If you’ve ever wanted to enter the wizarding world and help your Hogwarts House earn the highly sought after House Cup, now is your chance! Compete against the other houses’ students to prove your house has the most knowledge, has the most magical skills, and is just the all around best! Let’s check it out!
What Is It?
A worker placement game where players take on the roles of 3 students from their Hogwarts House (you’ll just have to duke it out if multiple players are from the same house) and help them level up their magic as they gain knowledge, learn lessons, and complete challenges. Along the way they will also be earning House Points, of course, and the house with the most points after 7 rounds wins the House Cup!
Who Is It For?
I’d definitely recommend it for Harry Potter fans, as earning House Points is really neat. It works at any of the player counts (2-4) but it’s a bit more exciting with the full 4 watching the House Point Display fill with all the points. I would recommend this to gamers with some experience as well. While it’s a pretty basic worker placement game, it can feel slow at times, or cause AP, so having gaming experience is helpful. If you’re looking for this mechanic with a Harry Potter theme, or to try and play with gamers who are familiar with worker placement, but don’t like a lot of complex spots, this is a great choice. Finally, I think this would be good for ages 13+; it’s not super difficult to learn, but again, since it can feel a little slow at times, I think younger audiences just may not be able to enjoy it as much in general.
Components + Quality
The cards are all average quality cards, easy to shuffle. For the most part the icons on them are obvious, but the cauldrons and shields on the challenge cards are small and both just dark blobs, so they are harder to tell apart from a distance.
The main board is a nice size with a good layout; all the spots are easy to distinguish, including those noted with the 3-4 player requirements. Unfortunately though, the overall color scheme of the board is pretty drab/muted; I wish it was a little brighter and more inviting. The player boards are nice, with more vibrant colors, and they are dual layered to easily hold the level trackers (which are a thick, sturdy plastic) for each character, which is awesome. They’re really nicely done, and make that element of the game streamlined.
All the cardboard tokens (characters, first player, knowledge, magic…) are average quality. I do wish the character pieces were a bit bigger and maybe outlined in the house color to make them easier to tell apart from a distance, and a little easier to handle.
The best component in the game though is obviously the House Point display – test tubes in a (very solid) cardboard holder with very vibrant translucent gems in each house color. Also, you can store it in the box assembled, which is always great! Speaking of which, the box is a great size for what’s in it, and I like that each side of the box has a specific house on it, so you can show off yours on the shelf! Finally, the rules are very clear and explain the game well.
PROS
- Variety in locations, so the game is a little different every time
- Great way to keep score; aesthetically pleasing as well as thematic (it’s fun to announce “30 points for Slytherin!” as you drop the gems in the display, haha!)
- Spots on main and player boards are clear
- A lot of options turn to turn; never feel like you have a “useless” turn
- The theming is solid and works with the mechanics well
CONS
- Vagueness in a few lesson cards
- Some symbols can be hard to tell apart
- Can cause some AP/feel slow trying to figure out best moves
- Muted color scheme on main board/cards
Final Thoughts
As a avid gamer who is also a Harry Potter fan, I enjoyed this game! It’s neat to choose which subject to hone your characters’ skills (levels) and, like I mentioned before, announce your House Points as you earn them! As I played it, it didn’t feel like a game I could introduce to new gamers, but it would be a great worker placement for Harry Potter fans who are familiar with the mechanic. I do wish that the board/location cards were a little more colorful, and even the symbols on the cards (instead of the 3 black, blobby symbols), but overall, still a solid game that I would recommend!
My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 7/10
Difficulty – 4/10
Aesthetics – 4/10 (10/10 for the point display though)
Replayability – 6/10
Additional Information:
Designer – Nate Heiss, Kami Mandell
Artist – Delaney Mamer
Publisher – The Op
MSRP – $49.99
BGG
BGA
Website
*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*
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