Board Game Guide · Unofficial
Defenders of Hogwarts Rules & Setup Guide
Set up your first game, check each side’s turn, and resolve common rules questions with references to the official rulebook.
By Harry Potter House Quiz Editorial Team
Published · Updated · Rules checked
Quick Answer
For 2–5 players, ages 13+, with a listed playing time of 90 minutes.Rulebook pp. 2, 3 One Dark Arts Player faces 1–4 House Players.
The first House Player to collect two Defence Shields wins. Other House Players do not share that victory.Rulebook pp. 23
The Dark Arts Player wins by holding all three Dark Arts Progress Tokens and having the required three, two or one pawns at their Dark Arts Player Location at the same time. The requirement depends on the Event Space where they took the Location Card.Rulebook pp. 23 See all victory and endgame conditions.
What Is Defenders of Hogwarts?
This page is a guide to the physical board game by MinaLima. It brings together setup, turn choices and rules to check at the table. Keep the official rulebook nearby for card interactions and full details.
One player must take the Dark Arts role. Each other player chooses a different Hogwarts house. For a first game, give the Dark Arts role to the player most familiar with the rules.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
Setup by Player Count
Give the Dark Arts Player two more pawns than the total number of players: four to seven pawns. Put four on the Deployment Spaces and keep the rest in reserve.Rulebook pp. 6
| Total | House | Dark Arts | Pawns | On board | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
- One player must take the Dark Arts role. Each other player chooses a different Hogwarts house. For a first game, give the Dark Arts role to the player most familiar with the rules.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
- Place the Main Board in the centre. Shuffle the Defence Shields and put one face-up on each shield space; put all seven Hogwarts Tokens on their marked spaces. Each House places three pawns in the Great Hall. Keep the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins nearby.Rulebook pp. 6
- Place the Side Board above the Main Board. Shuffle the Library Book Deck and reveal two books. Shuffle the House Acquire Deck and deal two cards to each of the Acquire and Advanced Acquire rows. Put the Dark Arts Marker on the first path space, the three Progress Tokens on their spaces, and the Dark Detector and Scrolls on their spaces. Put each House’s fourth pawn at the start of the Loyalty Track. Shuffle the two Location Decks separately and place them on their spaces.Rulebook pp. 7
- Shuffle each player’s Starter Deck on their own board. Each House keeps its House Marker and draws three House Location Cards. The Dark Arts Player also shuffles their Acquire Deck, keeps reserve pawns nearby, and shuffles the white, orange and red Event Decks separately. Everyone draws five Starter Cards. Return unused house components to the box.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
- The House Player to the left of the Dark Arts Player takes the first turn. Continue clockwise.Rulebook pp. 10
Defenders of Hogwarts: Two-Player Setup
Yes—choose 1 House Player and 1 Dark Arts Player. Give the Dark Arts Player 4 pawns: all 4 start on the Deployment Spaces, with 0 in reserve.
Use the same board, deck and starting-hand setup above. Count House Players separately from total players when checking the official setup instructions.
How to Play
The House Player to the left of the Dark Arts Player takes the first turn. Continue clockwise.Rulebook pp. 10
House Player turn
Choose one: Explore / Learn / Replenish.
- Explore: play a card and resolve its movement and/or effect in either order. Finish that card before playing another through a card effect. Resolve any Bonus Space you activate.Rulebook pp. 16
- Learn: you need a pawn outside the Protected Areas. Discard one card to acquire a face-up Acquire Row card or the top Acquire Deck card; alternatively, discard two for an Advanced Acquire Row card and advance on the Loyalty Track. Put the acquired card face-down on top of your Draw Deck and refill the row.Rulebook pp. 17
- Replenish: optionally discard cards, draw until you have five, stand up your stunned pawns, then advance the Dark Arts Marker one space and resolve the resulting event, if any.Rulebook pp. 17; Rulebook pp. 22
- Free actions: return a Hogwarts Token gained on an earlier turn to take an extra Explore action with a matching card type; or claim a Parchment Scroll by revealing two Location Cards with your pawns in the indicated areas. Return those cards to the bottom of their deck. After your first Scroll draw two replacement locations; after your second, return the remaining location card and draw no more.Rulebook pp. 17
Dark Arts Player turn
Choose one: Explore / Replenish.
