Wizard (card game)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox card game Wizard is a trick-taking card game for three to six players designed by Ken Fisher of Toronto, Ontario in 1984.<ref name="The Original Wizard Card Game" /> The game was first printed commercially in June 1986.<ref name="The Development of Wizard Card Game">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ken Fisher a 'Wizard' when it comes to developing games" /> The game is based on oh hell.<ref name="Games & Books" />
A Wizard deck consists of 60 cards: a regular set of 52 playing cards (replaced with custom symbols and colours in some editions),<ref name="Wizard Amigo Manual - English" /> 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters.<ref name="Old Classics, New Card Games" /> The Jesters have the lowest value, then the two up to thirteen, then Aces and lastly Wizards as highest in value.<ref name="Wizard Rules" />
GameplayEdit
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The objective of the game is to bid correctly on the number of tricks that a player will take in the subsequent round of play.<ref name="The Original Wizard Card Game: Rules for How to Play">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Points are awarded for a correct bid and subtracted for an incorrect bid.<ref name="Wizard Rules" /> The player with most points after all rounds have been played is the winner. The game is played in a number of rounds from 10 to 20, depending on the number of players,<ref name="Old Classics, New Card Games" /> and each round consists of three stages: Dealing, Bidding, and Playing.<ref name="Wizard Amigo Manual - English" />
In the first round every player gets one card. In the subsequent rounds the number of cards is increased by one until all cards are distributed.<ref name="Wizard Card Game: A Comprehensive Guide For Beginners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> That means that three players play 20 rounds, four players 15 rounds, five players 12 rounds and six players 10 rounds.<ref name="The Original Wizard Card Game: Rules for How to Play"/> The top card of the remaining cards is turned over to determine the trump suit. If there are no cards left or a jester is turned, there is no trump suit, and only the wizards are trump. If a wizard is turned, the dealer picks a trump suit.<ref name="Wizard Card Game Frequently Asked Questions">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After looking at their cards, starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player states how many tricks he believes he will take, from zero to the number of cards dealt.<ref name="Wizard Rules" /> This is recorded on a score pad.<ref name="Wizard Score Sheet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The player to the left of the dealer plays a card, and then the others follow clockwise.<ref name="Wizard Rules" /> If a card other than a wizard or jester is played, the players have to follow suit, but it is possible to play a jester or wizard although the player has the desired suit. The Wizard beats all other cards but the first one in a trick beats all others.<ref name="Wizard Amigo Manual - English" /> The jester is beaten by all others, but if all cards in a trick are jesters the first one beats the others.<ref name="The Original Wizard Card Game: Rules for How to Play" /> If a jester is played as the first card the first suit card decides which suit has to be followed.<ref name = "Wizard FAQ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> If a wizard is played as the first card every player is free to play what they want regardless of the others.<ref name="Wizard Card Game Frequently Asked Questions" /> If the first card is a Jester and the second a Wizard, then the Wizard rule takes precedence and players are not required to follow suit.<ref name = "Wizard Card Game Community Forums FAQ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
At the end of each round, each player is given a score based on their performance. For predicting the number of tricks taken correctly, a player receives 20 points plus 10 points for each trick taken.<ref name="Wizard Amigo Manual - English" /> For predicting the number of tricks taken incorrectly, a player loses 10 points for each trick over or under.<ref name="Wizard Rules" />
Variant card setsEdit
The German version of Wizard is published by Amigo-Spiele.<ref name="Wizard Amigo-Spiele Online Shop">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Granted a license for manufacture and distribution in Germany in 1996,<ref name="The Development of Wizard Card Game" /> the cards were redesigned and illustrated with a fantasy-themed character on each card.<ref name = "The History of Wizard Cards">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name = "The Genesis of WIZARD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Each character has a title such as der Krieger (the warrior) or die Priesterin (the priestess) printed at the top of the card. There are 2 male and 2 female versions of each character. The German decks contain four non-standard suits with values from 1 to 13,<ref name="Wizard - Meople's Magazine" /> four Z cards labelled either der Zauberer (the sorcerer) or die Zauberin (the sorceress), and four N cards labelled der Narr or die Närrin (the fool).<ref name="Wizard Amigo Manual - English" /> The German deck is distributed in the United States as "Fantasy Wizard", with an English box and rules.