Best Harry Potter Board Games

I’ll admit the first time I ever heard anything about Harry Potter was on the playground in grade school. Two of my classmates were arguing about the complexities of Quidditch. I thought they were dumb and I, therefore, refused to read Harry Potter or even engage.

That didn’t last long. Someone gave me a copy of Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone and I was hooked. I’ve been a huge fan of JK Rowling’s magical world ever since. I always loved the characters. I even had a few Harry Potter-themed parties. It’s really a dream come true for Harry Potter fans.

With the popularity of the series, a ton of toys, games, and random products were pumped out with the Harry Potter name and it can feel like walking in a labyrinth trying to find the gems hidden among the duds. 

Believe me, there were a lot of duds. They even sold a “vibrating” broomstick for children to ride around. It was a formative time for many kids. 

Luckily for you, I’ve scoured the board game-verse and have come up with the best Harry Potter board games… so you don’t have to.

Find our list of the best Harry Potter games below.

Our Top Picks for Best Harry Potter Board Games

In a hurry? Check out our favorites below.

05/31/2023 06:30 pm GMT

Best Harry Potter Games

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 30-60 min
Ages: 11+

This is THE Harry Potter board game.

It has everything you’d want from the wizarding world we all know and love. Hogwarts Battle is a cooperative deck-building game that spans the entire book series. Each character has its own custom deck that grows the longer you play the game.

It’s brilliantly thematic and brings to life the magic from the original series. The game takes place over the entire series of books/movies. The first game played pits a young Harry and the gang against enemies and baddies from the first book.

The amazing part is that the game itself is broken down into chapters similar to a Legacy game, without the destruction of components. The second game prompts players to open box #2 and the cards and characters represent Year 2 of the kids’ adventures. It’s an awesome way to show the progression of the series within a game and I haven’t ever seen it done quite so well. 

What we liked

Hogwarts Battle hits the Harry Potter theme perfectly. You’ll feel like you’re taking control of your favorite characters in the Potterverse. The game grows as you play, just like the books/movies, so your abilities and spells will grow the longer you play. 

What could be better

If you strip away the theme, some aspects still make it a fun game, but they could have added in more unique deck-building elements. 

Harry Potter: Death Eaters Rising

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 45-90 min
Ages: 11+

You Know Who has returned but all is not lost.

In Death Eaters Rising, players must build up their forces to fight Voldemort before he can regain his full strength.

What I really like about this game is the factions. Players will be able to choose from three different factions; Dumbledore’s Army, Hogwarts, and the Order of the Phoenix.

Each faction will be slightly better at certain things than the others and through the course of the game, players will recruit new members of that faction. You’ll see a lot of familiar faces from movie stills on the cards.

Death Eaters Rising uses a dice-based mechanic and is based on Thanos Rising. I really like the idea of building up your own team and banding together to fight Voldemort. 

It’s highly thematic and makes for a very fun cooperative experience. 

It does use a dice mechanic, so there is a bit of randomness built into the system but it’s not completely random. How you build your team and how you manage the Death Eaters’ influence across the locations is much more important than any single random dice roll.

 I highly recommend it, even if you are cursed by the dice gods. 

What we liked

The components and theme are excellent. There’s more to this game than meets the eye and you’ll have a ton of fun exploring the different strategies in the box. 

What could be better

There are a lot of dice involved, so there is an element of luck that can’t be ignored. This may upset those of us who have angered the dice gods.

Harry Potter Miniatures Adventure Game

Players: 2-6
Playing time: 30-90 min
Ages: 12+

The Harry Potter Miniatures Adventure Game had a bit of a rough start.

It was universally agreed that all of the models looked absolutely amazing and they really do. Unfortunately, with the first edition, that’s basically all the game had going for it. It had super pretty models that were difficult to make, bad-quality cardboard, and a confusing rulebook.

Luckily for us, the second edition addresses most of those problems. So now we have a really cool Harry Potter Miniatures game that is a much more cohesive product.

The models themselves still look absolutely amazing. One of the few downsides, however, is that they’re made of resin. They look very pretty but it’s going to be difficult for a beginner to put them together. They’ll require a lot of work but look awesome when done.

Seriously though, look at the detail on these models. 

