Wizard

Wizard is a trick-taking card game that combines elements of strategy, prediction, and a touch of magic. Created by Ken Fisher in 1984, Wizard is played with a unique deck of 60 cards, which includes traditional playing cards from a standard deck plus four Wizards and four Jesters.

Objective

The goal of Wizard is to accurately predict the number of tricks you will take each round and to achieve the highest score by the end of the game. Points are awarded for correctly predicting the number of tricks taken, while incorrect predictions result in penalties.

Setup

• Players: 3 to 6
• Deck: 60 cards (52 standard playing cards + 4 Wizard cards + 4 Jester cards)
• Distribution: The number of cards dealt increases by one each round. In the first round, each player receives one card, in the second round, two cards, and so on.

Card Hierarchy

• Wizards: The highest cards in the game. Wizards always win the trick in which they are played.
• Jesters: The lowest cards in the game. Jesters always lose the trick in which they are played.
• Standard Cards: Ranked as in a regular deck from Ace (high) to 2 (low), within each suit.

Gameplay

1. Deal: The dealer shuffles the deck and deals the appropriate number of cards to each player for the round.
2. Trump Suit: The top card of the remaining deck is turned over to determine the trump suit for the round. If a Wizard is revealed, the dealer selects the trump suit. If a Jester is revealed, there is no trump for the round.
3. Bidding: Starting with the player to the dealer’s left, players predict (bid) how many tricks they will take in the round.
4. Playing Tricks: The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. Players must follow suit if they can. If they cannot follow suit, they may play any card. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick unless a trump card is played, in which case the highest trump wins.
5. Scoring: After all tricks are played, scores are calculated based on the accuracy of each player's bid.

Scoring

• Correct bid: 20 points + 10 points per trick taken.
• Incorrect bid: -10 points per trick over or under the bid.