Description
Hogwarts is opening its doors again, and the older students have to show the first-years all the secrets of the castle. In Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, you split into two houses. Each house has a prefect who sees the secret key card and knows which cards on the table belong to their house. Everyone else is a first-year who has to find those cards.
How to play Codenames: Back to Hogwarts
Lay out 24 cards with words or pictures from the wizarding world. On their turn, the prefect gives one clue: a single word and a number saying how many cards are connected to the clue. The first-years discuss and touch a card. If it is theirs, they can keep guessing; if it belongs to the other house or is a locked door, their turn ends.
The house that finds all its cards first wins. Whoever reveals the caretaker Argus Filch loses immediately.
Why you will like it
- Every card has a word on one side and a picture on the other, so you can play in two ways.
- Once you have mastered the rules, each of the four houses gets its own two special abilities.
- You track wins in the hourglasses on the stand and compete for the House Cup over several games.
- A good clue links several cards at once, so every clue is a little puzzle.
Who is Codenames: Back to Hogwarts for
The game is for 4 to 8 players aged 10 and up and takes 15 to 30 minutes. It is easy to learn, and players like it best with four. It will delight Harry Potter fans most of all, along with everyone who already knows Codenames.
What you might not like
The game needs at least four players and some familiarity with the world of Harry Potter, so it may not suit smaller groups or those who don't know these stories.
What's in the box
- 198 cards with words and pictures
- 72 key cards and a stand
- 36 house tiles (9 in each colour), 6 locked door tiles and the Argus Filch tile
- Sorting Hat token
- 4 house ability cards, 8 Herbology cards and ability tokens
- hourglass stand, 36 hourglass tokens and 4 double-sided house banners
- rules
