Wits & Wagers
Wits & Wagers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
When to Play
Wits & Wagers is most fun with groups of 6 or more people. We recommend playing at holiday parties, family reunions, or any large gathering of friends. Be prepared for light-hearted banter, a little bravado, and a big dose of cheering!
Playing in Teams
Wits & Wagers is a great team game. If you have a large group, we recommend dividing into 7 teams with 1 – 3 players on each team. When playing with teams, give everyone a little extra time to answer questions and place bets.
Setup
- Each player (or team) starts with:
- 1 Wits Answer Card
- 2 Wager Chips (cardboard) of the same color as their Wits Answer Card
- 1 Dry Erase Pen
- A paper napkin or tissue to erase their Wits Answer Card in-between questions
- Have someone volunteer to be the Banker. (This player is usually the best at keeping a balanced check book!) Place the tray of Poker Chips next to the Banker. The Banker will play in the game as a normal player.
- Choose a player to be the Question Reader. Give the Question Reader 7 Question Cards. The Question Reader also plays in the game (so don't look at the answers on the back!).
How to Play
Step 1 — Ask a Question
The Question Reader takes the top Question Card and reads the top question out loud. After reading the question, the Question Reader turns over the 30-second Sand Timer. Players (or teams) have 30 seconds to write a guess on their Wits Answer Card, and place the Wits Answer Card face-down on the Betting Mat.
Step 2 — Sort the Guesses
When the Sand Timer runs out, flip over all the Wits Answer Cards so they are face up on the Betting Mat. The guesses will always be numbers. Sort them from smallest to largest with the middle guess in the middle payout slot. (For examples and more detail, see "Sort the Guesses" below.)
Step 3 — Place Bets
Once the guesses have been sorted, the Question Reader turns over the 30-second Sand Timer. All players (or teams) get 30 seconds to place their bets on the answer they think will win. (For examples and more detail, see "Place Bets" below.)
Step 4 — Pay out the Bets
Determine the Winning Guess: When the sand timer runs out, the Question Reader flips over the card and reads the answer. The winning guess is closest to the correct answer, without going over. (For examples and more detail, see "Winning Guess" below.)
Losing Bets: All cardboard Wager Chips not on the winning payout slot are returned to the appropriate players. All plastic Poker Chips not on the winning payout slot are collected by the banker and returned to the tray.
Winning Bets: The Banker pays each player (or team) who bet on the winning payout slot. Payouts depend on the number of chips bet and the payout odds (for examples and more detail, see "Pay Winning Bets" below). The Banker also pays a bonus of 3 red Poker Chips to each player (or team) who wrote the winning guess.
Prepare for the Next Round
Players (or teams) take back their Wits Answer Cards. The Question Reader places the used Question Card blue-side-up next to the remaining Question Cards.
For each new round, the Question Reader begins again with Step 1.
Winning the Game
The player (or team) with the most points at the end of the 7th question wins the game! In the case of a tie, the team with the youngest player wins.
The Betting Mat
The Betting Mat has 8 payout slots arranged in a row. From left to right they are:
- "Smaller than the smallest guess" — Pays 6 to 1
- Pays 5 to 1
- Pays 4 to 1
- Pays 3 to 1
- Pays 2 to 1 (the middle slot; arrows point to "Larger Answers" on one side and "Smaller Answers" on the other)
- Pays 3 to 1
- Pays 4 to 1
- Pays 5 to 1
The seven right-hand slots (Pays 5 to 1 through Pays 2 to 1 and back out to Pays 5 to 1) hold the sorted guesses; the far-left "Smaller than the smallest guess" slot (Pays 6 to 1) is a catch-all for when the correct answer is lower than every guess written.
Examples & Details
Sort the Guesses (from Step 2)
On every round, there will be either an even number of unique guesses, or there will be an odd number of unique guesses. Sort these guesses from smallest to largest according to the examples below.
Important note: If multiple players (or teams) write the same answer, place them in the same payout slot.
- Odd Number of Unique Guesses: The middle guess goes in the "Pays 2 to 1" payout slot. (Examples: 7 unique guesses, 5 unique guesses.)
- Even Number of Unique Guesses: The "Pays 2 to 1" payout slot is left open. (Examples: 6 unique guesses, 4 unique guesses.)
Place Bets (from Step 3)
Betting your cardboard Wager Chips:
Players (or teams) bet their two cardboard Wager Chips in one of the following ways:
- Bet both cardboard Wager Chips on the same payout slot.
- Split cardboard Wager Chips between any two payout slots.
- Players (or teams) do not have to bet on their own guess.
- Players (or teams) may only bet on a payout slot that has a guess in it, unless it is the "Smaller than the smallest guess" slot.
- During the 30-second betting period, it is OK for players to move their bets. However, players may not place a bet or move a bet after the Sand Timer has run out.
Betting your plastic Poker Chips:
After the first round is completed, some players (or teams) may have won additional plastic Poker Chips. These may be added to bets using the following rules:
- Plastic Poker Chips must always be stacked underneath a cardboard Wager Chip. This way the Banker will know who placed each bet.
- Players (or teams) may stack any number of plastic Poker Chips underneath each cardboard Wager Chip. There is no limit as to how much players can bet. However, players can still only place a maximum of two bets per question.
- Red Poker Chips are worth 1 point (just like a cardboard Wager Chip). Blue Poker Chips are worth 5 points. Green Poker Chips are worth 25 points.
- If plastic Poker Chips are bet on the wrong guess, they are lost and returned to the bank. The cardboard Wager Chips are returned to the player (or team) to be used for the next round.
- Players (or teams) are not obligated to bet with plastic Poker Chips.
Winning Guess (from Step 4)
The winning guess is always the closest guess to the actual answer, without going over.
- If the actual answer is 14, then "12" would be the winning guess. ("15" goes over the answer.)
- If the actual answer is 2008, then "2004" would be the winning guess. ("2004" is the closest without going over the answer.)
- If the actual answer is 380, then "Smaller than the smallest guess" is the winning payout slot. ("389" goes over the answer.)
Pay Winning Bets (from Step 4)
Players (or teams) that place a bet on the winning payout slot will win Poker Chips — even if the winning slot does not contain their answer! The Banker pays plastic Poker Chips to each player (or team) who correctly bet on the winning slot as shown below. In every case the Banker returns the original bet, plus the payout of the slot that was bet upon:
- 1 Point is bet on the "Pays 2 to 1" payout slot → the Banker returns the original bet, and the player is a 2 Point Winner.
- 1 Point is bet on the "Pays 3 to 1" payout slot → the Banker returns the original bet, and the player is a 3 Point Winner.
- 2 Points are bet on the "Pays 4 to 1" payout slot → the Banker returns the original bet, and the player is an 8 Point Winner.
- 8 Points are bet on the "Pays 5 to 1" payout slot → the Banker returns the original bet, and the player is a 40 Point Winner.
- 2 Points are bet on the "Pays 6 to 1" payout slot → the Banker returns the original bet, and the player is a 12 Point Winner.
Chip Value Reference Chart
- Cardboard Wager Chip: 1 Point
- Red Poker Chip: 1 Point
- Blue Poker Chip: 5 Points
- Green Poker Chip: 25 Points