How many points in Wizard? 20 + 10 per trick, −10 per trick off
- Cards
- 60, including 4 wizards and 4 jesters
- Rounds
- 20 with 3, 15 with 4, 12 with 5, 10 with 6
- Exact bid
- 20 + 10 per trick
- Missed bid
- −10 per trick off
In short
In Wizard, before each round, every player announces how many tricks they will win. If they are right, they score 20 points plus 10 points per trick; if they are wrong, they lose 10 points per trick of difference, whether they won too many or too few. You play one card per player in the first round, two in the second, and so on until the 60 cards run out: 20 rounds with 3 players, 15 with 4, 12 with 5, 10 with 6. The highest total wins.
The cards. In the original German edition the wizards are marked Z (Zauberer) and the jesters N (Narr); English-language editions print W and J instead.
How it works
Wizard is played with a 60-card deck: four suits numbered 1 to 13, 4 wizards (marked Z) and 4 jesters (marked N). It is played by 3 to 6 players. It is a trick-taking game with bidding: before each round, every player announces how many tricks they will win, and the whole point is to win exactly that number.
In the first round, everyone receives one card; in the second, two; and so on. The top card of the pack is then turned up: its suit is trumps. If it is a wizard, the dealer chooses trumps; if it is a jester, there are no trumps. In the last round, all the cards are dealt and you play without trumps.
Bids are made in order, starting from the dealer’s left, and the dealer bids last. The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick; the winner of each trick leads the next. The deal passes to the left every round.
Wizards, jesters and tricks
| Card | When it can be played | Effect on the trick |
|---|---|---|
| Wizard (Z) | At any time | The first wizard played wins the trick |
| Jester (N) | At any time | Wins nothing, unless the trick is made only of jesters (the first one wins) |
| Trump | If you cannot follow suit, or if trumps are led | Beats every card of the other suits |
| Suit led | Compulsory if you have one | The highest wins, if there is no trump and no wizard |
The trick rule is that of whist, with two exceptions that give the game all its flavour: you may always play a wizard or a jester, even if you hold the suit led. If a trick is led with a jester, the first suit card played sets the suit to follow; if it is led with a wizard, everyone plays whatever they like.
A wizard is therefore almost a sure trick (it only loses to a wizard played before it), and a jester is the safe way not to take a trick. Both count enormously in the bid.
The scoring
| Result | Points | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Exact bid | 20 + 10 per trick | Bid of 0 made: 20; bid of 3 made: 50 |
| Bid missed by one trick | −10 | Bid of 2, 3 tricks won: −10 |
| Bid missed by several tricks | −10 per trick off | Bid of 4, 1 trick won: −30 |
Unlike Oh Hell, a missed bid costs points, and all the more so the bigger the gap. So you can finish a game in negative figures. The difference is made by big bids that are made: a bid of 5 made brings 70 points, as much as three and a half zero bids. Scores climb fast in the last rounds, and that is where the game is decided.
The number of rounds
| Players | Rounds | Cards in the last round |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 20 | 20 |
| 4 | 15 | 15 |
| 5 | 12 | 12 |
| 6 | 10 | 10 |
The number of rounds is 60 divided by the number of players: in the last one, all the cards are dealt. A full game with 4 lasts an hour to an hour and a half. For a shorter game, many tables stop halfway or play every other round; the counter lets you set the maximum number of cards.
The variants in the rules
The Wizard rulebook itself offers several variants, which are widely played:
- Bids may not add up: the total of the bids may not equal the number of tricks in the round. The dealer, who bids last, therefore has a forbidden value. It is the Oh Hell rule; it guarantees that at least one player misses their bid.
- Secret bids: everyone writes down their bid in secret and they are all revealed at once. You lose the advantage of bidding last.
- Indian first round: with one card, everyone holds theirs on their forehead without looking at it and bids seeing the others’ cards.
The counter supports the “bids may not add up” rule, switched off by default as in the basic rules.
