My daughter has been an avid Harry Potter fan since book one came out. She has read all four that are currently out and is anxiously awaiting book five. I have jumped on her bandwagon and have just finished the third book and am embarking on the task of reading the fourth. So, I think it's safe to say that Harry Potter has become a part of our lives.

Last Christmas when I was searching for the perfect gift for my girl, I decided to go ahead and look into Harry Potter related stuff. She was into it, so why not? One of my purchases was the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Trivia Game.

CONTENTS OF THE GAME

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Trivia Game is super cool. It is set up sort of like an edition of Trivial Pursuit and plays by somewhat similar rules.

The game consists of a game board which features famous Harry Potter and Hogwarts names and places including each of the four houses, the hospital wing, the dungeon, the Forbidden Forest, and the dreaded Trophy Room. The spaces on the game board are marked with magical symbols which must be interpreted using one of the many sets of cards included with the game.

The game pieces are represented by wizards' hats in typical magical colors of black, white, grey, bronze, gold, and silver. The single die is non-typical for board games. It is black with gold print and the numbers appearing include only 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 11. I suppose these are magical numbers.

Also included with the game are six different sets of cards, each with a different purpose:

The first small set is only four cards with the exterior being a picture of the sorting hat. The reverse side of these cards shows a picture of the house coat of arms, one card for each of the four houses (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin).

The second set of cards consists of eight cards, two of each of the four houses. These are just guideline cards, helping the players to understand the symbols on the game board. These cards explain the various magical symbols used on the board. The categories, as represented here and on the game board include magic, magical creatures, wizards, places and muggles.

The largest set of cards is held in a small cardboard box. Inside one will find 168 separate question cards. Each card contains five separate questions, one in each of the five different categories, for a total of 840 individual questions. The answers are printed on the reverse of each card.

The final three sets of cards contain 50 each of charms, spells, and curses. Each of these types of cards comes into play during the course of the game.

Charms cards show ten different magic-related paraphernalia including a trunk, a cauldron, a Nimbus 2000 (broom), an hourglass, potion bottles, a wand, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, school books, wizard money, and an owl.

Spell cards are sort of helpers throughout the game. When you choose a spell card, you hold onto it during the game and only show it to others if it becomes necessary to use it. Spell cards offer useful protection, such as preventing you from going to detention in the trophy room or the dungeon, or offering protection against a spell cast by another player, or by offering you the chance to take a charm card from another player.

Curse cards are the bad bunch. These types of cards are usually negative, forcing you to go to the dungeon or the forest, or to surrender one of your charms cards to another player.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Game play is relatively simple considering the complexity of the game and the game pieces! Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Trivia Game is suggested for ages 8 and up, and for 2 to 6 players or teams. Each player or team first selects a wizard hat to represent them on the game board. The sorting hat cards are shuffled and handed out. Each player or team is thus put into one of the four Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin).

All game pieces (wizard hats) begin at the center of the game board. As the game begins, the player rolls the die and may move in any direction to the outside of the game circle. Once on the outside, players must move in a clockwise direction though. The game piece will land on a square which will show some sort of magical symbol. These symbols correspond to the question cards... thunderbolt for magic, an animal for magical creatures, a hat for wizards, a castle for places, or a person for muggles (also known as non-magic folk).

If the player lands on one of these magical symbols, the other players will select a question card and read the appropriate question to the player. The player has the option of guessing the answer outright or asking for multiple choice. If the player gets the question right without help, he can choose two charms cards for his collection. If he gets the answer right with the help of multiple choice, he gets one charms card. If he gets the answer wrong, he gets a curse card.

One other symbol can be found on the game squares as well. This one is a wand. If a player lands on a wand symbol, he gets to choose a spell card for his collection.

Play continues with the rolling of the die and movement around the board, as well as through the play of curse and spell cards. Special instructions printed on these particular cards must be followed. Instructions on the board must be followed as well, including having to roll either odd numbers to get out of the Forbidden Forest and even numbers to get out of the Hospital Wing. Special rolls are also required to get out of the dungeon and the trophy room, unless you have a spell card that gets you out of it sooner!

Players work to answer questions correctly in order to accumulate charms cards. Once seven different charms cards have been collected, the player may then proceed back to his house (as determined by the house cards handed out at the beginning of the game). Once there, he must answer a question of the other players' choice in order to win the game.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Trivia Game is FUN! While the directions may seem complicated, once into game play, this game is no more complicated than Trivial Pursuit, and probably less complicated than Monopoly.

One thing to keep in mind is that this game is most definitely only for those who have read at least the first book in the Harry Potter series. All of the trivia questions are based on the first book only, so if you've read that one, you can probably answer at least some of the questions. Without having read the first book, there is no way anyone could succeed with this game! The questions are VERY specific and common sense can't even help if the book has not been read.

Sample question 1: En route to rescuing the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry and Hermione enter a chamber that contains several potion bottles. How many bottles are there?

Sample question 2: Who uses the incantation "Wingardium Leviosa" to immobilize the troll in the girls' bathroom?

If you haven't read the book, even the multiple choice options aren't going to help much!

Due to the specificity of the questions, this game can be an excellent educational tool for promoting reading skills. Details, details, details are needed so reading for comprehension can be tested with these very detailed questions.

My daughter has played Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Trivia Game with me as well as with her friends. A good time was had by all. This is a terrific game for all Harry Potter fans. I've seen this game priced anywhere from $16.99 to $24.99 and it is well worth the price. It will cast a tickle spell on all HP devotees for sure. A magical time will be had by all. Buy it!



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older