“Hogwarts House Cup Challenge,” designed by Andrew Parks and published by NECA, is a board game of adventure and exploration set in the Harry Potter universe. The game is for 2-4 players ages 9 and up.

Players can choose from the four main characters of the books: Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville. Each character has a list of stats — Knowledge, Skill and Honor —which determine how good they are at different tasks.

The goal is to win the House Cup for Gryffindor by completing challenges, and at the same time earn the most points for your character. At the end of the game, the player with the most personal glory points for their character wins.

Each turn players move their characters around the board, exploring different parts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The board is HUGE, and depicts most of Hogwarts and its surrounding grounds, including part of the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid’s shack. As they move through different locations, players must overcome challenges to gain glory, both for themselves and for Gryffindor.

Challenges are represented by a deck of Adventure Cards, with each deck representing a year at the school. Each card lists a challenge or supporting character. Cards are played on different locations and must be defeated by the characters using one or more of their stats. If a character doesn’t have the appropriate stats to defeat a challenge, they can suffer a failure, losing victory points or suffering a penalty on their actions.

The full game follows the students through the first five years of school (or the first five books). As the point total for House Gryffindor passes each point, a new year and a new deck of challenge cards is introduced into the mix.

Fortunately characters can grow in power and skill as they progress in years as well, making them more able to handle the challenges. If a particular task proves too much for one character, several can team up, combining their abilities to tackle the challenge.

The one complaint I have with Hogwarts House Cup is the mechanics of the game don’t quite fit with the theme.

You play four of the books’ main character, all of whom hail from Gryffindor. However, while you are trying to gain the cup for your house, you also are competing to gain the most personal glory, which seems very out of place in the “friendship defeats all” themes of the Harry Potter books. I think the game would have made more sense if each player represented one of the four houses instead.

As is, gaining the house cup for Gryffindor really just signals the end of the game, and there is little motivation to work with your “friends” to overcome challenges as you have to split the glory with them. Why not instead let your opponents get caught up in challenges they can’t handle while you just work around them? It is a frustrating little detail and design decision.

Still, despite those complaints, this is a good game with solid rules, a nice theme and tons of colorful bits that are well worth the price. Fans of the Harry Potter books will enjoy the characters and challenges which reference the series, while those not familiar with J.K. Rowling’s works won’t have any problem understanding the game and playing competitively.

The game retails for about $45, but you probably can find a better deal if you shop around a bit.

Contact Michael at merb101@gmail.com