It's that time of year again, the owls have landed and every wizarding family is heading to Diagon Alley for this year's school supplies. But why is every shoppe's stock spilled out on the cobbled streets? Sounds like someone has been up to some mischief! Get your die ready and roll away to help organise your unique shoppe's stock before the competition in Mischief in Diagon Alley from The Op.
In this Harry Potter 'Wizarding World' game, 3-5 Players will take their game board of well known and loved shoppes such as Ollivanders Wands, Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes and Flourish and Blotts Bookshop, as well as three different dice to roll. Each die will tell the player the item that must be moved, the direction from where or to where it will go, and the number of items.
Players will roll simultaneously in a real-time free for all to attempt to move all the items their shop stocks onto their player board and discard unwanted items to their opponents. The first player to have only their desired items on their board claims 'mischief managed' and wins a galleons worth of points. The game runs over subsequent rounds until a player reaches 11 galleons to win the game.
The adorable Chibiesque box art by gives the golden trio a fresh look, perfect for enticing a new generation to the beloved Harry Potter setting. However, the artwork is as far as the theme stretches: with little influence on the gameplay, you could just as easily be playing 'Mischief in the Dino Park' or 'Mischief on the Death Star'. The dice could have been a larger size, as the frenzied game play makes their size a hinderance especially for younger players, and, again with younger players in mind, some instructions could be worded clearer. On the plus side, the pieces are sturdy and have a pleasing weight to throw at your opponents' boards. Tho' Mischief in Diagon Alley holds little challenge for more advanced players, it offers good opportunities for a younger audience to reinforce their counting and strategic thinking. And the chaotic nature of the free-for-all real-time gameplay ensures lighthearted laughs for players of all ages; making this a good entry level or icebreaker game. One for the Christmas list perhaps...
(Review by Claire Woodward)