HEARTSWITCH #2

Heartswitch #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-avDQuxjgs

HEARTSITCH #1

HEARTSWITCH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKHpMI2ocs

Heartswitch in GAMES Magazine

The Villages in Florida Report

WOW World of Words

Read WOW Review...add your commentWOW: World of Words Review

There are many different word games on the market today, and with good reason: we all are ingrained with vocabulary from the earliest days of our childhood. T
. casualgamerevolution.com
 casualgamerevolution.com

Heartswitch & WOW

HEARTSWITCH & WOW blurbs on boardgamegeek.com

http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/21371/new-game-round-up-logic-in-vienna-witches-in-heart

HeartSwitch Review

Heartswitch Review

click on link below.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy4NNDM_Fq8

2013 World Championship

Reps at 2013 Wizard World Finals

Germany	Ralf Böhn
Germany	Christian Adolpd
Holland	Nils van Teijlingen
Holland	Daniel Muilwijk
Switzerland	Giuseppe Goffi
Switzerland	Martin Willi
USA	Keith Gill
USA	Olle Holgerson
Canada	Marko Sapiano
Canada	George Wellsbury
Hungary	Antal Polya
Hungary	Gergerly Suba
Greece	Konstantina Tsafou
Greece	Giannis Liverios
Austria	Ignaz Punz
Austria	Rene Punz

Cost of WizFest 2013

What did it all cost?

 2013 Wizard Tournament at the Ontario Science Centre.

Revenue:
60 particpants at $50 each = $3000
But Wizard paid for 6 people so income was $2,700.

Expenses
Registration: $300

“A” Tournament Prizes
1. $500
2. $300
3. $200
4. $150
5. $100
6. $060
Total $ 1, 310
“B” Tournament Prizes
1. $150
2. $100
3. $060
 Total   $310
Total cost of Cash Prizes + registration..........................................$1,920
Total cost of Friday Reception including room, drinks and food...$1,519.
Total cost of Sat. Tourn. Including room, food, drinks, etc...........$5,220
Cost of WizFest website...................................................................$500
                                                                                                       $9,159

Total of listed expenses total $9,159 versus income of $2,700
Additional costs include decks of cards, coins, ,trophies, pins, certificates, gifts.
All admnistration was volunteer  and received no compensation.

WizFest at the Ontario Science Centre: August 24, 2013

WizFest at the Ontario Science Centre on Saturday August 24, 2013

See video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjdbo0-nVFE

WizFest Reception August 23, 2013

See brief video of WizFest 2013 Reception at the Days Inn Don Valley Conference Centre.

Visit:

WizFest 2013 Reception

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OQ2Dsk5bI8

WOW Video

WOW World of Words Video

Visit:  http://www.usgamesinc.com/WOW-World-of-Words/

Enjoy

Stuart Kaplan Interview

Stuart Kaplan Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOyCxKkAPCU

WIZARD at THE VILLAGES near Orlando, Florida

THE VILLAGES
People who do not read the info in "NEWS" have asked, "What is this all about?"
Ans. It's a fall-out from the tournament held in "Disneyland". Some of the attendees were from a nearby, large condo development known as, "The Villages" and expressed an interest in adding Wizard games to their agenda of activities. Stuart Kaplan (US Games)has strongly supported the suggestion with games, information and prizes.
"The Villages" is an excellent place to "seed" Wizard as residents come from all parts of the USA and Canada. Many of the units are rented out on a seasonal basis so there is a tremendous turnover of people to be introduced to the fun of "Wizard"

"As of December 2012 - over 92,000 people call The Villages home and it is stilll growing rapidly with over 200 homes being sold each month."

2003-2004-2005 Pics

Below are some pictures culled from the Wizard website. You probably have never bothered to explore the site so I've shown 3 here. There are lots more for those willing to explore the website.

The Original TEAM USA! (2005)
This is Team USA on its way to TOTO 2004. From left to right... Wiz-Pop (Ryan), Mr. Wizard (Keith), WizardMaster (Angel), Dr. Wizard (Kevin), Ms. Wizard (Julie), and Whiza (Kayla)inal "TEAM USA":




SATO Tournament (2004)
The "Final 4" of the SATO tournament. From left to right: Mr. Wizard (4th), Merlin aka cheater (1st), Dr. Wizard (2nd), Garoni (3rd)



Scary pic of Wizard Enthusiasts (2003) From the left, April (also April in Wizard Cards web site) holding Parker and Gage standing in front of her, Victor Jr. (victor1), Victor Sr. (BiggerBrat), Joan, and Ken (Wizard).

