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Game Info
Year
1984
Players
2
Age
10+
Playtime
40 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
The trick-taking game Wizard uses a sixty-card deck that consists of the traditional 52-card deck (1-13 in four suits) along with four Wizards (high) and four Jesters (low).
Players compete over multiple rounds based on the number of players, and whoever ends with the highest score wins. In each round, players are dealt a hand of cards — one card in the first round, two cards in the second, three in the third, etc. — then trump is determined by flipping the top card of the undealt deck; if a suit is revealed, that suit is trump, while 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. The dealer cannot choose "no trump". On the last round of each game all cards are dealt out so there is no trump. Players then state how many tricks they expect to win in the round.
The playing and winning of the tricks uses mostly standard trick-taking rules. If a player leads a suited card, then all other players must follow suit, if possible. If a player leads a Jester, then the second player determines the suit led. If a player leads a Wizard, then those who follow can play whatever they want. However, in all cases a player may always play a Wizard or Jester, even if they hold cards in the suit led.
After each player has played a card, determine the winner of the trick as follows: If one or more Wizards were played, the player of the first Wizard wins the trick, collects the cards, and leads to the next trick. If not, whoever played the highest trump wins the trick. If not, whoever played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. If all players played Jesters, whoever played the first Jester wins.
After all tricks have been played, players tally their score for the round. If a player matched their bid, winning exactly as many tricks as stated at the start of the round, they score 20 points, plus 10 points for each trick taken. If a player missed their bid, they lose 10 points for each trick that they were off, whether they took more or fewer than predicted.
A common variant in Wizard is to not allow the total number of tricks bid in a round to match the round number, thereby forcing (at least) one player to be off each round.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video B1IHxNbmI8Y
Jung its games Discussion at 10:48 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66530 · mention_pk 162146
Click to watch at 10:48 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-taking — play a single card per trick; trump may exist; winner determined by best card for the trick
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- as long as it's very clear that you were paid for that content as long as it's on screen as it's in the description you click the little button within a YouTube UI that pops up a thing that said this includes pay promotion I think that's fine
- I think as long as you are fully transparent about being paid it pretty much doesn't matter what kind of content you're making
- it's very hard to make these campaigns work
- I started a patreon campaign after I can't remove the specifics but it was like maybe two two and a half years into making my junkets games channel
- if you're gonna be spending $100 a year on board games then you know I like to think that it makes sense to throw one two five to ten dollars or whatever to people whose opinions you really value
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video VMg3CO1kDMY
watch it played Discussion at 5:26 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65366 · mention_pk 159027
Click to watch at 5:26 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- sender thinks it's a very fun trick-taking game
- host's wife's favorite trick-taking game
- played all the time by wife and her in-laws
Cons
- the deluxe edition was not received, only a standard version
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-taking — a trick-taking game
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- hi everyone welcome back to watch it played
- so we're going to have the next TBL talk episode releasing talking about crowdfunding for media projects like this we also have the third episode of the boss monster gam playay and at the end of this video we're going to announce which game we're featuring next so stick around for that
- so I want to start with this tube here this came from Brett Kelo let me open it up here and I'll show you what's inside
- these mats were sent from Inplay mats.com this company lets you upload images to be printed on a variety of different gaming products including dice bags card sleeves and as you can see playmats
- at least now when I lose I'll be losing in style thanks a lot Brett that was that was really really cool and especially thrown in the second one for Luke that was that was really kind
- happy Springtime May the god of thunder only manifest in cardboard and spare Pei best wishes Daniel
- Daniel Hoffman has sent us I think a gift every year uh the the last one he sent us I think was primordial soup in fact I just had that game out maybe 2 3 weeks ago and was playing it
- I don't know how to pronounce it Daniel was this a trick to make me look silly on camera
- nil is a Cooperative game where players are taking on the roles of gods from Norse mythology you'll be facing various enemies these will cause detrimental effects that you must prevent and overcome
- the game that he sent us was pandemic the new addition of it uh I had the older edition but the new expansions aren't compatible with the old Edition and he sent us the expansions as well along with one other thing in this box which I'll get to in just a moment
