Wizard Card Game

Wizard is a card game that uses a special 60-card deck. It was created in 1986 by Ken Fisher. The deck consists of a regular 52-card deck of cards supplemented by 8 additional cards: 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters. The game is derived from the standard game of "Oh Hell" and can be played with 3 to 6 players. Although a game of considerable skill the rules are easily learned. The game is licensed in Canada, The United States, Germany and Italy. External Link: http://www.wizardcards.com

How to Play Wizard Cards

THE RULES

Object of the Game

The object is to correctly predict the number of tricks you will take in each round. You receive points for being correct, and the person with the most points wins the game.

The Deal

To determine a dealer, each player is dealt one card. High card deals. On the first deal each player receives one card. Two cards are dealt on the second deal, three on the third and so on. The deal passes to the left after each round and the new dealer shuffles all 60 cards. After the deal, the next card is turned up to determine the trump suit. If the card turned up is a Jester, it is turned down and there is no trump for that round. If the card turned up is a Wizard, the dealer chooses one of the 4 suits as the trump suit. On the last round of each game all cards are dealt out so there is no trump.

Bidding

Each player in turn beginning to the left of the dealer states the number of tricks he/she will take (zero or 1 on the first round) and the scorer records the bid on the score pad. The total number of tricks bid may or may not equal the total number of tricks available. However, if the last player to bid has the highest score recorded on the score pad (not tied for the lead) he/she cannot bid so as to make the bids "even". (An "even" bid is when the total tricks bid equals the total tricks available.) This means that someone must lose points after the play of the hand because more or fewer tricks have been bid than are available.

The Play

The play begins to the left of the dealer. Any card may be led. Players continue to play in clock-wise order and must follow suit if possible. There are 2 exceptions to this rule. A Wizard or a Jester may be played at any time, even if the player is holding a card of the suit led. A trick is won: (a) by the first Wizard played (b) if no Wizard is played, by the highest trump card played. (c) if no trump is played, by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick leads next.

Leading Wizards & Jesters

If the lead card is a Wizard, it wins the trick and players may play any card they wish, including another Wizard. If the lead card is a Jester, it is a null card. The suit for this round is determined by the next card played. Jesters always lose. The one exception to this is that if only Jesters are played, the first Jester played in the round wins the trick.

Scoring

For correctly predicting the number of tricks taken, a player scores 20 points and receives 10 additional points for each trick taken. A player whose prediction is incorrect loses 10 points for each over or under trick

Bidding Variations 1. Hidden Bid: All players simultaneously reveal their bid. 2. Delayed Reveal Bid: All players record their bid. After the hand has been played the bids are revealed.