The Last Wizard
The Last Wizard Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
In The Last Wizard, you must build the best combination of 3 cards from among those in your hand and the common cards in the centre of the table. You must then assess your hand against those of your opponents, and bet as well as possible to score the most points! Or to lose as few as possible.
Components
- 2 decks of cards: 18 cards with a red back and 18 cards with a blue back
- 6 Mage pawns
- 6 large Player Aid cards
- 12 betting tokens: 6 round tokens and 6 square tokens
- 1 score board
- 1 First Player token
Goal of the Game
The first player to reach 30 points wins the game. If a player reaches space 0, the game stops at the end of the round and the player with the most points wins the game.
Setup
- Choose the deck you will play with this game (red back or blue back). Put the other deck back in the box; it will not be used this game. Note: For your first game, we recommend playing with the red-back deck.
- Take a Mage pawn and the Player Aid card of the matching colour. Place your pawn on space 15 of the score board and put the Player Aid card in front of you.
- Take the betting tokens (round and square) matching the number of players, following the table below:
| Players | Round tokens | Square tokens |
|---|---|---|
| 3 players | 2, 3, 4 | -1, 2, 4 |
| 4 players | 2, 3, 3, 4 | -1, 2, 3, 4 |
| 5 players | 2, 2, 3, 3, 4 | -1, 2, 3, 3, 4 |
| 6 players | 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 | -1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5 |
If some tokens are not used, put them back in the box. You will not need them this game.
- The First Player token is given to the player who most recently attended a magic show.
The game can begin!
Course of the Game
A game is played over three rounds, and each round has several phases:
- Deal and first betting round.
- Reveal of the common cards and second betting round.
- Resolution of the round and scoring.
1. Deal and First Betting Round
The First Player shuffles the deck and deals 2 cards face down to each player. These cards are personal and must not be revealed. Each player may look at her 2 cards.
The remaining cards are placed face down in the centre of the table.
The round betting tokens are placed in the centre of the table.
Starting with the player who has the First Player token, and going clockwise, each player chooses a round betting token that is still available and places it in front of her.
IMPORTANT! When it is her turn to choose, a player may decide not to take a round betting token. She then discards her 2 cards face down. She will no longer play during this round. If she is not alone in the lead on the score board, she immediately scores 1 point and moves her pawn forward one space.
Note: During the first round, all pawns are on 15 and no player is considered to be "alone in the lead".
When all players have chosen a round betting token or discarded their cards, the round betting tokens that were not taken are set aside.
2. Reveal of the Common Cards and Second Betting Round
The First Player reveals the first 2 cards of the deck face up in the centre of the table.
The square betting tokens are placed in the centre of the table.
Starting with the player who has the First Player token, and going clockwise, all players still in play choose a square betting token that is still available and place it in front of them, next to the round token chosen previously.
IMPORTANT! When it is her turn to choose, a player may decide not to take a square betting token. She then discards her 2 cards face down. She will no longer play during this round. She immediately loses as many points as the value of the round betting token she has in front of her, and moves her pawn back that many spaces on the score board. Her round betting token is discarded.
Once the turn around the table is finished, the square betting tokens that were not taken are set aside.
3. Resolution of the Round and Scoring
Starting with the player who has the First Player token, the players still in play (who therefore have a round token and a square token in front of them) reveal their 2 cards and announce the total value of their hand for this round (see page 5 - Calculating the Value of Hands, below).
The player with the best hand moves her pawn forward on the score board by as many spaces as the total value of her 2 betting tokens.
In case of a tie for the best hand, all the players concerned gain points and move forward a number of spaces equal to the sum of the 2 betting tokens in front of them.
IMPORTANT! In games with 5 or 6 players, the player(s) with the 2nd best hand also gain points, but only the value of the LOWEST betting token in front of them.
Special case: If a player (in a game with 5 or 6) has the 2nd best hand and has the -1 betting token in front of her, that token is indeed considered the lowest and she moves back one space!
Note: If during a round several players are tied for the best hand, there is no 2nd best hand.
IMPORTANT! Spaces 1 to 7 of the score board do not work like the others. If a player is in this zone and is to gain points, she moves her pawn forward twice as many spaces!
All the other players still in play, who do not have the 1st or 2nd best hand, lose a total number of points equal to the sum of their 2 betting tokens! They move their pawns back that many spaces on the score board.
IMPORTANT! If at any moment during the round a player is alone in play (all the other players have left the round), that player gains a number of points equal to the sum of the betting token(s) in her possession. There is no resolution phase and she does not reveal her cards.