What we liked

The miniatures are awesome-looking. You can easily put these in your display case and they would feel right at home. 

What could be better

The first edition of the game was lacking in gameplay but has since been fixed. It still requires you to put them together, which can be tricky for beginners. 

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle – Defence Against the Dark Arts

Players: 2
Playing time: 30-60 min
Ages: 11+

Not to be confused with the big box Hogwarts Battle in the #1 spot, the Defence Against the Dark Arts deck-building game is the little brother that always follows you around.

The Defence Against the Dark Arts game is completely standalone and not actually compatible with the other. That’s a little irritating from a marketing standpoint and makes the whole thing seem like a quick cash grab.

Despite my reservations, this annoyingly-named game is a lot of fun. It’s a quick little dueling deck-builder where players go head-to-head in a wizard duel. 

This one was a roller coaster for me. I went in thinking it was related to my much-loved Hogwarts Battle, then was disappointed that they just slapped the same name on it, and finally, pleasantly surprised at the amount of thematic flair and wiz biz.

Whoo, that’s a mouthful. 

What we liked

It’s fast-paced and fun. This one fills the role of a nice icebreaker game before getting into anything heavier for game night. 

What could be better

Bad marketing can confuse players. They have two games on the market named Defence Against the Dark arts and they have nothing to do with each other. This can be especially confusing if you’re trying to look up rules or order the game online.

Codenames: Harry Potter

Players: 2
Playing time: 15 min
Ages: 11+

If you’re a fan of Codenames, then this is an easy choice. It’s a reskinning of Codenames: Duet, not the original Codenames. So, the number of players will be limited.

Players race against a timer to attempt to uncover their “agents” on the board by using simple word clues. 

They do include a lot of cute little mission sheets where players can mark off achievements, which adds to replayability. It’s a great adaptation for Potter fans and is basically the same game as Codenames: Duet.

What we liked

Codenames is a great party game and the only real difference is the Harry Potter theme. You’ll love it if you’re a fan of the movies.

What could be better

The game works perfectly fine but since the tiles are image-based, you may run into some issues if you’re playing with super fans.

Munchkin: Harry Potter

Players: 3-6
Playing time: 60-120 min
Ages: 11+

Kick open the Chamber of Secrets and Avada khedavra your friends. It’s the same Munchkin you know and love… but with Harry Potter.

What I do like about random versions of Munchkin is that each one has a slightly different twist or new rule added to the classic game. 

Munchkin Harry Potter adds a ton of thematic flair and since Munchkin is such a versatile game, you can basically tailor-make a version of Munchkin for anything. Harry Potter just happens to fit rather well. 

What we liked

It’s the Munchkin that you all know and love/hate. If you’re a fan of Munchkin like we are, you’ll have just as much fun as we did with this set. 

What could be better

The artwork is ripped directly from the movie. It’s not a big issue for fans, but it always seems lazy to me when looking at a theme and the designers simply copy-and-pasted movie stills.

Fantastic Beasts: Perilous Pursuit 

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 45-60 min
Ages: 8+

When I first saw the name of this game I immediately thought it was a Harry potter-themed Trivial Pursuit.

 I was also dead wrong.

Fantastic Beasts: Perilous Pursuit is a very cute tie-in to the Fantastic Beasts movie. Players will work together as characters from the movie to track down all the lost beasts from Newt’s suitcase. 

The game is entirely dice-based and the dice are used to perform different actions. It’s fun, whimsical and exactly what you expect from a family-friendly Harry Potter game. It’s cooperative, so the players will be working together with no direct competition. 

The rules and actions are all relatively simple as well. This makes it easy for the younger crowd to jump into a game and have a fun and quick wizarding adventure.

What we liked

I liked that it was fast-paced, easy to learn, and family-friendly. It’s a great icebreaker game or game to play when you’re short on time. 

What could be better

Perilous Pursuits’ mechanics are simple and rely heavily on dice. It’ll satisfy your Harry Potter gaming itch, but not for very long.

Harry Potter: Spellcasters 

Players: 3-8
Playing time: 10-30 min
Ages: 8+

Spellcasters is a different kind of tabletop game that’s a weird mixture of Charades and a wizard duel.

