Wizard

Objective

Accumulate the most points by correctly predicting exactly how many tricks you will win each round. You are rewarded for accuracy, not for winning the most tricks.

The Basics

Wizard uses a 60-card deck: a standard 52-card deck (1–13 in four suits) plus 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters. Jesters are the lowest cards in the game; Wizards are the highest. The game is played over multiple rounds — the number depends on player count. Each round, players bid on exactly how many tricks they will take, then play out the hand. At the end of every round, scores are adjusted based on whether each player met their bid.

The Deck

Card ranking from lowest to highest: Jester → 2 → 3 → … → 10 → Jack → Queen → King → Ace → Wizard. Within the trump suit, ranking works the same way with Wizards still highest.

Round Count

The number of rounds equals the number of cards that can be dealt when split evenly:

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

In round 1, each player gets 1 card. In round 2, each player gets 2, and so on, up to the final round when all 60 cards are dealt.

Setup for Each Round

1. The dealer shuffles all 60 cards and deals the appropriate number to each player.
2. After dealing, flip the top card of the remaining deck face-up — this card's suit is the Trump suit for the round.
   • If a Jester is flipped: no trump suit for this round.
   • If a Wizard is flipped: the dealer chooses any suit as trump (the dealer cannot choose "no trump").
   • In the final round, all cards are dealt and there is no trump.
3. Starting left of the dealer and going clockwise, each player states their bid: the number of tricks they expect to win (0 is a valid bid). The scorer records all bids. The total bids may or may not equal the number of tricks available — there is no restriction.

Playing Tricks

The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. Players must follow suit if they can. If a player cannot follow suit, they may play any card — including trump or a Wizard or Jester.

Special cards in tricks

• Wizard led: No suit is established — players may play any card. The first Wizard played wins the trick. If two Wizards are played, the first one wins.
• Jester led: The Jester is a null card — the next non-Jester card determines the lead suit. If all cards played are Jesters, the first Jester wins.
• Wizard played (not led): Always wins the trick, regardless of what was led.
• Jester played: Never wins (unless all cards played were Jesters).

The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Scoring

After all tricks are played:

• Correct bid: 20 points + 10 points × number of tricks won.
• Incorrect bid: −10 points × number of tricks over or under the bid.

Example: Bid 3, won 3 → +50 points. Bid 2, won 4 → −20 points. Bid 0, won 0 → +20 points.

The player with the most points after the final round wins.

Optional Rules

• Hidden Bid: All players simultaneously reveal their bid (no sequential information).
• Delayed Reveal: Players write bids face-down; revealed after the hand is played.
• Killer Rule: The last player to bid cannot make the bids total "even" (matching the number of available tricks) — if they would, they must bid differently. Does not apply if there's a tie for the lead on the scoreboard.

Key Rules

• You must follow suit if possible; only play off-suit if you cannot follow.
• Wizards and Jesters can always be played, even if you could follow suit.
• Bid exactly 0 to earn 20 points — perfectly achievable with careful play.
• If a Wizard is turned as trump, the dealer must pick a suit — "no trump" is not an option.

At the Table

Bid based on your high cards and trump holding. Wizards are guaranteed trick-winners; Jesters are guaranteed losers. Use Jesters to dump tricks you don't want. Bid conservatively in early rounds when hands are small and luck has a larger role.