Just Wanted To Tell You Guys That I Coach A High School Hockey Team And this Season I Taught Them The Game Of Wizard And They All Love It. they Can't Wait To Play It When We Go On Road Trips, Many Have Purchased The App From ITunes. They All Want To Have Tournaments. Thank You For Brining So Much Fun To The Par En Bas Sharks.

Wizard Tournament at the Delta Inn Toronto East

click on link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnQssV70teE

Enjoy

WizardTournament in Niagara Falls 2007


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhpO8XXXjHo


Enjoy

Historical German Rules

WIZARD

Players: 3 to 6 Apprentices
Age: from 10 years
Time: approx. 45 minutes
Translated by Craig S. Berg, Sr.
Contents: 60 character cards, 1 Tablet of Truth, 1 Parchment of Rules

Once upon a time…
A long, long, time ago, when there was still the famous Magician Academy
in Stonehenge, the Apprentices had to learn this game for the training of their
magic abilities along with other exercises. It served to develop and
strengthen their gift of prediction. Over the years, a deeper understanding of
the game has been lost. An entertaining card game, which was often played
in hotels by workmen, farmers, and soldiers, is all that remains. Only after
the famous English archaeologist Dr. Henry Eitel dug deeply under the
standing stones of Stonehenge and discovered historical parchment scrolls in
old vaults did the true history of Wizard again come to light. The following
rules correspond with the wording of the age-old parchments. The
illustrations on the cards give the feeling for the old participants.

The Task
With this magic pack of cards the Apprentices must predict the exact number
of tricks they will win in each round. Experience Points are awarded for a
correct forecast. Whoever collected the most points at the end of the game
wins and with that success will ascend to the level of a wise Wizard.

The Preparation
One player is appointed the Confidant of the Apprentices. The Confidant
receives the Tablet of Truth, enters the names of the players, and
conscientiously keeps track of Experience Points awarded during the game.
Afterwards the Confidant shuffles the character cards and deals them out.

The Character Cards
There are four different colors: Humans (blue), Elves (green), Dwarves (red),
Giants (yellow)
The strongest card in each color is the “13”, the weakest card is the “1”.
The four Wizard cards (“Z”) are always Trump. They are higher than every
“13”.
The four Fool cards (“N”) are never Trump. They are lower than every “1”.

Distributing the Cards
With “Wizard” the Apprentices receive a different number of cards in each
round.
In the first round only one card is dealt to each player. Therefore, only one
trick can be won in this round.
In the second round two cards are dealt to each player. In this round there
are two tricks to win.
In the third round three cards are dealt to each player, then four cards in the
fourth round, etc. until in the last round all cards are dealt out to the players.
Cards that are not dealt to the players form a face down deck in the middle of
the table. For each round the role of the dealer passes clockwise to the next
Apprentice to the left.

Trump
After the cards are dealt out, the top card of the deck is turned face up. This
card determines the Trump color for the current round.
If the card is a Fool, then there is no Trump in the current round.
If the card is a Wizard, then the dealer determines Trump. He may
examine his cards first.
The last round has no Trump, since there are no cards left.

The Predictions
After each Apprentice looks at his cards, he must predict how many tricks he
will take in this round. Each Apprentice in sequence tells their predictions to
the Confidant. This starts with the player to the left of the dealer. These bids
are noted on the Tablet of Truth.
Before the first trick the Confidant should repeat the predictions for
everyone. Sometimes it can be helpful to lay out the bids in the form of
chips before each respective Apprentice. That way it is easy to see during
the course of the round who still needs tricks and who does not want any
more.