The special cards
Recent editions (including the anniversary edition) add six special cards, to be shuffled into the deck if you like. Two of them change the scoring:
| Card | Effect | On the scoring |
|---|---|---|
| Bomb | The trick it is played in is won by nobody | There is one trick fewer than cards in hand |
| Cloud | Whoever wins the trick with the Cloud must change their bid by 1 | Bid adjusted by +1 or −1 |
| Dragon | Beats even the wizards | None |
| Fairy | Wins nothing, except against the Dragon | None |
| Werewolf | Changes the trump suit for the round | None |
| Juggler | Everyone passes a card to their neighbour | None |
In the counter, the “Bomb and Cloud” option adds a “Bomb played” box to trick entry (the expected total drops by one trick) and, for each player, the Cloud’s −1 and +1 buttons, applied to the bid before scoring.
Example: the first three rounds with four players
Emma, Nico, Pat and Lea, basic rules. For each player: bid / tricks won, then points.
| Round | Emma | Nico | Pat | Lea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 card | 0 / 0 → 20 | 1 / 1 → 30 | 0 / 0 → 20 | 0 / 0 → 20 |
| 2 cards | 1 / 1 → 30 | 1 / 0 → −10 | 0 / 0 → 20 | 1 / 1 → 30 |
| 3 cards | 0 / 1 → −10 | 2 / 2 → 40 | 1 / 0 → −10 | 1 / 0 → −10 |
| Total | 40 | 60 | 30 | 40 |
In the first round, Nico has a wizard: he bids 1 and makes it. In the third, Emma, who bid zero, picks up a trick she did not want: −10, and Pat and Lea, who wanted one each, had it taken from them. Nico, with two wizards, leads the game after three rounds, even though he missed the second.
Variants
- Bids may not add up: the total of the bids may not equal the number of tricks; the dealer has a forbidden value. A variant offered by the rules and an option in the counter.
- Secret bids: bids are written down in secret then revealed together. The last bidder loses their advantage.
- Indian first round: with one card, everyone holds their card on their forehead and bids seeing the others’ cards.
- Short game: you stop halfway (8 rounds with 4 players) or skip every other round.
- Special cards: Bomb, Cloud, Dragon, Fairy, Werewolf and Juggler from recent editions; only the Bomb and the Cloud change the scoring.
Common mistakes
- Counting the tricks won instead of the bid: a missed bid costs 10 points per trick off, even if you won lots of tricks: 5 tricks on a bid of 2 is −30.
- Forgetting the 20 base points: a bid of zero made is worth 20, not 0; a bid of 3 made is worth 50, not 30.
- Thinking a jester must follow suit: you may play a wizard or a jester at any time, even when you hold the suit led.
- Getting the number of rounds wrong: it is 60 divided by the number of players: 15 rounds with 4, not 13 as with a 52-card deck.
- Forgetting the trumps chosen by the dealer: when the turned-up card is a wizard, the dealer chooses trumps after looking at their hand, before the bids.
Frequently asked questions
How many points is a successful bid worth in Wizard?
20 points plus 10 points per trick: 20 for a bid of zero made, 30 for 1 trick, 50 for 3 tricks, 70 for 5 tricks.
How much do you lose when you miss your bid?
10 points per trick of difference between the bid and the tricks won, in either direction: a bid of 2 with 4 tricks won costs −20.
How many rounds does a game of Wizard last?
60 divided by the number of players: 20 rounds with 3, 15 with 4, 12 with 5, 10 with 6. In the last one, all the cards are dealt and there are no trumps.
What happens if the turned-up card is a wizard?
The dealer chooses the trump suit after looking at their cards. If it is a jester, the round is played without trumps.
Does a wizard always win the trick?
The first wizard played in the trick wins it. A wizard played after another one does not win. With the special cards, the Dragon also beats the wizards.
What is the difference between Wizard and Oh Hell?
The principle is the same (bidding your number of tricks), but Wizard adds wizards and jesters, goes up to 60 cards dealt without coming back down, and punishes each trick off with −10.
Score with the app
The Wizard counter on How many points? applies these rules for you: enter each player’s score at the end of the round and it handles totals, ranking, game end and the winner. Players are saved with their photo, game history is kept, and everything works offline, with no account.
Wizard is a game by Ken Fisher, published in 1984 and released in France by Amigo. The rules shown are those in the box; the variants and special cards are those of the official rules and recent editions.
Published on 21 October 2026.