Wits & Wagers: It's Vegas, Baby! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Vegas Pro Tip
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Step 1: Ask a Question
  • Step 2: Sort the Guesses
  • Step 3: Place Your Bets
  • Step 4: Pay the Winners
  • Step 5: Prepare for the Next Round
  • Step 6: Winning the Game
• Betting Poker Chips You've Won
  • Payout Examples When Winning Bets Include Poker Chips
• When More Than One Player Writes the Same Guess
• Credits

Contents

28" x 11" felt betting mat, 14 betting tokens, 80 cardboard poker chips, 1 removable poker chip tray, 112 cards with 222 questions, 1 card box, 7 dry erase markers, 7 dry erase answer boards, 2 blockers.

Vegas Pro Tip

Gather LOTS of friends – more than 10 is perfect. Wits & Wagers Vegas is even more fun with lots of people. It's not your average party game – this is an EVENT! So split into teams of 2 – 3 people, move the chairs, stand around a large table, and get ready to cheer when your team hits the jackpot!

Marker may stain fabrics and other surfaces. Avoid contact with carpet, clothing, walls and furniture. This product may stain or stick to some surfaces. Protect play area before use. Only use washable markers that come with the toy. Recap markers after use.

Setup

Note for Team Play: Whether you play in teams or as individual players, the rules are the same. So if you're playing in teams, you can substitute the word "team" for the word "player" throughout these rules.

1. Each player starts with: 1 Answer Board, 2 Betting Tokens of the same color as their Answer Board, 1 Dry Erase Marker.

2. Place the felt Betting Mat in the center of the table. Place the Blockers over the appropriate betting spaces based on the number of players in the game:

   • 5 players: Place Blockers on both "5 to 1" betting spaces.
   • 6 players: Place one Blocker on the "2 to 1" betting space.
   • 7 players: Don't use any Blockers.

3. Stack Poker Chips on the 7 circles on the right side of the Betting Mat. The $ value of the Poker Chips on each circle should correspond to that circle's $ value.

4. Choose a player to be the Banker (usually the player who's spent the most time in a casino). Place the Chip Tray with the remaining Poker Chips next to the Banker. The Banker still plays as a normal player.

5. Choose a player to be the Question Reader. Give them 7 Question Cards. The Question Reader still plays as a normal player.

How to Play

Step 1: Ask a Question

The Question Reader takes the first Question Card and reads the top question out loud. Each player (including the Question Reader) writes a guess on their Answer Board and places it face-down on the Betting Mat.

Don't worry! No one is supposed to know the answers, so just take your best guess!

Step 2: Sort the Guesses

Flip the Answer Boards face-up. Sort them from smallest to largest. The smallest guess should always be in a red betting space.

If more than one player wrote the same guess, see "When More Than One Player Writes the Same Guess" below.

Step 3: Place Your Bets

Your goal is to bet on the winning guess. The winning guess will be the one that's closest to the correct answer, without going over.

You may place your Betting Tokens on any of the following:

• A betting space with a guess. That guess can be your own guess or another player's guess.
• The "ALL GUESSES TOO HIGH" betting space.
• The "RED 1 to 1" or the "BLACK 1 to 1" betting space.

You have two choices for how to bet:

• Bet both Betting Tokens on the same betting space, OR
• Split your Betting Tokens between any two betting spaces.

Note: You can't lose your Betting Tokens, so always bet them both.

Step 4: Pay the Winners

1. Determine the Winning Guess: After all the bets are placed, flip over the Question Card and read the correct answer. The winning guess is the guess that's closest to the correct answer, without going over. If all the guesses are higher than the correct answer, see the note below.

   All Guesses Too High: If all the guesses are higher than the correct answer, only the 6 to 1 betting space pays out. In this case, no one gets the bonus for the round. Instead, the Banker removes those Poker Chips and returns them to the bank.

   You have a winning bet if:

   • You bet on the betting space with the winning guess.
   • You bet on the "RED 1 to 1" betting space and the winning guess is in a red betting space.
   • You bet on the "BLACK 1 to 1" betting space and the winning guess is in a black betting space.

2. Pay the Bonus: The Banker awards a bonus to the player who wrote the winning guess by giving them the Poker Chip stack that's on the circle corresponding to the round being played.

3. Clear the Losing Bets: The Banker clears the Betting Mat of all bets that are not on a winning betting space.

4. Pay the Winning Bets: The Banker awards Poker Chips to each player who bet on a winning betting space. Your payout for a winning bet is the size of your bet times the payout odds on that betting space. You also get your original bet back.

