Harry Potter — Trading Card Game
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Ages 9 and Up

What It Is

The "Harry Potter Trading Card Game" invites you and other "wizards" to a duel. The object of the game is to make your opponent’s cards "disappear" by summoning creatures, using magic potions and casting spells. Sound hard? Not so. This game is easy to learn, yet challenging to master. The basic game includes a Two-Player Starter Set, complete with two 41-card decks, one play mat, one rule book and twelve "damage" counters. The decks of cards each come with a premium Wizard or Witch card that identify each player and have special powers of their own.

Why It’s Fun

This is the most story-based of all the Harry Potter games coming out this year. Early play tests with kids indicated a real enthusiasm for the game. We’ve found that in their play, kids want to go as deeply into the imaginative Harry Potter experience as they can and this game really allows them to feel as though they’re students at Hogwarts facing some of the same adventures and–most importantly–solving many of the same problems. This is a highly intelligent and engaging game.

Different levels of play, collecting the cards, as well as the competition involved in attempting to beat your opponent are all factors that make this game fun. After playing a couple of games with the Starter Set, however, it’s likely that players will want to get the "Boosters." Each Booster is a pack of eleven cards that advances the level of play with more difficult spells and creatures. As with Magic: The Gathering, the game that put Wizards of the Coast on the map, building the deck is part of the entire strategy, and the greater variety of cards that players have, the more complex the game play can become.

Who’s Going To Love It

The game is graded for kids nine and up, and that seems to be about right, though the older the kids the more they were able to get into the various elements of the game. Younger kids, of course, will love collecting the cards.

In fact, don’t be surprised if collecting the cards becomes a popular pastime as well.

What To Be Aware Of

Collectible card games appeal to children in many different ways. There generally are the serious players who get into the game and will spend hours creating their decks and plotting strategy before having a competition. There are those who get involved casually and those who simply collect the cards.

One of the great things about games of this nature is that kids can have the experience for not a lot of money because the play happens mostly in the child’s imagination and in the interaction among players.

Kids who look for what we like to describe as "authentic play experiences," meaning that they feel entertained, enriched and rewarded for their time, tend to gravitate to games like this and become long-term fans. (Witness the number of kids who still play the Pokémon card game and the legions of Magic: The Gathering fans.)