- Explore: play a card and resolve its movement and/or unlocked effect in either order. Bringing a reserve pawn onto an unoccupied Deployment Space costs one movement point. A Deployment Space with a Dark Arts Pawn, even a stunned one, is occupied.Rulebook pp. 20, 21
- Replenish: first stand up your stunned pawns, then draw until you have five cards. You cannot discard cards as part of this action. This action itself does not advance the Dark Arts Marker.Rulebook pp. 20, 21; Rulebook pp. 22
- When a Dark Arts Pawn ends its move on a House Pawn, choose one House Pawn if several are present. Return that House Pawn to the Great Hall and the Dark Arts Pawn to reserve. Take that House’s Marker if you do not already hold it. Holding every House Marker advances the path one space and returns the markers to their owners. Finally, draw two Dark Arts Acquire Cards, put one on top of your Draw Deck and the other at the bottom of the Acquire Deck; this acquisition happens only once per turn, even after multiple bumps.Rulebook pp. 20
End your turn
After resolving your main action and its consequences, discard the cards you played and pass play to the player on your left.Rulebook pp. 17; Rulebook pp. 21
Dark Arts Path
When the marker moves
Advance the Dark Arts Marker one space when a House Player Replenishes, when an event instructs you to, or when the Dark Arts Player collects every House Marker. Landing on an ordinary path space has no event to resolve.Rulebook pp. 22
Resolve events in order
On an Event Space, draw the top Event Card matching that space’s colour. House Players resolve their part first, if possible. The Dark Arts Player then chooses their event effect or that zone’s Progress Token if still available. They must take a zone’s Progress Token before entering the next zone. Discard the resolved Event Card; after leaving a zone, its Event Deck is no longer used.Rulebook pp. 22
Unlock card colours
White card effects are available from the start. Orange effects unlock at the first orange path space; red effects unlock at the first red space. Previously unlocked effects stay available.Rulebook pp. 21
Take the Location Card
Taking the final Progress Token at the first red Event Space gives you a Location Card with a three-pawn win requirement. Waiting until the next red Event Space reduces that requirement to two. At the last path space you must take the Location Card if you have not already, with a one-pawn requirement. Use the requirement set when you take the card; later movement does not automatically reduce it.Rulebook pp. 22, 23
How the Game Ends
House Player victory
The first House Player to collect two Defence Shields wins. Other House Players do not share that victory.Rulebook pp. 23
Dark Arts Player victory
The Dark Arts Player wins by holding all three Dark Arts Progress Tokens and having the required three, two or one pawns at their Dark Arts Player Location at the same time. The requirement depends on the Event Space where they took the Location Card.Rulebook pp. 23
Draw
After the Dark Arts Marker reaches the final space, the game ends in a draw if all players run out of cards before anyone fulfils their victory condition.Rulebook pp. 22, 23
The final hand
When the marker reaches the last space, all players draw up to five cards and cannot Replenish again. Continue playing until someone wins or the draw condition is met. Card effects and draw spaces remain exceptions to this restriction.Rulebook pp. 22
Reaching the final space starts the final-hand procedure; it does not itself award victory or immediately end the game in a draw.
First-Game Checklist
- One player must take the Dark Arts role. Each other player chooses a different Hogwarts house. For a first game, give the Dark Arts role to the player most familiar with the rules.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
- Give the Dark Arts Player two more pawns than the total number of players: four to seven pawns. Put four on the Deployment Spaces and keep the rest in reserve.Rulebook pp. 6
- To claim a Defence Shield, a House Pawn must be on a Defence Shield Space and trade in a Library Book, a Parchment Scroll, and either a D.A. Coin or the Dark Detector, as pictured on that shield. Simply collecting the items is not enough.Rulebook pp. 11; Rulebook pp. 23
- Replenish: optionally discard cards, draw until you have five, stand up your stunned pawns, then advance the Dark Arts Marker one space and resolve the resulting event, if any.Rulebook pp. 17; Rulebook pp. 22
- Replenish: first stand up your stunned pawns, then draw until you have five cards. You cannot discard cards as part of this action. This action itself does not advance the Dark Arts Marker.Rulebook pp. 20, 21; Rulebook pp. 22
- Dark Arts Pawns cannot enter or pass through any of the four Protected Area spaces.Rulebook pp. 10; Rulebook pp. 20
- A card effect overrides a conflicting general rule. Effects are optional unless the card says they must be resolved.Rulebook pp. 16
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need?
For 2–5 players, ages 13+, with a listed playing time of 90 minutes.Rulebook pp. 2, 3 One player must take the Dark Arts role. Each other player chooses a different Hogwarts house. For a first game, give the Dark Arts role to the player most familiar with the rules.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
Can you play with two players?
Yes—choose 1 House Player and 1 Dark Arts Player. Give the Dark Arts Player 4 pawns: all 4 start on the Deployment Spaces, with 0 in reserve.
Can everyone play a House?
One player must take the Dark Arts role. Each other player chooses a different Hogwarts house. For a first game, give the Dark Arts role to the player most familiar with the rules.Rulebook pp. 8, 9
Do House Players win together?
The first House Player to collect two Defence Shields wins. Other House Players do not share that victory.Rulebook pp. 23
How long does a game take?
For 2–5 players, ages 13+, with a listed playing time of 90 minutes.Rulebook pp. 2, 3
Official Resources
The source links below lead to the publisher’s rules, tutorial and product information.
Where to get the game
Visit the official MinaLima product page for purchase information.
About this guide
Written by Harry Potter House Quiz Editorial Team. Rules checked on 2026-10-15 against the official 17-page PDF. Source links show printed page numbers and open the corresponding PDF viewer page.
This is an unofficial fan guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by MinaLima or Warner Bros. Harry Potter names and characters belong to their respective owners. We have not playtested the game; this guide summarizes its published rules.
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