Wizard: The Ultimate Strategy Guide (16 Pro Tips)

Wizard is a trick-taking card game that is very heavy on strategy and is extremely popular in my new home country of Germany. When I moved here I decided to pick it up, and while it took me a while to learn the nuanced strategy I have rapidly improved and have become a very competitive player. These Wizard strategy tips will help you to improve your play and win more games.

In general, the best Wizard strategies are to bid conservatively, be mindful of how many tricks opponents need, and properly manage the cards you plan to win with. You should also keep your hand flexible, track important cards as they’re played, and prevent winning players from matching their bids.

Learning how to play Wizard is relatively simple, but developing winning strategies is often difficult for new players. Every hand and game of Wizard plays out differently, but applying the strategies and tips I outline below will help you to come out on top more often.

Consider all relevant factors when bidding

Bidding is the most challenging and important mechanic in Wizard, and if you’re going to win you have to learn how to do it effectively. As the game’s old tagline goes, “The winning is in the bidding.”

When making your bids it is essential to consider all of the factors below. How each one is weighted will vary depending on the game situation, but each one factors into the decision of how much you should bid.

“The winning is in the bidding.”

As a general rule, you should lean toward underbidding (bidding a lower number) when deciding between two numbers. It’s easier to get rid of a winning card than it is to maneuver your way into taking an additional trick.

The 7 factors you should consider when bidding in Wizard are:

Flexibility of the cards in your hand

Having a flexible hand means having several cards in each suit and/or having a long suit in one color. Wizards and Jesters also provide a lot of flexibility to your hand because they can be played at any time. This gives you options no matter what is played, meaning you won’t be forced to play cards you don’t want to.

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In general, it’s wise not to rely on winning with a strong card that isn’t protected by lower cards of the same suit or by Jesters and Wizards. If you’re forced to play it on a trick you don’t win then you’ll be playing catchup the rest of the hand. So, if you’re going by the general bidding rules I outlined above, consider not counting an unprotected strong card towards your final bid number.

Order of the bid

The order in which players bid is a crucial facet of the bidding process. If you’re bidding first, you have no information to go off of other than the cards in your hand. However, if other players bid before you (especially if you’re last to bid) then you’ll get a sense of how strong each player feels their hand is.

If other players have made small bids and your hand seems reasonably strong, it probably makes sense to bid on the higher side of the spectrum of numbers you’re considering. On the flip side, if players have made very aggressive bids then it might be wise to bid more conservatively.

Number of players in the game

This is really just a matter of simple math – the more players that are in the game the more people will be competing for tricks. With only 3 players in the game, you should bid, on average, about 33% of the tricks throughout a game. As more players are added, that percentage goes down.

The current score of the game

There comes a time in most games when you have to begin considering the game as a whole, not just the round you’re currently playing. If you’ve fallen behind you should consider bidding more aggressively to make up ground on the leader – just don’t be unrealistic with the hand you’ve been dealt. Similarly, if you’re sitting on a comfortable lead you should tend to bid more conservatively and nurse your lead.

Bidding history of your opponents

As a game progresses you might be able to tell the bidding tendencies of your opponents. For example, if you notice that a player consistently bids very conservatively then you may take that into consideration if you’re on the fence about what to bid. This is even more powerful if you consistently play with the same group of people. You’ll be able to feel out their play style over time and adjust accordingly.

Play a lead card with a purpose

Having the lead in Wizard is generally considered a disadvantage, but it’s an inevitable part of the game. When you get the lead, make sure to play a card with a specific purpose in mind. As a general rule, you should lead with low cards so that you don’t take unexpected tricks that could foil your overall strategy, but there are plenty of exceptions.

One thing I like to do if I have the lead early in the round is to play a ‘questionable’ card that may or may not be able to win a trick. By getting this card out of my hand it answers the question and gives me more time to adjust my play for the rest of the round based on the result.

You may also want to consider leading with a low trump card to try to draw out high ones. This can be very problematic for a player who was relying on a sole high trump care to win them a trick.

Unless you’re in the last few turns of a round and you have a specific purpose for it, you should generally try to avoid leading with Wizards or Jesters. Leading with a Wizard early in the hand gives your opponents the chance to discard any problematic cards and strengthen their hand overall. Similarly, playing a Jester reduces your flexibility and gives more control to the player to your left.

Save a winning card for late in the hand

Having a strong card in your hand (especially a Wizard) is a really nice insurance policy. In general, you should try to pace yourself when taking tricks instead of trying to take them all at the end, but trying to set yourself up for the end of the round is almost always a good strategy.

Try to take all of the tricks you need except for one by the time there are only 1 or 2 turns left while still holding onto a Wizard. This is even more powerful if you can combine that Wizard with a Jester to help protect yourself. You’ll have a very good chance of taking a last-minute trick to make your bid while running almost no risk of overshooting.

Take tricks with high non-trump suit cards early

If you’re relying on high (12 or 13, for example) non-trump-suited cards to take a trick, it’s generally best to do it early in the hand. Early in the round, players are much more likely to have a card that matches that suit in their hand so they won’t be able to play a trump card to take the trick. The only way you’ll lose the trick is if someone players a higher card of a matching suit or with a Wizard. If you wait too long into the hand then players are more likely to have voided that suit, allowing them to beat you with a trump card.

Save trump cards for when you play last

If you’re relying on a trump card to win a trick and help match your bid, it’s best to wait to play it until you get to play last. Good players will play a Wizard to negate a high trump card that they know a player is counting on, so you have to anticipate this by not giving them the opportunity.

