Hogwarts is under attack, and for once you get to decide whether that’s a bad thing.
That’s the pitch behind Defenders of Hogwarts, an officially licensed board game that ran its funding campaign on Kickstarter and let players pick a side in the war for the castle. Loyal student or Dark Forces recruit. Your call.
The campaign has closed. It raised over $1.2 million and went straight into production on the back of that.
The people behind it know the material
The developer is MinaLima, the graphic designers responsible for the look of the Harry Potter film universe. Here’s how they describe what’s coming:
“Hogwarts is under attack… Decide its fate in a spellbinding new board game from MinaLima, the graphic designers of the Harry Potter film universe. Lord Voldemort’s arrival at the castle is imminent. Prepare for what lies ahead by honing your spell-casting skills, exploring the storied grounds of Hogwarts, and laying the groundwork for a battle between good and evil.”
And then the part that actually matters: “But will you do so as a loyal Hogwarts student, or as a member of the Dark Forces, seeking to bring about a new era of darkness? The choice is yours.”
Why picking a side is the whole hook
Choosing your allegiance is the feature that could make this thing genuinely different from everything else wearing the Harry Potter label.
Yes, Hogwarts Legacy lets you throw around the dark arts as freely as you like. But that game is set in a completely different era, and dabbling in Unforgivable Curses is not the same as signing up with Voldemort. One is a moral wobble. The other is enlistment.
The franchise is having a moment
Harry Potter has been shoved back into public conversation over the past year or so, with a handful of notable projects on the way. The headline act is the HBO adaptation, which will tell the story of the books again, this time with considerably more detail than the movies managed.
There’s also a Hogwarts Legacy sequel in the works. The current plan ties it closely to that HBO show, though what that means in practice is anyone’s guess. It could end up a very different animal from the first release, which sold spectacularly well.
You can still get in
Missing the Kickstarter window isn’t fatal. Late pledges for Defenders of Hogwarts are open at several tiers.
Which gives you something to do with your hands while HBO takes its time.
