I chose not to introduce this wrinkle in the virtual version, though it could still have been done. The physical game gives out chips, allowing for larger bets in subsequent rounds.

As an example using the photo above, if the guess on the purple tile was correct as a 5-to-1 payout, the green and blue wager coins would each get 5 points for correctly betting on the purple tile. After each round, multiply the number of coins wagered on the correct guess by its payout for each player who bet on that correct guess. Scoring:Įach spot on the game mat has a different payout, with an extra spot for wagers that are lower than the lowest guess. Our game was time-bound, but you could also specify a number of rounds (my physical version of the game has 7 questions per question card) or a total number of points to declare a winner. I elected to change question cards for each round. Clear the whiteboard tiles and start again with another question.Reveal the correct answer and then tally the points.Have the players call out their wagers, placing their wager coins next to the guesses they think are closest without going over the actual answer.After all guesses are submitted, reveal the guesses to the camera and then place them in ascending order on the game board, starting from the middle and spanning out (in the photo above, there were six distinct guesses, and so the even number of guesses doesn’t use the middle 2-to-1 payout).Write it legibly on their whiteboard tile, hidden from the camera view. Have each player send a private message to you in the web conference chat with their guess.Ask for a number between 1 and 7, or simply start with the first question on a card.The Wits and Wagers game mat with the tiles and coins laid out in view of the web conference session. I wrote the names of each player on the end of their whiteboard tile to help me to remember who was assigned each colour, but you might keep that on a separate list out of camera view in case it influences the bets of others. My game had seven different colours, each with a whiteboard tile to write their guess on and two wager coins to place their bets. Setup the game mat and assign a colour to each player. While I haven’t played either new version, a quick review of each shows that we played a hybrid version, using the simplified bidding and scoring of the family version and some of the payout odds of the Las Vegas version. North Star Games now offers both a Family version and a Las Vegas version. I have an older version of the game, which you can still find for sale online.

Angle your webcam to get a good view of the game mat, and make sure it still leaves you with a view of the chat window in the web conference tool. For my game night, I used Zoom successfully. An additional bonus is the ability to pin video views so that you can maximize your webcam view of the board for others to place their bids. To host the game, you will need a web conference tool that allows private chat (to receive the guesses).

I suspected that it could translate to a virtual format and it did! What follows is a quick set of instructions for those looking for a new game to play with friends.

Wits and Wagers ( Board Game Geek profile) is a great party game because it is easy to setup, has simple gameplay, and often generates some fun conversation. I had the assignment of hosting a virtual games night with some friends recently and looked to my small collection of board games to decide on something to play.

Boardgamegeek wits and wagers questions