Wits & Wagers board game
I’d heard about the game Wits & Wagers from a few sources, and it sounded interesting. I’m trying to spend more family time off-screen, and playing board games together is one of the things I’m working into the schedule a couple of times per week. The wife found this game on a half-off sale so I had her pick it up. We’ve been having a lot of fun playing this as a family.
Wits & Wagers is a trivia based game not unlike many other games. The difference is that you don’t have to have the correct answer, you only have to be close without going over. And even if you don’t have the best answer, you can still win the round by betting on the best answer.
To play Wits & Wagers, a trivia question is read. All players write down their answer (all numeric of some kind) and place them on a mat. The mat is similar to a Rummy mat in that each answer is placed in numeric order, and each position on the mat has a payout ratio. After all answers are in, betting begins. You can bet on your own if you think you have the best answer, or you can bet on other answers. You can either place your entire bet on one or you can split it between 2 answers if you aren’t sure.
Once betting is complete, the correct answer is revealed. The person with the closest answer without going over gets a bonus payout, then all bets on that answer are paid out according to the odds for that particular position. The game is over after 7 rounds have been played. At the end of the game, the person with the most chips wins. If there is a tie, the younger player wins.
The game is listed as being for ages 10 and up, but my 6 year old has been playing with us and having fun as well. She doesn’t know any of the trivia answers, but she still comes closer and actually wins part of the time if we guess just a little too high. As she gets older and starts to learn some history and some perspective on larger numbers, the game will be even more fun to play.