What is it?
2-4 Players - Ages 11+ - Playing time approx - 1-2 Hours
It's a deckbuilding game, but Harry Potter style!
You get all the cards you possibly need to play numerous games (read below)
And look at the gorgeous box! One of the nicest things that my partner pointed out, was the beautiful way all the cards fit in the moulded box! No wastage, complete and utter OCD-genius!
What I thought?
Seriously.. this game is tough!! Out of the box, you get 7, yes 7, packs of cards.. Now, the first "Game" pack contains everything you need for a simple set up, really neat for first timers to deckbuilding to ease you into the mechanics. This shows you how to play the game and get a handle on the whole needing trade to buy Spells and also Items and Ally cards which give you health and attack tokens.
It's based on the 7 years at Hogwarts, so you have to buy all the decent spells, using a pool of influence from the 'Ministry of Magic', defeating the various wizards and witches from the Harry Potter books/films with attack tokens aptly resembling Harry's scar. All the while trying to stop the villains from taking over the various locations of the Harry Potter Wizarding World. As this ties in so well with the books and films, revealing villains, locations, spells, items and more year by year, so beware of spoilers.
So, back to the Game packs, each one provides more powerful Spells, Items and Allies, as well as more powerful enemies, locations (for the baddies to conquer) and also an upgraded version of the student you play. These Game packs also provide (in some cases) a new mechanic to add to the gameplay. It could be some beautifully printed House Dice which work with some of the cards to provide different things, or new spells with additional tokens!!
So, back to the Game packs, each one provides more powerful Spells, Items and Allies, as well as more powerful enemies, locations (for the baddies to conquer) and also an upgraded version of the student you play. These Game packs also provide (in some cases) a new mechanic to add to the gameplay. It could be some beautifully printed House Dice which work with some of the cards to provide different things, or new spells with additional tokens!!
The deckbuilding games I've played in the past allow you to purchase additional cards which bring new mechanics to the game, but with the Hogwarts Battle Game, they're all included already in one box!!
So, as you play the different Game packs, you advance through the Game boxes. We started with Game 1, as we're kind of beginners.. We're currently stuck on Game 5!! Voldemort keeps annihilating us.. we were only ONE turn away the other day!!
Quality-wise the cards are really nice to hold and the tokens are really robust, there's even some metal tokens you use to track the villains influence on the locations..
.......
Yep. So, given a few more days in between writing this post and we've now completed the whole game, all 7 Years! It's amazing, the new mechanics introduced really do make it fun to progress. More mechanics mean more villains powers, but also more ways to defeat them!
The Verdict!
Such a good game! Me and my partner are HOOKED and the kids love it too! We've also just ordered the Charms and Potions expansion so I'll be reviewing that in the near future too. We're also pretty excited about the Monster Box of Monsters expansion too!
Well...I would like to say definitely don't get it from Amazon, as that guy has way too much money already! Instead, get it from THESE GUYS!
Magic Madhouse offer Free post over £20 and, in lockdown, these guys have been a real help with me and my family buying decent games!
Adults Rating: Us Adults are loving the film tie-ins! Just be careful of spoilers for the kids!
/5Family Rating: A smart 7 year old was playing this, but some may struggle! Length of time playing may also have your little ones wriggling in their seats!
/5
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