Sort the cards before you shuffle
Different decks have different jobs. Keep Starter, Acquire, Location, Library and Event cards separate. This inventory is for the base game described by the linked English rulebook; seller-specific extras need a separate check. [p.4]
| Deck or aid | Physical card count |
|---|---|
| Four House Starter decks | 28 total, seven per house |
| House Acquire deck | 42 |
| House Location deck | 21 |
| Dark Arts Starter deck | 7 |
| Dark Arts Acquire deck | 20 |
| Dark Arts Location deck | 4 |
| Library Book deck | 11 |
| Three Event decks | 15 total, five per colour |
| Player aids | 5 |
The gameplay decks total 148 cards; including the five aids gives 153. This is a count of physical cards, not unique names or artworks. [Calculated from p.4]
A board-piece check
Identify the main castle board, side board, four House boards, Dark Arts board and separate Room of Requirement piece. The box includes sixteen House pawns, seven Dark Arts pawns, six Shields, seven Hogwarts Tokens, four House Markers, three Progress Tokens, four D.A. Coins, eight Scrolls, one Dark Detector and one Dark Arts marker. Some pieces remain unused at lower player counts. [pp.4, 6–9]
How to read a gameplay card
Start with movement, then the operative effect and its conditions. A House card’s type links to the matching Hogwarts Token. A Dark Arts card’s colour indicates when its effect unlocks. A lightning-bolt symbol marks a reactive effect: check its trigger before using it outside the normal turn. Story text is separate from the operative rule. [pp.14–16, 21]
A Location card instead gives a destination, grid reference and map detail. Use those together to identify its area; do not guess from the illustration alone. [pp.14–15]
A–Z rules glossary
Acquire deck
The supply from which you gain additional cards, distinct from your personal draw deck. House Learn and Dark Arts bumping use different acquisition procedures. [pp.17, 20]
Advanced row
The face-up acquisition row with a different cost depending on how you access it: two discards through Learn, one through a Card Acquire bonus. See House turns. [pp.10–11, 17]
Book
A Library item needed for a Shield. Its effect resolves when taken; a House can hold one Book at a time. See reward ingredients. [p.11]
Bump
The Dark Arts-initiated encounter that sends a House pawn to the Great Hall and returns the attacker to reserve. It is not the House stun procedure. [p.20]
D.A. Coin
An access item obtained from the accessible Room of Requirement. A House can hold one, and only the appropriate Shield symbol accepts it. [pp.11, 19]
Dark Arts marker
The piece that tracks Dark Arts progress along its path. House Replenish and other specified triggers can advance it. [p.22]
Dark Detector
A Loyalty-linked access item required by Shields showing its symbol. Reaching the qualifying track position and priority matter. See Loyalty and the Detector. [pp.18–19]
Defence Shield
A House victory item obtained at its space by exchanging the required ingredients. A House wins with its second Shield. [pp.5, 11]
Draw deck
Your face-down personal cards. When it runs out, shuffle your discard pile to replenish it. It is not the Acquire supply. [p.12]
Event Space
A Dark Arts path space that calls for the event procedure using the current zone’s deck. A normal non-event destination does not trigger this procedure. [p.22]
Explore
A main action using a card’s permitted movement and/or effect. Both roles have Explore, but their movement restrictions and encounters differ. [pp.16, 20]
Hogwarts Token
A card-type token that can enable an additional Explore on a later turn. A House may hold only one and cannot spend it on the turn it was collected. [pp.11, 17]
House Marker
An item Dark Arts takes after bumping that house. Gathering every participating house’s Marker advances the path and returns the Markers. It is neither a pawn nor a Hogwarts Token. [p.20]
Learn
A House main action for gaining a card. Dark Arts does not take this action. The new card goes on top of the personal draw deck. [pp.17, 20–21]
Location card
A destination aid with a grid reference and map detail. House Location cards support Scroll collection; Dark Arts Location cards define its victory destination. [pp.14–15, 17, 22–23]
Loyalty track
The House progress track connected to the Dark Detector and opening the Room of Requirement. It uses each house’s fourth pawn. [pp.7, 18–19]
Parchment Scroll
An ingredient earned by simultaneously matching two House Location cards. The first and second Scroll claims have different replacement-card steps. [pp.12, 17]
Progress Token
One of three zone-linked items Dark Arts needs for victory. Possessing all three does not remove its location-and-pawn requirement. [pp.22–23]
Protected Area
A blue-shield area Dark Arts cannot enter or pass through. Walls and obstacles are different restrictions. [pp.10, 20]
Replenish
A main action with role-specific recovery and hand steps. It is not an automatic hand reset after every turn. [pp.17, 21]
Stunned
A sideways pawn that cannot be moved until its stun is reversed. See the separate House-initiated stun procedure. [p.16]
Need a symbol?
Use the official icon reference on printed page 24. The card anatomy spreads are pages 14–15. A complete card-by-card database is not established by these resources, so this guide does not invent missing card text or rank every spell.
Next
Setup tells you which pieces begin in play. House turns and Dark Arts explain how the decks interact during play.
Avoid these inventory mistakes
- Do not shuffle the Starter, Acquire, Location, Library and Event decks into one supply.
- The 153-card total includes five player aids. It is not a claim about 153 unique playable card effects.
- A full box inventory is not the setup count for every player count. Check the setup table before placing reserve pieces.