The Battle for the Trick
The player to the left of the dealer plays the first card for the first trick. The
other Apprentices follow in a clockwise direction. The led color must be
followed. If that is not possible, an Apprentice can throw off any color or
play Trump.
Note:
Wizard and Fool cards may always be played, even if a player could follow
the led color. Also a player does not have to play them when he cannot
follow a led color.
The highest card wins the trick (the Wizard cards are higher than all other
cards, even the Trump cards). The winner opens the next trick. Exception:
in the first round only one trick is played.
Who wins the trick:
• The first Wizard card played in the trick
• Or the highest card in the Trump color
• Or the highest card in the led color

Special Rights of the Wizards and Fools
When a trick is opened with a Wizard, then the following Apprentices may
throw off any cards, including further Wizards and Fools.
The trick goes to the first Wizard played.
Wizards are Trump, however, they need not be played when the first card of
a trick is an actual Trump color card.
If a trick is opened with a Fool then any card may be played as the second
card. Then second card’s color determines the color that must be followed.
Fools lose every trick.
With one exception: In a trick that only Fools are played, the then first Fool
card wins the trick. This is possible only with three or four players.

The Assignment of the Experience Points
The Apprentice who predicted the number of tricks won exactly receives 20
Experience Points plus 10 points per trick won. Anyone that missed their bid
loses 10 Experience Points for each trick over or under their prediction.
Example
First Round
Thomas predicted that he would not take a trick. He was right and receives
20 points. Ute wanted the trick, but did not get it. He loses 10 points. Kevin
predicted that he would take the trick, he was right and receives, with the
trick, 30 points.
Second Round
Thomas predicted both tricks for himself, however, he got only one. Result:
he loses 10 points. Ute wanted no tricks and was right. He receives 20
points. Kevin predicted no tricks likewise for himself. However, he got one
and therefore loses 10 points. The points are noted and added to the points
from the previous rounds.

The End
There are 60 character cards in the game. The Apprentices play until, in the
last round, all cards are dealt out. With 6 players that is 10 rounds, with 5
players 12, with 4 players 15, and with 3 players that is 20 rounds. The last
round is still scored. The Apprentice with the highest Experience score wins.

Variants
Plus/Minus One: As before the predictions are passed on openly to the
Confidant. The number of intended tricks for all Apprentices, however, may
not correspond with the number of the possible tricks. For example, in round
5 the Apprentices must want altogether more than 5 tricks or fewer than 5
tricks.
Covered Bids: All Apprentices first secretly write their predictions on a
note. When everyone has bid, the numbers are passed openly to the
Confidant. Thus each Apprentice remains completely uninfluenced by the
bids of his competitors.
Secret Prediction: All Apprentices secretly write their predictions on a note.
After the round is over the bids are revealed.
Clairvoyance: In the first round each Apprentice holds his card unseen
before his forehead, so that all Apprentices can see the card except him.
After all Apprentices see the cards of the other Apprentices, they make their
predictions. The battle for the trick, assignment of Experience Points as well
as the further rounds play according to the normal rules.

My new science fiction novel based on real players (names have been changed to protect the guilty) is now available at fine bookstores everywhere!

Mactonight Brings Light to the Financing of WizFest

In light of some of the comments that have been posted, and for those of you who may have been wondering about the cost of organizing a tournament like Wizfest, I would like to present the following overview of some of the expenses involved.

In 2010, Ken Fisher (Wizard) decided to hold the Wizfest tournament at the Delta hotel in Toronto. The event was funded by Wizard Cards International, of which Ken Fisher is the major shareholder.

The registration fee that was charged to players was approximately $20, which means that the 60 or so players contributed somewhere close to $1200 to the event. The prizes and trophies and pins for the winners and finalists of the A and B tourneys alone came to more than $2000, and the entire event cost in excess of $10,000.

It is easy to understand why Ken was quickly losing interest in organizing and funding these annual tournaments on such a large scale.

That is why the two Toronto Wizard clubs stepped in and joined forces to organize Wizfest on a much smaller scale in 2011. Wizard Cards had already committed to organizing a tournament in Florida that year, so it was not able to offer the kind of financing that had been available in previous years.

However, even with a smaller venue and less frills, the cost of the tournament exceeded $4500. Registration fees were increased to $30, which means that the 50 players who attended contributed approximately $1500 to the event. This still left a shortfall of more than $3000, which had to be covered by our 3 major sponsors – Wizard Cards International., US Games Systems, which matches the contribution made by Wizard Cards, and Kroeger games – along with several smaller sponsors. These costs do not include the prizes, trophies, pins, certificates or the decks of Wizard cards that we needed to run the tournament.