<ref name = "Fantasy Wizard Card Game">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The cards are identical to the German ones, including the German abbreviations for Zauberer/Zauberin and Narr/Närrin.<ref name = "Fantasy Wizard Rules">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Medieval deck of cards has a themed character on each card.<ref name = "The Genesis of WIZARD"/> The characters are: (2) Hermit, (3) Peasant, (4) Farmer, (5) Archer, (6) Blacksmith, (7) Merchant, (8) Bard, (9) Scholar, (10) Bishop, Knight, Queen, King, (Ace) Dragon.<ref name = "The History of Wizard Cards"/> The cards are also color-coded: Hearts (Red), Spades (Black), Clubs (Green), Diamonds (Purple), Jesters (Brown), Wizards (Blue).<ref name = "Medieval Wizard Rules">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Wizard Camelot edition replaces the 4 deuces with Holy Grail, Excalibur, Merlin and Morgan le Fay cards.<ref name="Wizard Camelot Rules" />
The Wizard Omnibus edition enables 3 levels of play: Classic, Camelot and Magic.<ref name = "Wizard Omnibus Edition"/>
Tournament playEdit
Regular tournaments are held online. World Championships began in 2010.<ref name="The Development of Wizard Card Game" /><ref name ="The History of Wizard Cards"/> Each nation is invited to send a maximum of two representatives to the annual event.<ref name="Fonthill resident’s card game is global phenomenon" />
| Year | Location | Champion | Champion's nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Josef Sigl<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2011 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Beate Punz<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2012 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Thomas Kessler<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2013 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Christian Adolph<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2014 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Gergely Suba<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2015 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Hans Mostbock<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2016 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Robert Laschkolnig<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2017 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Ignaz Punz<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2018 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Vasilis Papadakis<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2019 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Spyros Keramas<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2020 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || N/A || N/A | ||
| 2021 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic<ref name = "Világbajnokság"/> | N/A | N/A | |
| 2022 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Sebastian Holzer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2023 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> || Alexander Kube<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> || Template:Flaglist | |
| 2024 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Spyros Keramas<ref>2024 WIZARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP https://www.cccj.es/wizard/wizard-torneigs/WWC2024/2024WWCStandings.pdf</ref> | Template:Flaglist |
First hand probabilitiesEdit
Since there are no options for which card to play when a player is only holding one card, there is a statistically correct bid for any given card. This only truly applies if a player has the lead, and thus no information from other bids. Since a correct bid of 1 yields 30 points, and a correct bid of 0 only yields 20, a bid of 1 over time yields more points as long as the player has at least a 42.86% chance of winning the trick.Template:Or?
The known cards are only a player's own card and the turn up, so with 58 unknowns, the odds that a hand will win in a three player game are calculated by the odds that both of the other hands lose to that player. That is, (x/58)*((x-1)/57), x=# of cards the player can beat. The calculation is similar for more players. Solving for x to yield 0.4286 or greater gives the minimum number of cards a player needs to be ahead of to justify a bid of 1.Template:Or?
With the lead:
- In a 3-person game, x=39, bid 1 with an offsuit Jack or stronger.
- In a 4-person game, x=44, bid 1 with the 3 of trump or stronger, (4 of trump if the turn up is the 2 or 3).
- In a 5-person game, x=49, bid 1 with the 9 of trump or better, (the 8 will do if the turn up is higher than the 8)
- In a 6-person game, x=50, bid 1 with the 10 of trump or better (9 if turn-up is 10 or higher)
- In the special case that a jester turns up and there is therefore no trump, and the player has the lead: always bid 1 in a 3 player game, With 4 - bid 1 on 3 or higher, with 5 - bid 1 with any 9 or higher, and with 6 players a 10 or higher.
ReviewsEdit
- Games #110<ref name="Games & Books">Template:Cite news</ref>
- 1992 Games 100 in Games #112<ref name="Games 100">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Games September 2010<ref name="Old Classics, New Card Games" />
- ToysBulletin.com<ref name="Wizard Card Game - A Triumph in Every Version" />
- Meople's Magazine<ref name="Wizard - Meople's Magazine" />
- There Will Be Games<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- The Villages Daily Sun<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>