Movement pointsA number: move up to that many spaces.
The game has 153 cards: four identical House starter decks, a 42-card House Acquire Deck, 11 Library Book Cards, 21 House Location Cards, the Dark Arts starter and Acquire decks, 4 Dark Arts Location Cards, 15 Event Cards and 5 Player Aid Cards. Once you can read a card at a glance, turns go twice as fast.
Reading a card
- Movement value. The diamond in the top corner: how many spaces you may move one pawn. You may move fewer.
- Second movement value. Cards like 3 + 3 move two pawns (3 each) or one pawn using both values (6). No other split.
- Card type. One of the seven types. It matters for Hogwarts Tokens: the extra Explore must use a card of the token's type.
- Illustration. Atmosphere only.
- Card name. Spells, potions, creatures and objects from the films.
- Effect box. What the card does besides moving. A lightning bolt marks a Reactive Effect, usable outside your turn when its condition is met.
- Narrative text. A line of story with no game effect.
- Zone colour (Dark Arts cards). White, orange or red. The effect works only once the Dark Arts Marker has reached that zone; until then the card still moves your pawns.
Three kinds of movement value
Move to a Fly Off PointThe wing symbol: place the pawn on any Fly Off Point.
Move to a specified locationThe card names a place, for example the Clocktower Courtyard, and the pawn goes straight there.
Location Cards
Location Cards have the same layout on both sides of the game: the back of the card, the grid coordinates of the Main Board square, a small map of that area, the location name and a close-up detail of the place.
House Player Location Cards (21)You keep three, hidden in your hand. Pawns in two of the three places at the same time earn a Parchment Scroll. Examples: Gryffindor Tower (D6), Hagrid's Hut (F6), Dumbledore's Office (E4), Long Gallery (C2), Staff Room (C3), Astronomy Tower, Charms classroom, Trophy Room, Plant Nursery, Library.
Dark Arts Player Location Cards (4)Drawn when the Dementor is taken, or on the last space of the Path. One example from the rulebook is The White Tomb, the island in the lake.
Find the square from the coordinates first, then the named space inside it. The board guide lists what is in every square.
The starter decks
Starter cards carry a banner in the top corner, so they never get mixed into the Acquire decks.
House Player starter deck (same for every house)
One card of every type. Four of them are your keys to the four obstacle types.
| Card | Move | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alohomora | 3 | Charms | Your pawn may pass Locked Doors |
| Partis Temporus | 3 | Defence Against the Dark Arts | Your pawn may pass Protective Spells |
| Strengthening Solution | 3 | Potions | Your pawn may pass Physical Objects |
| Gillyweed | 3 | Herbology | Your pawn may cross Water |
| School Broomstick | 2 | Hogwarts Items & Artefacts | Fly from one Fly Off Point to any other |
| Trevor | 4 | Magical Creatures & Beings | None |
| Explore | 2 + 2 | Transfiguration & Spell Casting | None |
Total: 22 movement points per cycle through the deck.
Dark Arts Player starter deck
All seven are white-zone cards, so their effects work from the first turn.
| Card | Move | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Conspire | 3 | Draw 1, discard 1 and deploy 1 pawn |
| Conspire | 4 | None |
| Nimbus 2001 | 2 | Fly from one Fly Off Point to any other |
| Gathering Dark Forces | 3 + 3 | None |
| Gathering Dark Forces | 2 + 2 | None |
| Legilimency | 4 | None |
| Legilimency | 5 | None |
Total: 28 movement points, more than the students' 22. The Dark side starts faster and gets its tricks later, as its zones unlock.
The seven card types and Hogwarts Tokens
Every House card belongs to one type, and each type has a Hogwarts Token in a matching room. Return the token to play an extra Explore with a card of that type.
| Type | Starter card | Token room |
|---|---|---|
| Charms | Alohomora | Charms classroom (B3) |
| Defence Against the Dark Arts | Partis Temporus | DADA classroom (D5) |
| Potions | Strengthening Solution | Potions classroom (C2) |
| Herbology | Gillyweed | By the greenhouses (A3 and B3) |
| Hogwarts Items & Artefacts | School Broomstick | Trophy Room (C2) |
| Magical Creatures & Beings | Trevor | Grounds east of the Clocktower Courtyard (E7) |
| Transfiguration & Spell Casting | Explore | Transfiguration classroom (B5) |
All 11 Library Book Cards
Each book is one of the three items for a Defence Shield, and its effect happens the moment you take it. Two lie face up next to the Library deck.
| Book | Effect when taken |
|---|---|
| A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration | Swap one of your pawns with any other pawn |
| A History of Magic | Discard any number of cards, then draw back up to 3 |
| Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs | Take an Explore action |
| Moste Potente Potions | Take a card from the Acquire Row for free, onto your draw deck |
| A Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook | Take a Replenish action without moving the Dark Arts Marker |
| Dark Arts Defence: Basics for Beginners | Move any pawn up to 4 spaces |
| Hogwarts: A History | Draw 2 cards |
| The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection | Put the top card of the Acquire Deck into your hand |
| Advanced Potion-Making | Swap one of your pawns with another House Player's pawn, or draw 1 card |
| Extreme Incantations | Take any available Hogwarts Token |
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | Move 3 spaces up the Hogwarts Loyalty Track |
House cards you will meet
The House Acquire Deck has 42 cards. These appear in MinaLima's videos and previews.
