Calling all Harry Potter fans: this board game is for you! Death Eaters Rising takes the magic of the wizarding world and turns it into an intricate and fun board game for magic lovers everywhere. You’ll take on the difficulties that Harry, Ron, and Hermione faced in their fifth year at Hogwarts as you try to convince the world that the Dark Lord has indeed returned. Can you draw enough witches and wizards to your cause in time?
Elements of the Game
Death Eaters Rising comes with a large central board that you’ll use to set up cards for the ultimate battle. Players are witches and wizards tasked with the role of recruiting members from Dumbledore’s Army, Hogwarts, and the Order of the Phoenix in order to defeat Voldemort and his followers. On each turn, you’ll have to recruit new wizards to your cause, attack Death Eaters, and take down the evil Lord Voldemort once and for all.
One of the best parts of this board game is the giant Voldemort statue that sits in the middle of the board. You’ll direct Voldemort’s evil gaze towards whichever area is currently under attack, turning the wicked little figurine to face whichever unlucky players are chosen by the dice. Attacks are registered by little damage counters, while offensive spells have their own tokens that you can play.
Voldemort’s Attack
Each turn begins with a player traveling to one of three locations on the board: Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, and Diagon Alley. This is where the player will face off against the Death Eaters and focus their recruitment efforts. Once you’ve traveled to your location, you must roll the Voldemort die and endure whichever attack he has planned.
Voldemort’s attacks will target one of the three areas on the board. However, if you roll one of the sides that bears the Dark Mark, all wizards are under attack. While you cannot attack Voldemort directly until later in the game, you will have a chance to attack his precious Death Eaters in response.
Fighting Back
Death Eaters Rising involves plenty of dice rolling to guide you through your turn. Once Voldemort has finished his attack, you’ll roll the Wizard dice to determine whether or not you recruit wizards, attack Death Eaters, or earn special abilities. You’ll need to balance your offense and defense if you want to keep Voldemort and his followers from spreading their dark influence throughout the wizarding world.
Something that makes Death Eaters Rising particularly fun is its use of characters from the original books.You’ll have to recruit fan-favorite characters such as Ginny Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, and Severus Snape while avoiding the attacks of the devious Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy.
Taking out the Boss
Death Eaters Rising will continue until the Voldemort card gets drawn. This changes everything, as players can now attack Voldemort alongside his evil Death Eaters. In order to win the game, you’ll have to vanquish both Voldemort and a certain number of Death Eaters. However, you can lose if you either allow four places to be corrupted, allow one place to be completely corrupted by Death Eaters, or if too many of your wizards are defeated.
Relive the Magic with Death Eaters Rising
Death Eaters Rising is playable by 2-4 players, so it’s better suited towards small groups or one-on-one games. Playing time lasts around 45-90 minutes, so you should get a nice long game out of it without having to spend hours slogging through the mechanics. It’s also suitable for ages 11 and up, so younger players can easily enjoy playing the game with friends without needing adults.
Death Eaters Rising will certainly appeal to fans of Harry Potter, but this board game really can be fun for anyone. Parents who haven’t seen the movies or read the books can still have fun playing alongside their kids as they roll the dice, cast their spells, and try their best to survive. If you’re a fan of fantasy board games that aren’t too complicated, then Death Eaters Rising is the perfect game to get into.
Grab your wand, put your wizard hat on, and buy Death Eaters Rising today!