Each turn, one player becomes the spellcaster. They get the magic wand (one of the coolest components in a game) and then wave the wand, recreating one of the spells on the cards.

It’s a quick, goofy party game that’s easy for anyone to pick up and play. You don’t even have to be a fan of the series to really enjoy the game. There’s not a lot of party games out there that appeal to a large audience that includes younger children.

It’s very similar to another game called Abra Kazam! They look pretty much identical except for the Harry Potter theme. Abra Kazam came out a year before Harry Potter, so I’m just assuming that it’s a reskin because I haven’t heard anyone crying foul or throwing around copyright infringement notices. 

What we liked

The wand-waving mechanics are perfect for a party game and great for players who aren’t into normal tabletop games. 

What could be better

At its core, it’s just Charades with a gimmick. That’s not necessarily bad, though. Charades has been a dinner party favorite for years for a reason.

Harry Potter Trading Card Game 

Players: 2
Playing time: 20 min
Ages: 9+

Harry Potter also had a short-lived collectible trading card game. It was still geared towards kids so it’s pretty easy to pick up and play. 

They are currently out of print but are still pretty easy to find around. You can easily still find a starter pack with a couple of boosters and that’s all you really need to play the game. 

I really like the artwork on the cards. It reminds me of the original book art which I really appreciate. There are only so many games I can have that are just filled with stills from the movies.

As far as gameplay goes, think of it as a lightweight version of Magic: the Gathering. Currently, it’s pretty easy to find and it’s still available but as time goes on, it’s going to be harder and harder to find copies.

What we liked

The artwork fits the style of the original books and is genuinely fun to look at. 

What could be better

It’s a collectible card game, which immediately alienates a majority of players. To top it off, it was short-lived which can make it difficult to find out-of-print cards.

Harry Potter: House Cup Competition

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 75 min
Ages: 11+

The House Cup has been a staple of the Harry Potter series since book one. Of course, if you were in anything other than Gryffindor, you were never gonna win. Now it’s time for all you Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins to fight back. 

 House Cup Competition is a solid gateway worker placement game, especially for fans of the series. Usually, when it comes to USAopoly games, they usually have a mass production or filler feeling. The House Cup Competition deviates from this and has some very cool components and fantastic production quality, especially the scorekeeper. 

What we liked

The components are all very high quality and it feels like a legitimate worker placer board game. Some Harry Potter-themed games feel like they just got spray painted with Harry Potter artwork, but this one feels like a fully thought-out game. 

What could be better

The movie still artwork detracts from the experience rather than adds to it. If they added the artwork into the game as they did in the Harry Potter: Trading Card Game it would be a knockout, in my opinion.

Harry Potter: A Year at Hogwarts 

Players: 1-8
Playing time: 20-45 min
Ages: 7+

A Year at Hogwarts distills down the entire Harry Potter series and world into one box. That’s a pretty impressive achievement considering everything that goes into the series.

Players will compete for the house cup by completing missions, classes and grades that they need to accomplish/attend, and there’s even a final hard mode where players will need to find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes before he can be revived.

I love the map in this game. It’s designed like the Marauder’s Map and the components fit extremely well with the theme. 

It hits bits and pieces of every aspect of Harry Potter. That being said, it’s a nice snippet of the entire world. It does a lot but never quite focuses on any one particular aspect. It’s a super fun game but I can sometimes feel that it tries to do too much.

What we liked

A Year at Hogwarts lets players relive the entire Harry Potter experience. It has absolutely everything from the books/movies, distilled into a very pretty board game. 

What could be better

Despite it being a great game, it suffers from the saying, “Jack of all trades, but master of none.” A year at Hogwarts does a lot. None of it is particularly bad, but none of it is particularly great either.

Golden Snitch: Snitch Snatcher – The Quidditch Game 

Players: 2
Ages: 7+

This is another weird Harry Potter mashup. It’s like chess but if your chest pieces were wizards. 

The game is a sports-based game but it’s based off Quidditch, every wizard’s favorite sport. Players will have to maneuver the iconic Quidditch positions, like chasers, beaters, seeker, and keeper around the board, based on the rules of Quidditch.

It’s super fun but there is a bit of randomness thrown into the mix. Each position will move in a different set way (much like Chess). Unlike Chess, you’ll have to roll dice to choose which piece can move. 

