The 10 Best Harry Potter Board Games of 2021

1. Hogwarts Battle

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: Players will be able to recreate the stories they know and love, playing as Ron, Hermione, Harry, or Neville Longbottom as they fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Gameplay: Each of the seven books comes in a card deck. In each scenario or book, players must aim to defeat the bad guys before they get to their objective.

For example, in The Sorcerer's Stone (or The Philosopher's Stone, depending on where you live ), the four players must defeat Crabbe and Goyle before they reach Diagon Alley and the Mirror of Erised. Every turn the bad guys escalate against a location and of they reach the maximum control level there, they beat the players.

Characters have their own unique decks that represent their personality and possessions to prevent the villains from winning, so Harry has some spells, as well as Hedwig and his Invisibility Cloak; Hermione has Crookshanks and her brainy knowledge. As you move into the later books, new character cards will reflect Harry's, Hermione's, Ron's, and Neville's growing experience and grit.

Every turn players draw a Dark Arts Card that hinders their adventure in some way, just in case you thought the going would be easy. As players take damage from the Death Eaters, they track their health on a player board.

As players progress, they gain influence, allowing them to purchase equipment. If you've ever wanted the prestige of owning a Golden Snitch, here's your chance!

In fact, Hogwarts Battle has a lot of beautifully themed bits in the box, like a cool looking player's mat for each scenario, and all this will really immerse you in the wizarding world.

Verdict: This is one of the best Harry Potter games out there, with a beautifully themed design and artwork, as well as an excellent game to boot, designed to delve into the stories of Harry and his pals.

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2. Hogwarts Battle: Defense Against the Dark Arts

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: In this game, Defense Against the Dark Arts, two players have a wizard's duel. Let's be honest here: every person who ever had a dream about being a wizard at some point wanted to have a wizard's duel. Well, now you can!

Gameplay: Defense Against the Dark Arts is like a competitive, two-player version of Hogwarts Battle (see game above).

Players set up on a special duel board.

Each player takes a hand of duel cards, drawn every turn. They use these cards to attack their opponent, by stunning them, hexing them (making it difficult to draw more cards, or making them more expensive to use).

Each time a player takes a hit, they get knocked back a space on the duel board. Get knocked all the way back and you are stunned and out of the game! The best of three duels is the victor.

Players represent a house each - Slytherin or Gryffindor, these allow for special effects in the game, like bonuses listed at the bottom of the card that applies only to Slytherin if they draw it, and likewise for Gryffindor.

The duels are quick and fun at a fast pace. Each turn going by feels like the zaps of wands between wizards in real life!

Here's an in-depth review with playing instructions:

Verdict: Defense Against the Dark Arts is a simpler and easier to play version of the Hogwarts Battle game. This game is excellent for a quick round of matches against two players and a great addition to a Harry Potter fan's collection.

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3. Death Eaters Rising

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: This is your chance to fight the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Set in the fifth year of Harry's time at Hogwarts, as one of the last lines of defense, the wizarding world relies on you to prevent Voldemort and his Death Eaters from corrupting it. You need to do this by defeating both Voldemort and his Death Eaters before they succeed.

Gameplay: Players choose a faction - Hogwarts, Dumbledore's Army, or The Order of the Phoenix. Depending on which one you choose, you can select one of your favorite characters to play, like Dumbledore, Hermione, Sirius Black, or Harry!

Voldemort is attempting to corrupt the wizarding world, and the board represents three locations he is trying to corrupt - Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and the Ministry of Magic.

Each turn players travel to one of these locations on a circular board. After moving, Voldemort will rotate to a random location and attack it, and so will any Death Eaters there - all characters take damage, and Voldemort 'corrupts' the location too. Take enough corruption, and he has controlled the location. There's a cold, giant, imposing Voldemort figurine in the center of the board to point and face the location, so you feel his presence at every moment.

But all is not lost as the characters get to retaliate!

Players get attack dice, knowledge dice, and other types according to their character's traits. They can attack Death Eaters or recruit Wizards to their cause, destroy corruption, or gain spells with these dice. By beating all the Death Eaters and finally confronting Voldemort, the good guys will win the game. Easier said than done.

Verdict: Death Eaters Rising creates the atmosphere of Voldemort's growing influence really well, and the game has a pace and urgency about it. You are getting to play as all your favorite characters, which makes this an enjoyable adventure for any Harry Potter fan.

