How to play Zero to Hero...

Zero to Hero is a trick-taking game.

Title: Zero to Hero

Year Published: 2025

Designer: Martin Wallace

Publisher: Wallace Designs

Players: 3-5

Game Time: ~45 minutes

Set-up Time: ~1 minute

Ages: 14+

Theme: N/A

Mechanisms: Trick-Taking, Push your luck.

How to win: Score the most points after 4 hands, or go from Zero to Hero!

Game Description

In Zero to Hero, the twists in the game are that you can either win or lose points for winning a trick. You can also win or lose points if you are second in a trick. Who wins or comes second is not always the player who plays the highest value tile; it’s actually determined by summing the values of each played suit, then seeing who played the highest tile of the strongest suit.

How to play Zero to Hero

Learn how to play this trick-taking game in a quick and concise way!

Main Mechanisms

There is Trick-Taking obviously, that is the main mechanism. You can also push-your-luck and aim to get to zero points and try and become the Hero.

USP

There are some unique things about the game, to me. There are a lot of trick-taking games so I will of course miss a few.

Having tiles and being able to win instantly is new to me. As is having the highest value suit winning the trick.

Theme

Nothing here, not even Disney’s Hercules!

Setup & Rulebook

Setup is very easy. Tiles in a bag, tiles on the table and that’s that.

The rulebook does a good job of explaining the rules. It does leave out that you wither brush aside or discard the tiles after each trick which is an odd omission.

So odd, I wonder if they’re supposed to be on the table for some reason.

Components & Artwork

Big chucky wooden pieces are good! All in a package that costs as much as a regular card game.

No art to speak of.

Ease of Teaching

The game is easy to teach. You can teach the rules then start playing and players will get it as you go.

Similar Games

I would say any trick-taking game but that’s too broad.

Pikoko is a game where you can see everyone else cards but your own.

In Xylotar you can see the suit but not the value of any card, even your own.

Zero to Hero Review

Positives

A fun twist on trick-taking.

The components are really nice.

The game play is fun and you battle to win, come second and even try to actively lose a trick.

Being able to see the suits players have gives you some information and adda extra layer of deduction which is something I like in a trick-taking game.

Adding to that, th e way the winning suit is chosen allows players to play very tactically.

The ‘win with a 2’ and ‘Zero to Hero’ element adds some fun wrinkles.

Negatives

I haven’t checked, but it might not be a top 5 trick-taking game for me, there is a lot of them!

Zero to Hero Round-Up

A very fun and unique trick-taking game with extra steps!

Rating

I give it 7/10