In addition to helping to fund Wizfest, Wizard Cards International also paid for the 2 top finishers to attend the World Championships in Europe, which included airfare and hotel accommodations.

In 2012, after receiving a number of complaints to the effect that the 2011 tournament wasn't "grand" enough, we worked on obtaining more money from our sponsors, and more sponsors. We had a friend from Coke who supplied us with all of the soft drinks and juice for the tournament, and we found three local sponsors who helped us to make the event happen.

Once again, registration fees were $30, which means that the 62 players who attended contributed less than $1900 to the event. That didn’t even cover the cost of the prizes and trophies and pins for the winners and finalists of the A and B tourneys.

Despite the sponsorships that we were able to obtain, the event still cost in excess of $5000, not to mention the 20 decks of Medieval Wizard cards, pins, and certificates. Once again, Wizard Cards International provided the financing to send two people to Europe, in addition to supporting the New Mexico tournament and sending a representative from that tournament to the World Championships.

For 2013, which will be the 10th anniversary of Wizfest, we asked Wizard Cards International., US Games Systems and Kroeger games to DOUBLE their support, and they agreed!

I have no idea how much this year’s tournament will cost, but we will likely have to increase the registration fee a little in order to help with the funding, and we will still need decks of cards, coins, certificates and pins.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the registration fee paid by the players who attend Wizfest is basically a pittance that doesn’t even cover the cost of the prizes. It doesn't come anywhere close to covering the cost of the venue, the food, or any of the supplies that are required to run a tournament such as Wizfest.

As for sending representatives to the World Championships, the funding for that comes directly from Wizard Cards International, which means that Ken Fisher and the other shareholders are giving up money that could otherwise be paid out to them in the form of dividends.

The same is true for the website, which costs money to maintain and operate. All of this funding comes from Wizard Cards International.

In addition, the people who organize and run Wizfest are all volunteers, putting in a great deal of hard work and personal time out of the kindness of their hearts and for the love of the game.

I hope this will help you to understand a little bit of what Ken Fisher and others do for the community of Wizard players, who sometimes seem to do nothing but criticize and complain!

Selecting WIZARD Champions

“Unfair” is “Unfair”
To describe the decision to send the top ranked Canadians to the World Finals as “unfair” is unfair.
Regardless of which of the 3 possible selection methods applied there will always be a group that is largely disenfranchised. So if the current process is ‘unfair’ so are the alternatives.
The December poll that was conducted did not show a clear mandate for any one of the 3 processes:
WizFest..18,      Online Tournament..16,      World Ranking 10.
It is not surprising that “World Ranking” scored lowest inasmuch as it automatically shut out 99% of the players.
The online feedback suggests that the best method would be an online tournament spread over a number of months as we are currently doing to find a USA champion. However the very fact that online play is used rules out a vast number of Wizard players. We sent out about 1,000 invitations to USA Wizard players who participated in the live local tournaments sponsored during 2012. Players were invited to take part in the online tournament to find a US Champion. Not one player joined in the tournament as a result of the mail out. The only conclusion to be reached is that although many people enjoy playing Wizard with friends in a live situation they were not interested in online play.

The claim is also made that the site “doesn’t care about promoting the game”. Ouch! This is an inane remark. The site is expensive and time-consuming and has no financial return. Its sole function is promotion. Similarly “WizFest” is a serious money-pit and is run as an adjunct to the site with no other goal than to promote the game.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to receive any feedback, negative or otherwise and I do think that determining both a USA champion and a Canadian Champion may best be accomplished via a multi-month online contest. This method is best both in terms of cost and time management. However it does very little in the way of acquiring new players. I would be very happy to allow any of the members who advocate the online tournament process of selection to volunteer to administer the tournament for the 2014 reps.
 It is true that the contributions made by both cargobeep and mactonight over the years was a major factor in deciding to go with the “Top Ranking” method of selection. I think it’s “FAIR” because they deserve some reward for their efforts. And of course, their scores confirm that they are both excellent players.

There are many other unseen factors that work into the equation when making these decisions. I think the story of the “Blind Men and the Elephant” best illustrates this point.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL. Without knowing all the facts false conclusions are often made.