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4. Codenames: Harry Potter

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: The original Codenames is fast-paced and a lot of fun. The Harry Potter version is based on the original, but with cards themed on all your favorite characters and locations from the Harry Potter movies.

Gameplay: Like the original Codenames (an excellent game), this is a guessing game of intrigue and clues. Unlike the original game, there is only one team, and it is co-operative - two players must correctly identify the fifteen Order of the Phoenix members before time runs out (you have ten turns).

The play area is five rows of 5 cards, each with a word on them. Each player has a secret card that reveals the identity of the Order members on the rows of cards, and they must get their teammate to choose the right cards.

Players will use clue words and a number to point out which of the laid out cards they want their teammate to choose. If they choose correctly, the turn continues, but if they accidentally select a Death Eater, players lose the game instantly! Any other outcome advances the game one turn.

Play continues until time runs out, or the two players identify all fifteen Phoenix members!

Verdict: Just as much fun as the original Codenames but with a Harry Potter twist. Perfect for two players; if you want a fast game, a social game, and love the movies, choose this Harry Potter game.

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5. Fantastic Beasts: Perilous Pursuit

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: In Perilous Pursuit, you take on the role of Newt Scamander and his friends to capture a host of escaped beasts. If you're a fan of the extended Harry Potter universe and the original book 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' you're going to love this!

Gameplay: In Perilous Pursuit, players must capture the five escaped magical beasts and return them to Newt's briefcase to win. If the monsters knock the players' health down to zero, they win and escape, running amok in Manhattan and disturbing the muggles' peace.

The four characters you can choose are Tina, Queenie, Jacob, or Newt. They all come with a board, complete with pictures from the movies, and the specific rules, so this makes the game nicely thematic.

There are three levels of beast in the game, representing various degrees of challenge to the players.

In a turn, players activate their characters by rolling dice that allow them to take actions towards capturing the beasts. This helps them 'set' abilities to capture, distract, or gain insight into the monster's nature. For the fans of beast lore, this is pretty neat fun!

Of course, the beast won't just come back because you ask nicely, and they attack and evade capture by rolling their attacks after every player takes their turn. The beats' attacks, as you can imagine, are rather unpleasant.

Verdict: Fantastic Beats is highly themed, and a bit of a different take on the Harry Potter world. This game has a lovely presentation and is also not too bad a game for the younger Harry Potter fans out there.

6. Harry Potter Miniatures Adventure Game

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: Adventures and combat abound in this miniatures version of Harry Potter. Stunningly recreated resin miniatures in the likeness of your favorite good and evil wizards mean this is a collectors' dream - they are ideal for painting projects. It's more than just a game; you can proudly show off your artistic talent too!

Gameplay: Players set up on a grid board as the good or evil side. The box has some of the iconic students at Hogwarts - Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The evil player gets a bunch of Death Eaters. As mentioned above, there are expansions, so you may add more firepower to your teams as you progress.

Each scenario has a different objective, and the side that obtains the most victory points by the end of the game wins.

Each turn, one player activates their character, who may take a basic and advanced action; then, the opposing player does the same until all the players have activated and played all their characters.

Basic actions involve moving and drinking potions; advanced actions involve spell casting!

Spells are abundant in the Miniatures Game - a player can cast Stupefy, Confundo, Expelliamus, or Expecto Patronum (to name a few) to knock out wizards and Dementors at will! Well, not really at will, players must roll spell dice and beat their opponents' defenses before stunning them, dazzling them or the like.

The wizarding combat on a large scale makes for some real fun, while the objectives mean you have something to fight for, making this a somewhat compelling game with a purpose.

Here's an in-depth review of the game:

Verdict: The Harry Potter Miniatures Game is a game plus a collectible kit for painters, so it's much more than a game - it's more of an experience. The add-ons mean you may keep playing and customizing your games, so there's high replay value and always more to do in this game.

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7. Trivial Pursuit: World of Harry Potter Ultimate Edition

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: Test who is the greatest fan of all with your knowledge of Harry Potter! The game has tonnes of questions from all eight movies and also some lovely collectible Hogwarts House pieces, cast in pewter so that you can move around the board in style.

Gameplay: The Harry Potter edition of Trivial Pursuit plays just like the original edition of Trivial Pursuit. Players move around the board and answer questions; get it right, and you may move again. When you land on one of the five 'pie' locations, and you answer the question correctly, you gain a piece. Collect all five pieces and answer the last question in the center of the board right, and victory is yours!

