The series written by JK Rowling became a worldwide phenomenon, children rushed to the next published books, cinemas were flooded by fans, and the main characters could be found on everything – mugs, pillows, clothes and many other everyday items. Added to this were various collector’s newspapers – figurines, more books from the same universe, replicas of the more important magic accessories, etc.
No wonder Harry’s world has finally made its way onto the players’ tables as well. There is not much of it, especially on the Polish board game market, but I think more will come over time. Here are a few of the titles we can enjoy today.
Double
Everyone knows the game. There are many versions of it, and one of them is Harry Potter . Does it differ from the others? No. Of course, the pictures are different, relevant to the topic, but the rules have not changed. It would seem that this version will be as simple as the basic version. Nothing could be more wrong. In general, I find themed Dobble more difficult than the regular ones. In the heat of battle, all the wise names of the most important items that changed the fate of the heroes (e.g. Philosopher’s Stone, Triwizard Tournament Cup, Marauder’s Map, Ain Eingarp’s Mirror), and the full names of the characters evaporate from the head, which is the main cause of laughter at the table .
Is this version worth having? Of course. Despite my love for medium heavyweight Euro-games, this small party card game has made a good home with me, in several versions. And for Harry Potter fans old and young, this is a must-have. The pictures are cute, especially the tiny testral.
Scrabble
Ten tytuł należy do klasyki planszówek. Została wymyślona w 1931 roku, ale mimo słusznego wieku i wielu nowych tytułów, wciąż jest najpopularniejszą grą słowną wydawaną na całym świecie. Liczbę sprzedanych pudełek szacuje się w milionach. Powstała także wersja ze znanym nam czarodziejem, która poza standardowymi zasadami układania wyrazów z dostępnych nam liter, dodaje kilka magicznych zasad. Na początku każdy gracz losuje kartę jednego z domów w Hogwarcie. Przynależność do nich wiąże się ze specjalną umiejętnością, która pomaga w grze.
Na planszy, oprócz znanych już premii słownych i literowych, pojawiają się także pola z herbami Hogwartu. Po ułożeniu słowa na tym kwadracie otrzymujemy kartę. Może się na niej znaleźć Zaklęcie, Eliksir, Rywalizacja lub Bonus. Dzięki nim możemy zdobywać więcej punktów lub ułatwić sobie grę, m. in. wybrać dowolną kartę ze stosu kart odrzuconych (Accio), zabrać wskazaną przez siebie literę lub pustą płytkę, jeśli któryś z graczy ją posiada (Veritaserum) lub zdobyć Puchar Quidditcha i razem z nim 20 dodatkowych punktów. Są to ciekawe urozmaicenia, więc na pewno będą nowym wyzwaniem dla miłośników tej popularnej gry słownej. Przy okazji oprawa graficzna i nazewnictwo ze świata czarodziejów przyjemnie nastraja podczas rozgrywki i wprowadza nutkę rywalizacji nawiązującą do wyścigu uczniów Hogwartu o zdobycie Pucharu Domów.
Munchkin
One of the meanest card games is Munchkin . And in the world of Harry Potter , there is a place to open doors and defeat monsters. Who are the villains? There is a lot of it, and fans of JK Rowling’s work will surely recognize everyone, including Tom Riddle, Death Eater, Nagini and Fluffy. Dobby, Luna or Neville can help us in the fight. Instead of armor, we will put on the Invisibility Cloak, the Gryffindor Sword will help us in the fight, the Triwizard Tournament Cup will raise our level by 1, the cream beer will force another player to engage in the fight, and Avada Kedavra … well, it will just kill you. 168 doors and treasure cards pour out as much atmosphere as I have not seen in any other version of this game.
Maybe this is a good time to confess – I don’t like Munchkin . I appreciate the brilliant humor, funny graphics, a multitude of topics to choose from, but despite many attempts with several scenes, I did not manage to make friends with this title. Until the crazy decision to buy a potter version, which I decided only because of the popular universe. And success. I don’t have to convince Munchkin geeks, they already have their favorite boxes. Fans of Harry recommend highly. However, players who do not understand the phenomenon of this position – do not worry! There is a chance that you will hit your version. Mine is just potter.
Secret police
Do you know and like Secrets ? Great! In the two-person version of the Harry Potter world, you can find yourself on Diagon Alley. As members of the Order of the Phoenix, you will have to find 15 other sorcerers who are favorable to you. However, it will not be easy. Among the 25 possible locations (standard 5 × 5 square), there are 3 that hide Death Eaters. Selecting any of them ends the game immediately. Neutral squares are representatives of the Ministry of Magic. They won’t hurt anyone, but they’ll stop the movement.
The most interesting as always are the cards. On one side there are movie stills, objects and characters, and on the other side there are words. Most of them correspond exactly to what is presented in the picture, but in the case of a hero using a spell, for example, on the back you will find the name of the spell. The cards can be alternated, using only words or only graphics. The two-person basic version was too simple for me, but the thematic version is more difficult. For those familiar with movies, there may be too many associations. They can be linked exactly by what the fields present, the parts they come from, the likes of the players and very individual preferences and opinions, so often different in the perception of books or films.
The biggest downside? The game is intended for two people, although it can be played in groups. However, if you have any version of the standard Undercover and you cannot imagine a game with less than 4 players – nothing is lost! We take the key cards from another box and play as a full-fledged version for more people. – Katarzyna Satława
POP! Funkoverse: Harry Potter
How to combine the love for Harry Potter with the passion for board games and collecting figures? You can invest in POP! Funkoverse: Harry Potter . In this game we play one of the four characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange or Lord Voldemort himself. You can also buy an add-on, thanks to which Ron Weasley or Draco Malfoy will be added to the game. Of course, each character has a Funko Pop figure . In terms of mechanics, we will wander around places known from books and perform various actions, of course, as befits a good adventure game, there will be randomness in the form of dice rolls. – Hubert Heller