Example: The correct answer on the back of the Question Card is "33". In this example, "30" is the winning guess. "30" is the guess that's closest to "33", without going over ("34" went over). Here's how to pay the winning bets and the bonus:

Note: All the losing bets have been cleared before paying the winning bets.

• GRAY bet on the winning guess. That betting space pays 4 to 1 (or 4x the bet). Since the bet is $1, the Banker pays GRAY $4 in Poker Chips, and returns the original bet.
• BLACK bet on the winning guess. That betting space pays 4 to 1 (or 4x the bet). Since the bet is $2, the Banker pays BLACK $8 in Poker Chips, and returns the original bet.
• ORANGE wrote the winning guess. Since this is Round 1, ORANGE gets the $1 Round 1 bonus.
• PINK bet on the "RED 1 to 1" betting space. That betting space pays 1 to 1 (or 1x the bet). Since the bet is $1, the Banker pays PINK $1 in Poker Chips, and returns the original bet.

Step 5: Prepare for the Next Round

Take back both of your Betting Tokens, your Answer Board, and any Poker Chips you won. Erase your Answer Board and start the next round at Step 1.

Raise the Stakes: After Round 1, you can bet any Poker Chips you've won. See "Betting Poker Chips You've Won" below for details.

Step 6: Winning the Game

The player with the most money at the end of the 7th round wins! If there's a tie, the youngest player wins.

Betting Poker Chips You've Won

After Round 1, some players will have won Poker Chips. You can use these Poker Chips to increase the size of your bets to try to win more money, BUT there is a risk. Any Poker Chips that are part of a losing bet are lost and returned to the bank. Note: You're not obligated to bet any of the Poker Chips you've won.

Adding Poker Chips to your bets is allowed under the following rules:

• Poker Chips must always be stacked underneath one of your Betting Tokens. This lets the Banker know who placed each bet and who to pay out.
• You may stack as many Poker Chips as you want underneath each Betting Token. There is no limit on a bet's size.
• You can still only place up to two bets per round since you only have two Betting Tokens.

$1, $5, $10 and $25 Poker Chips

Payout Examples When Winning Bets Include Poker Chips

• $2 winning bet on a 2 to 1 betting space → The Banker returns the $2 bet, and pays out $4 in Poker Chip winnings ($2 bet x 2).
• $3 winning bet on a 4 to 1 betting space → The Banker returns the $3 bet, and pays out $12 in Poker Chip winnings ($3 bet x 4).
• $5 winning bet on a 3 to 1 betting space → The Banker returns the $5 bet, and pays out $15 in Poker Chip winnings ($5 bet x 3).
• $7 winning bet on a 1 to 1 betting space → The Banker returns the $7 bet, and pays out $7 in Poker Chip winnings ($7 bet x 1).
• $11 winning bet on a 6 to 1 betting space → The Banker returns the $11 bet, and pays out $66 in Poker Chip winnings ($11 bet x 6).

When More Than One Player Writes the Same Guess

Sort the Guesses: If two or more guesses are exactly the same, place them side by side, so each guess has its own betting space.

• 6-Player Example: Both guesses of "30" are placed side by side.
• 6-Player Example: Both guesses of "34" are placed side by side with a Blocker in between.
• 7-Player Example: Both guesses of "43" are placed side by side.

Place Your Bets: If there are duplicate guesses and that guess becomes the winning guess, all betting spaces with that guess will pay out. So when placing your bets, make sure to bet on the betting space with the highest payout odds.

Example: Nobody bet on the 3 to 1 space with "30" because the 4 to 1 space with "30" has better odds.

Pay the Bonus: If multiple players wrote the winning guess, all of those players are awarded the full bonus for that round. In this case, the duplicate bonus Poker Chips come from the bank.

Pay the Winning Bets:

• Whenever multiple betting spaces have a winning guess, pay the winning bets using the highest payout odds from those betting spaces.
• If there's a winning guess on a red betting space, then a bet on the "RED 1 to 1" betting space pays out.
• If there's a winning guess on a black betting space, then a bet on the "BLACK 1 to 1" betting space pays out.

Example: "34" is the winning guess. There are 3 betting spaces with "34". GRAY, ORANGE, and PURPLE each win $4 for betting on the 4 to 1 betting space with "34". YELLOW wins $1 because there is a winning guess on a red betting space. PINK wins $1 because there is a winning guess on a black betting space.

Credits

Game Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes

North Star Games