Rules for Wizard

Introduction

Wizard is a trick-taking card game that incorporates elements of prediction and skill. Created by Ken Fisher in 1984 and commercially printed in 1986, the game draws its roots from the classic card game "Oh Hell."

Playing Card Deck

The game utilizes a unique 60-card deck, which comprises:

• Standard set of 52 playing cards
• 4 Wizard cards: These have the highest value in the game.
• 4 Jester cards: These have the lowest value in the game.

Goal

The primary aim is to correctly predict the number of tricks you will take in the forthcoming round. Points are rewarded or deducted based on the accuracy of your prediction. The player with the most points after all rounds are played emerges as the winner.

Rounds

Each round has three distinct stages: Dealing, Bidding, and Playing. The game is divided into a variable number of rounds, depending on the number of players:

• 3 players: 20 rounds
• 4 players: 15 rounds
• 5 players: 12 rounds
• 6 players: 10 rounds

Dealing

In the first round, every player receives one card. As the game progresses, the number of cards dealt to each player increases by one in each round until all cards in the deck are distributed. After dealing, the top card from the remaining deck is turned over to determine the trump suit for the round. If a Jester is revealed, or no cards are left, there are no trumps except for the Wizards. If a Wizard is flipped, the dealer chooses the trump suit.

Bidding

After receiving their cards, players must make a bid starting with the player to the dealer's left. A bid indicates how many tricks a player expects to take during that round, and this information is noted on a score pad.

Winning a Trick

The gameplay follows a clockwise direction starting from the player to the dealer's left. Players must follow suit unless they play a Wizard or a Jester. Wizards beat all other cards, but the first Wizard played in a trick wins against subsequent Wizards. Jesters lose to all other cards but win when only jesters are played.

Scoring

At the end of each round, scores are calculated as follows:

• If you correctly predict the number of tricks you take, you earn 20 points plus an additional 10 points for each trick taken.
• If your prediction was incorrect, you lose 10 points for each trick that you are over or under your bid.

Subsequent Deals

For each new round, the number of cards dealt to each player increases by one, and the game continues until all cards are exhausted or the set number of rounds has been played