| Card | Move | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finite Incantatem | 4 | Transfiguration & Spell Casting | Draw 1; may pass Protective Spells |
| Wingardium Leviosa | 4 | Charms | Draw 1; may pass Physical Objects |
| Accio | 4 | Charms | Put any card from your discard pile on top of your draw deck |
| Lumos | 4 | Charms, reactive | Draw 1; if an event or Dark card makes you discard it, draw 2 |
| Point Me | special | Charms | Reveal a Location Card and move a pawn there, or move a pawn up to 4 |
| Expelliarmus | 2 + 2 | Defence Against the Dark Arts | The Dark Arts Player discards a card at random |
| The Marauder's Map | 3 + 3 | Hogwarts Items & Artefacts | Use any Secret Passageway |
| Firebolt | special | Hogwarts Items & Artefacts | Move a pawn to a Fly Off Point |
| Wit-Sharpening Potion | 3 | Potions | Discard 1, then draw 2 |
| Baby Mandrake | 3 | Herbology | End on a Dark pawn to stun and push it without being stunned yourself |
| Centaur | 4 | Magical Creatures & Beings, reactive | When you are bumped: cancel the bump, stun the Dark pawn and push it away |
| Grawp | 5 | Magical Creatures & Beings | Discard 1 to move 2 spaces up the Loyalty Track |
| Hippogriff | 3 | Magical Creatures & Beings | Discard 1 to place a pawn on any Fly Off Point |
| Kreacher | special | Magical Creatures & Beings | Move a pawn next to one of your other pawns |
| Incendio | 2 | Transfiguration & Spell Casting | Discard 1 to move any pawn up to 3; stun a Dark pawn without being stunned |
Dark Arts cards you will meet
The Dark Arts Acquire Deck has 20 cards. The bump reward is how they reach the Dark Arts Player's deck.
| Card | Move | Zone | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparition | 4 | White | Draw 1 and deploy up to 2 pawns |
| Boggart | 4 | White | The player or players highest on the Loyalty Track discard a card at random |
| Petrificus Totalus | 4 | White | End on a House pawn to stun it and push it away instead of bumping |
| Summoned to the Staff Room | special | White | Move one of your pawns to the Staff Room |
| Morsmordre | 4 | Orange | Every House Player discards a card at random |
| Crucio | 4 | Red | When your pawn bumps a House pawn, that player discards 2 cards |
| Confundo | 6 | Red | One House Player skips their next turn, another discards a card at random |
Event Cards
Five per colour. The House part is resolved first by every student, then the Dark Arts Player uses the Dark part or takes the zone's Progress Token. A few white events help the students; the orange and red ones get harsher.
| Event | Zone | House Players | Dark Arts Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Gathering Storm | White | Each stuns one of their own pawns | Remove a card from hand or discard pile from the game, or take the Giant |
| Death Eaters' Attack | Orange | Each moves back 2 on the Loyalty Track | Advance 1 on the Dark Arts Path, or take the Acromantula |
| The Breach | Orange | Each moves the top 2 cards of their draw deck to the discard pile | Take a card from the discard pile back into hand, or take the Acromantula |
| He Who Must Not Be Named | Red | Each reveals a Defence Against the Dark Arts card, or shows their hand and loses a card of the Dark Arts Player's choice | Gain a House Marker, draw 1 and stun a House pawn, or take the Dementor |
| Darkest Hour | Red | Everyone except the Dark Detector holder discards 2 | Look at 4 Acquire cards, keep 2, or take the Dementor |
Icon reference
Items for a Defence Shield
Library Book CardFrom the Library. One at a time.
Parchment ScrollFrom two Location Cards. Two per game.
Dark DetectorLoyalty Track leader at space V or higher.
D.A. CoinFrom the open Room of Requirement.
Defence ShieldBook + scroll + Detector, or book + scroll + coin.
Bonus spaces and actions
Acquire a cardFree Acquire Row or deck card, or discard 1 for an Advanced card and a Loyalty step.
Draw a cardDraw one card; the Dark Arts Marker does not move.
Play againTake another turn.
Dark Detector spaceEnd a move here to climb one Loyalty step.
LibraryTake a Library Book Card.
Map symbols
Protected AreaBlue shield with a star. Dark pawns can never enter.
Fly Off PointWings; one version inside the castle, one outside.
Dark Arts Deployment LocationDark Mask. Dark pawns enter here.
Secret PassagewayBlue, green or red door. On cards, an "any" symbol allows every passage.
Special movementFootprints: the card moves a pawn to a named place.
Reactive EffectLightning bolt: usable outside your turn.
Obstacles
Locked DoorsPass with Alohomora or another card that opens doors.
Protective SpellsPass with Partis Temporus, Finite Incantatem and similar cards.
Physical ObjectsPass with Strengthening Solution, Wingardium Leviosa and similar cards.
WaterCross with Gillyweed or by flying.
Castle wallsNot an obstacle type: nobody passes them.
Dark Arts Path zones
White zoneEffects unlocked from the start. Giant token.
Orange zoneUnlocks on its first space. Acromantula token.
Red zoneUnlocks on its first space. Dementor token.
Looking for a term? See the full glossary.