Use Wizards to negate opponents’ high trump cards

In that same vein, if you see a player use a high trump card it’s a safe bet that they are hoping to win the trick with it. If you have a Wizard and it makes sense to your overall strategy, go ahead and play the Wizard to win the trick yourself. This not only helps you, but it puts a big wrench in the other player’s plans.

In the example above, it’s clear that the player to my right wants to win this trick with his high trump card (green 10). I can, and likely should, take this trick with my Wizard so that my opponent will be scrambling to chase that point for the rest of the round.

Try to lose tricks when the hand is underbid

When a round is ‘underbid’ that means the total number of bids is lower than the number of cards dealt to each player. When a hand is underbid that means that all players will, at some point, be actively trying not to take tricks.

In general, you should begin to avoid taking tricks even early on in the hand. Other players will take tricks and get closer to matching their bid before you, giving you the advantage later in the hand. Then, as the hand progresses, other players will be trying to prevent taking tricks while you can take as many as you need at your leisure.

Be mindful of how many tricks opponents need

Taking note of other players’ bids is an important facet of the game, but it’s really just the start when it comes to playing against your opponents. You have to keep a close eye on how many tricks each player still needs because it can tell you whether or not they’ll be actively trying to win or lose any tricks going forward.

For example, if you have a card that you think might be able to win but there are still two players after you that need tricks to meet their bid then chances are your card won’t prevail in the end. The more players that are still actively seeking to win tricks the more difficult it will be.

CHECK IT OUT: If you like trick-taking games, be sure to check out my strategy guides to Hearts and Spades.

Know when you’re the last player who wants a trick

In that same vein, you should be especially aware of opponents to the left of you in play. If every player to your left has already matched their bid then you know you’re likely the last player that is actively trying to win a trick. This can be very powerful because you might be able to play a weaker card and still win a trick, knowing that the remaining players will avoid beating it. This lets you save your stronger cards for later in the hand.

Keep the leader from making their bid

Winning a game of Wizard often comes down to preventing someone else from doing it first. If there is a player who is out to a significant lead, it makes sense for the rest of the players to actively prevent them from making their bid.

It’s usually even worth it to take some negative points yourself if it means doing more damage to the leader. For example, if you need to take an extra trick that gives you -10 points but prevents the leader from matching their bid and gaining 70 points, this is a net win for you.

Lose additional points to foil opponents’ plans

It doesn’t have to be just the current leader that you try to screw over – feel free to do it to any opponent if it makes sense! If I’ve already taken too many tricks and overshot my bid, sometimes I’ll just actively try to continue to take more if it prevents my opponents from matching a very large bid.

It’s usually worth taking an additional -10 points if you prevent an opponent from meeting a large bid that would earn them 60 or more points. Other players won’t like you very much for this, but we’re here to win!

Void a suit early in a round

Voiding a suit (getting rid of a suit entirely) can be a very powerful strategy if used correctly. It allows you to play any trump cards you have early on in a round which can come as a surprise to your opponents. In addition to this, if you lead with a card to void it there is a chance that the other players will use one of their stronger cards to take the trick. This is a net advantage for you because you strengthen your hand while weakening theirs.

Use Jesters to manage the last few turns

When I first started playing Wizard I didn’t know what to do with Jesters – I thought they were useless, bad cards that made it more difficult to win. However, when used properly Jesters can be extremely useful and I have found that they can actually be some of the most desirable cards in the game. This is especially true at the end of a round when you have limited options left to play.

Having one or two Jesters at your disposal gives you a lot of flexibility in your hand. You can use them to avoid playing a strong card that you want to save. Perhaps even more importantly, you can use them late in a hand to avoid taking an extra, unplanned trick that would put you over your bid.

In the example game above, the highly-rated player ‘lilithviv’ on boardgamearena.com took one trick early in the hand and is one point away from matching her bid. She wisely saved her Jester and Wizard cards for last, and now she is guaranteed to match her bid. On this turn, she plays the Wizard to secure her matching bid and then plays the Jester on the final turn, ensuring she won’t take an extra trick.

Track Wizards and Jesters, especially on last hand

Card counting is pretty pointless in Wizard, especially in the early rounds. However, in the last round when all of the cards are dealt, it actually becomes a very strong strategy if you can pull it off. Counting every card in the deck is probably beyond the ability of most casual players but everyone should at least be able to keep track of the Wizards and Jesters.

There are only 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters in the deck, so just make a mental note every time one is played. You can do this on every round, but you’re unlikely to run across all 4 until the hands get larger in later rounds.

Play mid-value cards when you want flexibility

Maintaining flexible hands is vital to winning a game of Wizard. To that end, when there is a trick you know you won’t win and you’re deciding what card to play, it’s generally a good idea to play a mid-value card.

Cards in the middle of the number spectrum can’t be relied upon to win a trick but have the potential to win one accidentally. By getting rid of these mid-value cards you get to keep lower cards that are less likely to win an unwanted trick.

Avoid leading with a Wizard

I touched on this earlier, but this bears some special attention. Newer players often lead with a Wizard, thinking that it’s a good idea because it guarantees that they win the trick. Sometimes (usually late in a round) this is a good idea, but otherwise it’s a bad idea.

If you lead with a Wizard early in a round it allows your opponents to get rid of cards they don’t want without any fear of penalty. You should instead save your Wizards to win tricks when you play later in a turn, ideally overriding a strong card that your opponents were relying on to win.

Thanks for reading! If I missed something or you have your own opinions, please drop a comment below.