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Choose exactly one Dark Arts player. Everyone else chooses a different Hogwarts house. Before dealing, count total players: this changes the Dark Arts supply. [pp.6–9]
Player-count check
| Total players | House players | Dark Arts pawns | Initially deployed | Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
These are total supplies, not extra pieces to add to the starting four. [p.6]
Prepare the shared boards
- Put the castle board in the centre. Randomize the six Shields across their marked spaces, face up. Place each Hogwarts Token at its matching location.
- Occupy the four Dark Arts deployment locations with one pawn each; keep the remainder in reserve. Each chosen house starts three pawns in the Great Hall.
- Leave the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins beside the board until the room becomes accessible.
- On the side board, shuffle the Library deck and reveal two Books. Shuffle the House Acquire deck and reveal two cards for each acquisition row.
- Put the Dark Arts marker at its starting space and the three Progress Tokens at their printed positions. Place the Dark Detector and Scroll supply in their marked areas.
- Each house’s fourth pawn starts on the Loyalty track. Shuffle the two different Location decks separately. [pp.6–7]
Prepare player areas
Dark Arts: use the Dark Arts board and keep its Starter and Acquire decks separate. Divide Event cards by colour, then shuffle each colour independently. Draw five cards from the Starter deck.
Each house: use its matching board, Starter deck and House Marker. Deal three House Location cards and five Starter cards. Return unused houses to the box. [pp.8–9]
Before the first turn
The House player immediately to Dark Arts’ left begins. Continue clockwise. Read your role’s objective before you move. For a learning game, the publisher recommends giving Dark Arts to the person most familiar with the rules. [pp.8, 10]
Avoid these setup mistakes
- A two-player game still needs a Dark Arts player.
- A house’s fourth pawn is the Loyalty tracker; it does not begin in the Great Hall.
- The Room of Requirement is not open at setup.
- A seven-card Starter deck does not mean a seven-card starting hand.
Next
Continue to House turns, Dark Arts turns, or the winning checklist. Keep the publisher’s setup illustration open for exact board positions.
Official illustrated setup: English rulebook, pp.6–9.