, the player who draws the lowest card has the responsibility of keeping the score throughout the entire game.

Once the dealer and scorekeeper are determined, the game can begin. The dealer shuffles the deck and starts by dealing one card to each player. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the playing area.

Next, the top card of the pile is flipped over. This card will determine the trump suit for the round. However, there are a couple of special cases. If a Jester is flipped over, there won’t be any trump suit for that round. But if a Wizard is flipped over, the dealer gets to pick the trump suit.

So here’s how it goes: I shuffle a deck of cards, then deal one card to each player. The person to my left then takes the deal and does the same, giving one card to each player. This keeps happening round after round until we reach round two when two cards are dealt to each player. Round three is even more interesting because three cards are dealt to each player, and so it continues.

This is how the final round goes: everyone gets dealt a certain number of cards. In a three-player game, it’s 20 cards each. For a four-player game, it’s 15 cards. In a five-player game, it’s 12 cards each. And in a six-player game, it’s 10 cards each. The important thing to remember is that there is no trump suit in the final round.

So, How Do We Play?

Once all the cards have been dealt and the trump suit (if any) has been determined, it’s time to start bidding. The first person to bid is the player to the left of the dealer. They take a look at their hand and decide how many tricks they think they can win.

They announce their bid, and the scorekeeper writes it down. Bidding continues in a clockwise direction and ends with the dealer. The goal for each player is to win exactly the number of tricks they bid.

When we’re playing a game, the first move can be a little nerve-wracking. You might feel unsure about which card to choose and what to do next. But don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple! All you have to do is pick one card from your hand and place it in the center of the table. And just like that, the game is underway!

When it’s my turn to play, I have to play a card that matches the suit that was led. However, I have the option to play a Jester or Wizard instead if I want to. The goal is to play the highest card in the suit or the first Wizard to win the trick.

If someone leads with a Wizard, then I can play any card I want. If multiple Wizards are played, the first Wizard played wins the trick.

If someone leads with a Jester, then the next card played determines the suit that must be followed. If a Jester is immediately followed by a Wizard, then I can play any card I want. If everyone plays a Jester, then the first Jester played wins the trick.

We continue playing like this until we finish the round.

SCORING FOR WIZARD

Hey there! I wanted to tell you about how points are awarded in this cool game. It’s pretty simple, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

First off, at the end of each round, points are given based on how accurately you predicted your bid. If you meet your bid exactly, you earn 20 points, plus an additional 10 points for each trick you took. That can really add up!

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you bid 4 and you capture exactly 4 tricks. In that case, you would earn a total of 60 points. That’s 20 points for bidding correctly and 40 points for the tricks you captured. It’s like hitting the jackpot!

But here’s the catch. If you don’t meet your bid, things can go downhill. For every trick you are over or under your bid, you lose 10 points. So, let’s say you bid 5 but you only take 3 tricks. You would lose 20 points from your total score. Ouch!

Now, let’s talk about how you can win this game. It’s all about the highest score!

The player with the highest score at the end of the final round is the winner. But here’s the twist. Because of the way points are earned, it’s actually possible for the winner to have a negative score. Crazy, right? It just goes to show that anything can happen in this game.

If you’re a Wizard enthusiast, you should give Euchre a try! It’s another enjoyable trick-taking game.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What’s the trump suit in Wizard, the card game?

In Wizard, the trump suit is determined before each round by flipping the top card from the shuffled deck. That card decides which suit is trump for that particular round.

How do you win Wizard, the card game?

The ultimate goal in Wizard is to have the highest point total at the end of the final round. The player with the most points is declared the winner.

How many cards are dealt to each player?

At the start of the game, each player is dealt one card. As the rounds progress, the number of cards dealt to each player increases by one. This continues until the entire deck is dealt in the final round.

What if a player is unable to follow suit?

If a player is unable to follow suit, they can play any card from their hand. However, keep in mind that playing a card from the trump suit will usually have a stronger impact on the game.