How does the game work?
Defenders of Hogwarts is a 2–5 player physical board game. One player controls Dark Arts; the others choose Hogwarts Houses. House players choose Explore, Learn or Replenish and work toward two Defence Shields. Dark Arts collects three Progress Tokens and gathers the required pawns at an assigned location.
Learning for the first time? Follow the three steps below. Already playing? Jump straight to the rule you need.
Before your first game
Use this preparation checklist alongside the publisher’s setup diagrams; it is not a replacement board layout.
Open the official setup diagrams ↗The House Player turn
Choose one main action: Explore, Learn or Replenish. Eligible free actions are additional.
Eligible free actions are additional. These are alternatives, not three consecutive steps.
Explore
Play a card; resolve its movement and/or effect.
Learn
With a pawn outside protected areas, discard one card for a normal acquisition, or two for an advanced card and Loyalty progress. Put the acquired card atop your draw deck.
Replenish
See the ordered steps below.
Replenish: the important trade-off
Draw to five.
stunned pawns.
Marker one space.
The refill helps you, but also advances Dark Arts.
Dark Arts Replenish instead revives pawns, then draws to five; no optional discard.
House rules · p.17 ↗Dark Arts rules · p.21 ↗How to win
* Dark Detector or D.A. Coin, as shown on that space’s shield. Repeat to collect two shields; check the full endgame rules.
Collect two Defence Shields.
Each requires a Library Book, Parchment Scroll, and the depicted Dark Detector or D.A. Coin.
Complete both objectives.
Secure all three Progress Tokens and reach the specified location with the required pawns.
Check full endgame and D.A. conditions before declaring a winner.
Complete endgame rules · p.23 ↗Watch the video
The written guide and diagrams are based on the official rulebook. They are not a transcript or a verified summary of this video.
Find the exact rule
Printed page numbers differ from the PDF viewer’s page counter. These links open the relevant spread.