Help for Wizard

Introduction

Welcome to the network Wizard server. The rules of Wizard are below. The challenge and move commands for Wizard are described here. Other commands are the same for all pbmserv games.

Wizard Command Summary

wizard challenge [ parameters ] userid1 userid2 userid3 userid4

Start a new game. Three to six players may play.

parameters:

-inorder

Players will play in the order specified. The default is to randomize player order at the beginning of the game.

-american

There are no bidding restrictions on the dealer. This is the default behavior

-german

After the first 3 hands, the dealer can not make a bid that makes the total bid "even" with the number of cards in the hand.

-canadian

If the dealer is alone in the lead, the dealer can not make a bid that makes the total bid "even" with the number of cards in the hand.

wizard move board userid password move

Make a move on the specified board (if it is your turn). There are two different types of move that can be made depending on the current phase of the game.

bidding

During a bidding phase, players must bid the number of tricks they think they will take this hand. Bids are an integer from 0 to X, where X is the number of tricks in the hand.

Examples:

wizard move 123 foo bar 0
wizard move 123 foo bar 7

card playing

During the card playing phase, players must play a card from their hand. Specify cards using their rank and suit abbreviation.

Examples:

wizard move 123 foo bar AD
wizard move 123 foo bar 10C
wizard move 123 foo bar KH
wizard move 123 foo bar 2S

INTRODUCTION

The deck consists of a standard 52 cards + 4 "jesters" and 4 "wizards".

The number of cards dealt increases with each round. The first round, each player receives one card. The last round, each player receives 15 cards. In each round except the last, the next card in the deck is turned up to determine the trump suit. In the last round, there is no trump.

Each hand, players must bid exactly the number of tricks they will take. Players who bid correctly will receive points equal to 10 times their bid plus 20 points. Players who bid incorrectly (too high or too low) will lose 10 points per trick too high or too low.

Depending on the chosen bidding style (american, german, or canadian), the last person to bid may not be able to place a bid that would result in a total bid for all players equal to the total number of tricks in the hand.

PLAY

Players must follow the lead suit if possible. If they do not have a card in the lead suit, they may play a card from another suit, including the trump suit. If no trump is played, the highest card in the lead suit will win the trick. If trump is played, the highest trump card will win the trick. The player who wins a trick leads the next trick.

Jesters and wizards are an exception to the "you must follow suit" rule. They may be played at any time you desire. The first wizard played will win a trick (even beating the Ace of the trump suit). Jesters almost never win. They are "null" cards. However, a jester will win if ALL four cards played are also jesters.

If a wizard is played as the lead card, any cards may be played (there is no lead suit). If a jester is played as the lead card, the lead suit will be based on the next non-jester card played.

ENDING THE GAME

Once all rounds have been played, the player with the highest score wins the game. If there is a tie, the player who correctly bid the most rounds wins the game. If there is still a tie, winner is determined by coin flip.