Wizard Junior Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Information
• Components
• Setup
• Game Play
  • Deal Cards
  • Predict Tricks
  • Play Cards
  • Award Points
• End of the Game

Game Information

3-6 players, ages 8 and up, about 20 minutes.

Components

• 36 cards with the numbers 1-8 in 4 colors, plus 2 Wizards and 2 Fool Frogs each
• 40 round prediction chips
• 8 square round tiles with the numbers 1 to 8

Setup

Depending on how many play, lay out the round tiles number-side up, clearly visible to everyone, in ascending order starting from 1. The round tiles determine how many cards you deal to everyone each round.

• For 3 or 4 players you need all 8 round tiles.
• With 5 players, the tiles with the numbers 1 to 7.
• With 6 players, only the tiles 1 to 6.

The oldest player deals the cards. Place the 40 prediction chips in the middle of the table with the apprentice side up.

Game Play

Each round of Wizard Junior consists of four steps:

• Deal cards
• Predict tricks
• Play cards
• Award points

Deal Cards

At the start of each round, deal each player as many cards as the round tile with the lowest face-up number shows: one card in the first round, two in the second, and so on.

After everyone has received their cards, turn the top card of the draw pile face up and place it face up on the pile. The turned-up card indicates which color is trump this round.

What does "trump" mean? A "trump" is any card of the trump color. For example, if a blue "2" is turned up after dealing, blue is the "trump color" for this round. A card of the trump color beats every card of another color. The trump color can change every round.

If a Fool Frog is turned up, there is no trump this round.

If a Wizard is turned up, the player who dealt the cards may choose the trump color.

Note: With 6 players, you cannot turn up a card in the last round because the draw pile has already been used up by dealing the cards. In this round there is no trump.

Predict Tricks

What is a "trick"? In turn, you each play one card. Together these cards form the "trick". With five cards in hand, you therefore play five "tricks".

Look at your hand cards and consider how many tricks you will win this round. Once you have dealt the cards, the next player begins and states their prediction.

For each trick you predict, take a prediction chip and place it in front of you with the apprentice side up. Then, in turn, the next player predicts their tricks, and so on, until everyone has predicted their tricks. It is quite possible that you predict more or fewer tricks than there are to be distributed at all. You may also predict zero tricks.

Example: Leon predicts two tricks and therefore takes two prediction chips from the middle.

Play Cards

Now it begins! If you made the first prediction this round, you play any card from your hand and place it in the middle of the table. In turn, clockwise, all the others now each play one card. There are a few rules to observe when playing.

Which card may I play? Only the first player may play a card of their choice. All others must follow these rules:

1. You must play a card of the same color in which the trick was started, that is, the first card played. This is called "following suit".
2. Only if you have no card in the first-played color in your hand may you play a card of another color. Either you play a card of the trump color and try to win the trick with it - this is called "trumping" - or you play a card of a color that is neither trump nor the color with which the trick was started. This is called "discarding".
3. The two Wizards and two Fool Frogs are the exception. You may always play Wizards and Fool Frogs, even if you actually would have to "follow suit". The first Wizard played always wins the trick; a Fool Frog, on the other hand, never wins a trick.

Special cases:

1. If a trick starts with a Fool Frog, the first color card played determines what you must "follow". A Fool Frog can never win a trick.
2. If a trick starts with a Wizard, you may all play any card. You do not have to follow suit in this trick.

As soon as everyone has played one card, determine who wins the trick. That player takes the cards and places them as a small pile, clearly recognizable, in front of them. On it they place one of their prediction chips.

In the first round you play only one trick, because everyone has only one card in hand.

Who wins a trick? To determine which card wins a trick, there are three rules:

1. The first Wizard played wins the trick.
2. If no Wizard was played, the trump card with the highest value wins the trick.
3. If neither Wizards nor trumps were played, the highest card of the color with which the trick was started wins the trick.

If you play several tricks, the player who won the previous trick always starts the new trick. If a player wins several tricks, they place them as individual small piles next to each other in front of them. Do not forget to place a prediction chip on each one every time!

Example: In this round mice are trump. Siri starts the trick with a flower 8. Johanna follows suit with a flower 4, Leon plays the flower 5. Helena has no flowers in hand and decides to play a mouse 2, and wins the trick with it because mouse is trump.

Award Points

When all tricks have been distributed and nobody has cards in hand any more, check who predicted the correct number of tricks. This is very simple: if there is a prediction chip on every trick won, the prediction was correct.

Everyone who achieved this may turn the prediction chips in front of them to the points side and keep them. Each point chip counts one point at the end of the game.

If, however, someone has tricks without prediction chips on them, or prediction chips without tricks, then the prediction was not exactly right. In this case the player may not keep any prediction chip and must put them all back in the middle.

Points from previous rounds are always kept, and you cannot lose them again.

Example: Helena predicted three tricks and also won exactly three tricks. She may therefore turn all three prediction chips to the points side and keep them.

What happens with zero tricks? If someone predicted no tricks and actually made none, that player may take one prediction chip from the middle, turn it to the points side and keep it.

Turn over the face-up round tile with the lowest number and begin a new round by dealing the cards. Take turns dealing the cards, clockwise.

End of the Game

After the last round tile has been turned over, the game is over. Everyone adds up their points. The player with the most points wins. If two or more of you have the most points, you win together.