Once the round is resolved, and if the game has not ended (see page 8 - End of the Game), the First Player token is given to the next player clockwise and a new round begins.
Calculating the Value of Hands
A player's total hand value is the best combination of 3 cards among the 4 cards available to her (the 2 cards in her hand and the 2 common cards in the centre of the table). The combination may contain either 2 personal cards and 1 of the common cards, or only 1 personal card and the 2 common cards.
There are 3 different types of cards:
- the "spell casters"
- the "spells"
- the "creatures"
Each card has a value (located at the top, in the centre).
To calculate the total value of her hand during a round, each player adds up the value of the 3 cards she kept in her combination.
IMPORTANT! To be able to include a "spell" card in her combination, a player must have a "spell caster" card in that same combination (this is what the spell-caster symbol on spell cards means). Without a "spell caster" in her combination, no spell can be part of it. Some players may therefore have combinations of fewer than 3 cards (see example no. 2 below). A "spell caster" card always counts its value even without a "spell" card in the combination.
Note: Two "spell casters" in a combination cannot cast the same "spell" twice.
In addition to bringing its value, each card in a combination also applies its power, which can change the total value of the combination (see page 7 - Card Powers).
Example 1
Common cards: A (creature, value 4) and B (spell, value 8). Cards in Lana's hand: C (spell caster, value 4) and D (spell caster, value 3).
Thanks to one of her spell casters C or D, Lana can include card B in her combination. She chooses card C rather than D because it has a value of 4. If she also keeps her card D in her combination, she will not be able to count card B a second time. Her best combination is therefore made of C, B and A, for a total value of 4 + 8 + 4 = 16.
Example 2
Common cards: A (creature, value 4) and B (spell, value 8). Cards in Élodie's hand: C (creature, value 5) and D (spell, value 7).
Élodie cannot include card B or card D in her combination because she has no "spell caster", neither in her hand nor in the common cards. Her combination for this round is therefore only 2 cards, A and C, for a total value of 5 + 4 = 9.
Card Powers
Red deck
- Skeleton: If the 2 Skeletons are in the same combination, the value of each Skeleton is increased by 3.
- Harpy: If the Harpy is in a combination with 2 other creatures, its value is increased by 5.
- Witch: If the Witch is in a combination with at least 1 creature, its value is increased by 3.
- Wave: If the Wave is in a combination with at least 1 creature, its value is increased by 2.
Blue deck
- Dullahan: If the Dullahan is in a combination with at least 1 spell, its value is increased by 2.
- Goblin King: For each goblin in his combination, the value of the Goblin King is increased by 6.
- Dragon: If the Dragon is in a combination with at least 1 spell caster, its value is increased by 2.
- Pyromancer: If the Pyromancer is in a combination with at least 1 Flame card, its value is increased by 4.
- Fortify: Choose a creature card in your combination. Its base value is multiplied by 3. Important! It is the base value of the card that is multiplied; any bonuses it has are applied afterwards. Example: The Dragon card targeted by Fortify will see its value go to 12, then its bonus of 2 applies afterwards, for a total value of 14.
- Storm: If the Storm is in a combination with 2 spell caster cards, its value is increased by 5.
- Demonist (red deck) / Lich (blue deck): These 2 spell casters are the only cards that allow 2 different spell cards to be included in a combination.
Example of Resolving a Round and Scoring
Common cards: A (value 2) and B (value 8). Lana's hand: C (value 2) and D (value 7); her betting tokens are 2 and 4. Élodie's hand: E (value 2) and F (value 5); her betting tokens are 4 and -1. Takako's hand: G (value 4) and H (value 6); her betting tokens are 3 and 2.
Earlier in the round, Sabrina and Billie left the round and discarded their hands, so they do not take part in the resolution of this round.
Lana keeps C D B, which gives her a hand with a value of 19. Élodie keeps A E F, which gives her a hand with a value of 15. Takako keeps G B A, which gives her a hand with a value of 14. Lana, who has the best hand and is on space "6" of the score board, gains double the points she is due, so she moves forward 12 spaces! Élodie has the 2nd hand but she took the -1 betting token, so she moves back 1 space. Takako has a worse hand and therefore moves back 5 spaces.
End of the Game
If at the end of a round a player has reached 30 victory points or more, she wins the game.
Note: if several players have reached 30 points or more during a round, the one with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, the players share the victory.
If at the end of a round a player has reached space 0 of the score board, the game stops and the player with the most points wins (in case of a tie in this situation, the players share the victory).