The quick version
Deal one card each in the first hand, two in the next and so on. Reveal trump, then predict tricks. Follow suit unless playing a Wizard or Jester. Score exact predictions; lose points for each trick over or under. Highest total after the final full-deck hand wins.
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Increase the hand size each deal
Use the standard 52-card ranks plus four Wizards and four Jesters. A high-card draw selects the first dealer; pass the deal clockwise after every hand. Shuffle all 60 each time. Deal one per person for hand one, increasing by one each hand.
Turn the next undealt card face up for trump. A normal card sets its suit. A Jester means no trump. A Wizard lets the dealer inspect their hand and choose one of the four suits. In the final hand all cards are dealt, so there is no trump.
Predict, then play tricks
Starting left of the dealer, announce how many tricks you expect to win. Record every bid before playing. The total may equal, exceed or fall short of available tricks in the main game.
The player left of the dealer leads any card. Everyone plays one clockwise. Follow the led suit if able, but a Wizard or Jester may be played at any time even when holding that suit. If unable to follow, any card is legal.
The first Wizard played wins. If there is no Wizard, highest trump wins; with neither, highest card of the led suit wins. Ordinary ranks ascend from 2 through ace. Trick winner leads next.
A leading Wizard wins and frees everyone from following suit. A leading Jester establishes no suit: the first subsequent ordinary card establishes it; if a Wizard appears before any ordinary card, suit is never established. If every card is a Jester, the first Jester wins.
Reward precision, not extra tricks
An exact prediction scores 20 plus ten per predicted trick. Missing it scores MINUS ten for each trick over or under, with no bonus. Thus bid two/take two scores 40; bid two/take four loses 20; bid zero/take zero scores 20.
Play 20 hands with three people, 15 with four, 12 with five or ten with six. Highest cumulative score after that last hand wins. Share a tied total as a house resolution. Keep won tricks visibly separated so everyone can count progress against predictions.
Rehearse the special-card leads
Before dealing, show a leading Jester followed by an ordinary suit and a leading Wizard followed by arbitrary cards. Community house-rule discussions show that prediction timing varies between groups, so state whether you are using ordinary sequential bids or one of the explicit variations below.
A current player discussion explores house rules for bidding and special cards. Start with the base rules and settle every Wizard/Jester case before the first prediction.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Wizard · See main rules
Publisher bidding variationSimultaneous predictions
After trump is determined, everyone secretly writes a bid. Reveal all together and record them before the first trick. Predictions stay visible during play. Scoring is unchanged.
Wizard · See main rules
Publisher bidding variationDelayed reveal
After trump is determined, each person writes their bid privately and places it face down where it cannot be changed. Reveal only after the hand's final trick. Score exact predictions normally. Players may inspect their own bid but not another's.
Wizard · See main rules
Publisher optional ruleCanadian leader rule
Only when the dealer is the SOLE leader on the score sheet, their last bid cannot make the total equal the number of available tricks, unless their bid is zero. Zero remains legal even when it makes the total exact. If the lead is tied, ordinary bidding applies.
Wizard · See main rules
Original STUDplay house twistDescending deal
Begin with the maximum hand size for the player count and reduce by one each deal, ending with one card each. The first full-deck hand has no trump; subsequent hands use the normal turned-card rule. Keep the same number of hands, ordinary bids and scoring.
Wizard · See main rules
Original STUDplay house twistPublic first card
Deal the first card of each player's hand face up and all their remaining cards face down. Leave that card visible until played; it is still part of their hand. Bids and tricks otherwise follow the ordinary rules. At one-card hands, all hands are public.
About this guide
Use the named physical base game and its supplied cards, boards and rules. Rules below are paraphrased teaching guidance. Original STUDplay house twists are optional suggestions, not publisher rules or balance-tested claims; agree one before setup.
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