It’s a completely different feel from other Harry Potter games but hits an important thematic element that isn’t usually seen in games. Quidditch was such a huge part of the series and this is probably the best iteration I’ve seen. 

Golden Snitch: Snitch Snatcher

What we liked

Snitch Snatcher plays like a modified version of Chess with enough strategy and randomness thrown in to be entertaining. 

What could be better

Snitch Snatcher is basically devoid of a theme. You could change the name of all of the pieces and call it something else and it would still be the same game. It’s comparable to chess, but the randomness added only makes it fun for a short time.

Harry Potter: Catch the Golden Snitch Game

A little wizard weirdness…

So the last three games on this list are a little different. They’re definitely games but just a little different. Two are just for funsies and the last one is just weird. 

Harry Potter Tri-Wizard Tournament – Capture The Cup Game (or Maze Game)

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 30 min
Ages: 7+

Okay, so this is just a bit of nostalgia for me. I love the game Trouble. Everyone’s played some version of it or at least seen it around. I used to keep a set on the table and it was fun to just start popping the dice and playing as we waited for whatever was happening later.

It was like a coffee table book, but a coffee table game. It was always out and ready to play. The Tri-Wizard Tournament game is another version of that.

It’s Trouble, but with Harry Potter. I know it’s not the most hardcore game but there’s still room for a good old-fashioned game of Trouble. It’s one of my favorites to just play around with and although the Pop-O-Matic dice is 100% a gimmick, I still love it. 

Funkoverse Strategy Game 

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 20-60 min
Ages: 10+

Okay, so the Funko Pop board game isn’t necessarily a Harry Potter board game but it does have an expansion to add some iconic characters to the mix. 

If you’ve never started to collect Funko-Pops, consider yourself lucky. They’re iconic in their own right and are little vinyl figures/dolls shaped like pop culture figures. There’s a whole line of Harry Potter ones and even a board game.

The Funkoverse Strategy game is basically a duel between pop culture icons. Players can use the stock set that comes with the game or buy booster characters like Harry Potter or DC characters. 

They’ll then get a set of objectives and basically wail on each other until there’s a winner. It’s cutesy and fun, and not 100% a Harry Potter game. You can definitely throw them into the mix though. 

Harry Potter Whomping Willow Game 

Players: 1-4
Playing time: 10 min
Ages: 7+

Who remembers the scene with the Whomping Willow? Now, who remembers immediately afterward thinking, “That would make a fun game!”

I have no idea who would come up with this kind of madness, but I suppose that’s why I’m a muggle. 

A mechanical Whomping Willow flails about on the table while players each hold a hook, that’s shaped like the flying car with a wand shoved up its butt, and try to pull their stuff off the Whomping Willow. 

If you really want to be reminded how old we all are, you can take a look at the original commercial for it. I don’t remember things being this old…

Harry Potter: Magical Beasts Board Game

Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+

This definitely qualifies as a weird one. The game looks really cool and promises an awesome romp through the wizarding world where you wrangle up awesome creatures.

It’s really not. It’s basically a very poorly designed, Candy Land-esque Harry Potter game. You’ll roll the dice and move around the board. That’s the majority of the game and every so often you’ll pick up a card if you land on the right space. 

That’s the majority of the gameplay. I wanted to include this one because it does look really cool, but it’s actually so awful that I felt it would be a good public service announcement to let people know to steer clear. It’s a shame because the game looks like it could be really cool. 

Check out Perilous Pursuits if you’re looking for an awesome Harry Potter creature feature that’s family-friendly. 

Wrap-Up

Surprisingly enough, there seem to be more board games released after a series of books and movies ended. This is probably due to licensing issues since USAopoly bought the rights to distribute Harry Potter merchandise. 

On the one hand, it floods the market with board games and on the other, some of them are really good. Anything that puts more material for one of my favorite fandoms isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I just wish I saw more original artwork instead of movie stills. 

You may notice a distinct lack of certain games. There are, of course, the Clue, Monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit versions of Harry Potter, but I just assumed that everyone knew about those and where to find them. 

We hope you enjoyed our list of the best Harry Potter board games. What’s your favorite Harry Potter board game? Did yours not make the list? We’d love to hear from you so leave a comment below.