- he actually was taught the game by Zev from zman games who publishes uh this product and uh he's learned it he taught it at the con and he's offered me that if I have any rules questions I can contact him
- Andrew thanks again so much for these gifts it doesn't seem quite adequate saying just thank you over and over again but um I I want you to know it's very humbling to receive packages like these from our viewers and uh you can be sure that these games will be hitting our table and creating opportunities for me and my family and my friends to enjoy time together which is really what gaming is all about and I just so appreciate that people like yourselves help make that happen for me as well it's really really kind
- this is the trick-taking game wizard
- well guess what Andrew she is going to enjoy it because wizard is perhaps her favorite trick-taking game this one we play all the time with her in-law as we play it ourselves you couldn't have perceived any better what kind of game she would like
- this is uh dead of winter the new game they'll be releasing soon from plat Hat games
- it's not going out yet if you've pre-ordered the game um they are working on getting it out as soon as possible there has been some delays this is one that they uh specifically air shipped over so that I could start working on the instructional video for you guys
- it was a wonderful opportunity to go to the cool Min or not Expo and to be away for a couple of days to do that but it's also great to be back and working on more videos and content for you guys
- until the next episode thanks for watching
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video YalDrB1Lanc
Watch It Played Top List at 2:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 63983 · mention_pk 157497
Click to watch at 2:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Skull King
- Tigris and Euphrates
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's fantastic game
- rockus laughter
- thinky deep strategic tactical masterful simple to learn got great depth and wonderful balance of rules and the balance in the game in general it's just a perfectly wonderful game
- boards that you can play with in that game are better than others some are going to probably get you more points
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AC0OZsvhWXg
Foster the Meeple Top List at 2:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8303 · mention_pk 24324
Click to watch at 2:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Love trick taking games
- Widely available in board game stores
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Trick-taking
- Fantasy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-taking — Predict how many tricks you'll win with the help of wizards and jesters
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We love trick taking games
- This game is so much freaking fun
- I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
- If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
- We bloody love it
- We can't stop playing
- It's a blimp game not a train game
- That's just work
- I don't think I want to play it
- I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ebKhhU7aJ-E
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Discussion at 3:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4675 · mention_pk 13649
Click to watch at 3:49 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging bidding mechanic that adds anticipation
- Clear alignment between prediction and scoring
- Accessible for players familiar with standard trick-taking games
Cons
- Requires careful counting and memory to optimize bids
- Some players may feel the luck of the draw can overpower strategy in the short term
Thematic elements
- magic and spellcasting as a framing for card play
- Fantasy-themed trick-taking, with betting and round-based play
- semi-theatrical, with emphasis on prediction and risk-taking
Comparison games
- Skull King
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- round-based scoring with bids — Points are awarded for meeting or exceeding bids, with penalties for miscalculated bids, creating a push-pull between risk and reward across rounds.
- special cards with exceptions — Certain cards (like wizard or jester) can override standard rules and be played at any time, affecting the outcome of a trick.
- Trick-taking with bidding — Players bid the number of tricks they expect to win each round; a trump suit is determined for the round, and tricks are won by following suit or using trump cards to conquer higher cards.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a shedding game and the defining feature of shedding is getting rid of all your cards before the others.
- It's a trick-taking shedding game, you’re blending three different genres into a single play experience.
- Vampire Queen is a climbing game for three to twelve players; it’s trick-taking, it’s shedding, and it’s climbing all at once.
- The seven-trick scoring in Front Gherkin is the crown jewel for how you measure endgame value, and that choice shapes how players pace their risk.
- Fool sits at that interesting intersection of bid, bluff, and penalty, where the loser gets punished for a misstep and the winner enjoys the lead again.
- Wizard’s bidding and trick-taking dynamic creates a natural tension between prediction and execution, very much in the spirit of Skull King but with its own twist.
- The history lesson here is that the East and West diverged in their design philosophies, and we now live with a delightful spectrum of games that sits between climbing, shedding, and trick-taking.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–5 of 5