In order to understand the popular card game Wizard properly, you first need to know the rules of the game. In this article, we explain the card game step by step and also introduce you to some variants and additional rules.
Wizard: Basic rules of the game & preparation
For Wizard, you need at least two players to get a player count of 3 to 6 people. You will also need a pen and, of course, a deck of cards including a pad on which you can write down the scores. The aim of the game is to take exactly as many tricks in each round as announced before the round. Don’t worry, in this chapter we explain in more detail how this works.
- In the first round, you deal one card to each player, two cards in the second round, three in the third round and so on – until all the cards are in play at the end. Another card is placed face up on top of the deck. The color of this card is trump for one round.
- Once all players have received their cards, each player in clockwise order (the player next to the dealer starts) announces how many tricks they will take each round. This announcement is decisive for scoring.
- There are four different colors: humans (blue), elves (green), dwarves (red), giants (yellow).
There are 13 numbered cards of each color, with 1 being the weakest and 13 the strongest. There are also four fools and wizards. The fools are weaker than any 1, the wizards are stronger than any trump card and win the trick. - The player sitting next to the dealer in a clockwise direction plays the first card. Then – similar to sheep’s head – add a color. If player 1 lays a green card, all subsequent players must also lay green – unless they no longer have a green card in their hand or lay a magician or jester.
- If a wizard is the first card played, no color is added. With the Jester, the second card indicates the color.
If only green cards are in play, the person with the highest green card takes the trick. If trumps are in play, the highest trump card takes the trick; - If wizards are in play, the first wizard played takes the trick. Fools and cards of other suits are worthless and lose the trick. Whoever has won the trick is then the first to lay a card.
Announcements and scoring in Wizard
Before each round, as already briefly mentioned, each player must announce clockwise (the player next to the dealer starts) how many tricks they will take in each round. This announcement is decisive for scoring.
- If you are right with your prediction, you receive 20 points just for having announced correctly. If you announce that you will not take any tricks and are correct, you have won 20 points, which you note on the score sheet.
- For each trick you have announced, you receive a further 10 points. So if you have announced and won 2 tricks, you receive 20 + 10 + 10 points: i.e. 40.
- If you are wrong, -10 points per trick will be deducted from your current score. So if you announce 2 tricks and take 4, you receive -20 points.
- The game is over when all 60 cards are in play. There are no trumps in the last round, because no card remains to be turned over as a trump. The winner is the player with the highest score
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Wizard variants and additional rules
Now this popular card game not only has the basic rules, but also additional rules. You can include these variants in your game if you have already played several times and want to bring a breath of fresh air to the Wizard round.
- Lucidity: In round 1 each player holds their card face up in front of their forehead without looking at it first. Although they cannot see their own card, they can see those of the other players and thus estimate whether they will take the trick.
- Plus/minus one: In this variant, the number of tricks announced must not be the same as the number of possible tricks. For example, if there are 4 tricks in a round, the players must announce a total of at least 5 tricks or a maximum of 3 tricks.
- Hidden tip: The tricks are announced secretly by each player writing their tip on a piece of paper. The announcements are revealed after everyone has guessed, but before you start playing;
- Secret prediction: All players write their prediction on a piece of paper. Only when both the prediction and the round are over are the predictions revealed – this keeps the game unbiased.
