I decided to write this post after getting some great feedback from people at Northstar Games on my review of Wits and Wagers. I bought the game soon after it came out since I had heard such good things about it. So the review I wrote was for the first edition of the game. Some of the rules were tweaked and take care of the problems I had with the game.

Here are the rule changes in the second edition:

1) In the second edition of the game you start with two betting chips. These cannot be lost and may be bet on the same space or separate spaces.

2) After the first question you may bet as much as you want. You must bet with the two betting chips, but are not limited to 10 point bets.

3) The odds on the board start at 2-to-1 and work out from there. (instead of 1-to-1)

3) The poker chips are now worth 1 for red and 5 for blue.

4) When you answer a correct question you receive 3 red chips instead of 2.

A Quick Review:

Number 2 specifically deals with my issue of the game coming down to the final question. Now you can go all-in on every question after the first. The game is a bit more evened out since you can catch up by betting more than 10 on a question.

The only problem I see with the 2^nd edition rules is that if you don’t get a question right you are just constantly betting your chips but can never bet more. I am not sure if that just means people need to guess better or if maybe starting with a little cash would help. I am not sure it would because if you are betting on the wrong answers it doesn’t matter how much cash you have.

As I said in the first review I think Wits and Wagers is an excellent party game and either set of rules makes for a fun experience. That being said I think the 2^nd edition rules do upgrade the overall experience, they just require you to play better which isn’t a bad thing.

Using 1st edition game  components with 2nd edition Rules

For all of you with the first edition rules, here is all you need to do to play with your current game using the new rules:

Use the cube markers as the betting chips

Keep the betting odds as they are

Only give two red chips for the correct answer (since the odds on the 1^st edition board are lower).