The difference in this edition is that there is a themed board with themed pieces, and all questions are Harry Potter film-related, so it's a particular type of trivial knowledge that you will need.

And what a number of questions there are - this set has 1,800 Harry Potter questions! The question categories are suitably Potteresque, for example: Objects & Artifacts, Death Eaters & the Dark Arts, and Ghosts & Muggles.

So go ahead and test your knowledge against your Muggle friends!

Verdict: A real fans' game. Trivial Pursuit Harry Potter will test your knowledge as no other Harry Potter game can. This game is ideal for families and younger players alike.

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8. Harry Potter Trading Card Game (TCG)

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: The Harry Potter TCG draws its inspiration heavily from the books and the artwork of the early editions, so it's a refreshing break from the movie imagery. For purists of the Harry Potter books, this will be an enticing element of this game. As a collectible game, you'll also get to build your card collection and add your favorite characters across all the books.

Gameplay: Made by the same developers as Magic: The Gathering and the Pokemon TCGs, this game has an experienced card-game maker behind it.

Players must deal damage to knock their opponent out to win. Each one begins with a witch or wizard in play, like all your favorites, Harry, Hermione, and many other choices. As it's a TCG, booster packs will add more as you collect them.

Players take turns to play cards, new characters to support their chief witch/wizard, and spells galore.

'Lesson' cards allow you to put your spells and other cards into play, and there are five types - potions, charms, quidditch, transfiguration, and care of magical creatures. The kind of spells and creatures you play depends on the lesson cards you need. As this is a customizable game, you can have an all charm deck or a combo of any, which adds enormous variety to the way you play.

Verdict: The Harry Potter TCG is a well thought out and beautifully themed game. Fans will love customizing their decks to suit their favorite characters, and the versatility of adding to your collection means you can never get tired of your games. This game is suitable for younger fans and older fans alike.

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9. Munchkin Deluxe: Harry Potter

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: Munchkin is a roleplaying-style game without the hours needed to play most role-playing games. Watching your wizard or witch grow in experience as you progress against monsters in Munchkin is what this game is all about.

Gameplay: Like original Munchkin, players win if they reach level 10. In Harry Potter Munchkin, though, they represent a student of one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. These houses have rules that reflect their nature in the wizarding world.

Players start with a hand of cards, with which they may improve their abilities and put a spanner in the works of their opponents.

Roles, allies, and proficiency cards improve players' abilities and include the likes of Hermione, wizard robes, and cool wands.

Curse cards do bad things to your opponents, and level up cards make you stronger.

In a turn, players aim to explore by drawing from the 'unlock door deck:' you may encounter a beast or be cursed, so beware, but you must draw one!

Players may also loot a room if they do not get cursed or encounter a monster, which adds cards to their hand.

Fights against monsters are easy to resolve, and the more you level up, the better you become at fighting them. Your items and equipment cards come in handy here too, as they will boost your ability, or hinder the monster. Beating a monster, of course, helps you level up and win the game! Losing means you are a step closer to defeat.

Verdict: Munchkin is easy to play, with user-friendly game design, and the theme adds a richness to the feel it. Players will enjoy seeing their characters grow as they progress through their levels and fight the various monsters in the Harry Potter world with which they are familiar. This is a more straightforward game than some of the others in this list, so families and newer board gamers may enjoy Munchkin as a starting point.

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10. Harry Potter House Cup Competition (to be released)

Why Harry Potter fans will love this game: House Cup Competition is all about reliving the glory of earning house points to be the winner of the Hogwarts House Cup! Whether you want to win as Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, it's up to you how you earn your points to victory.

Gameplay: In this game, you represent three wizards who are working to earn their house points across their charms, potions, and defense against the Dark Arts classes.

By earning knowledge in your classes, your wizards will gain access to harder challenges and areas of Hogwarts. You can also boost your knowledge with spell-casting to achieve points for challenges you may not be able to access yet.

Accessing new areas and completing challenges will gain you coveted house points, which fill up in neat little vials, just like the house points scoreboard in the movies!

Verdict: While not yet released, this game looks very highly themed and presents a fresh new adventure in the Harry Potter world not yet explored. We think this is a worthy addition to round off our Harry Potter board games list.