Summary
👥 A game for 4 – 8 players
⏳ Play time is 15 – 30 minutes
🏢 Publisher is Czech Games Edition
Introduction
The corridors whisper secrets, magic fills the air, and every house is ready to face the challenge. In Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, you dive into an enchanting word game where teamwork, clever clues, and house pride make all the difference. Gather your team, choose your house, and be the first to uncover the hidden secrets of the world’s most famous wizarding school 🪄
Work together, give smart clues, and lead your house to victory. Who will be the first to unravel all the mysteries of Hogwarts? 🧙♂️✨ We’re ready to start playing!
Let’s get it on the table
In Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, 4 to 8 players step into the roles of first-year students at Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat has done its job, dividing everyone into two rival houses. Each house has a prefect who knows the secrets of the castle and must guide their team through the mysterious halls of Hogwarts.
Just like in classic Codenames, the prefect gives clues consisting of a single word and a number. This number indicates how many words on the grid are connected to that clue. The students then try to guess the correct words, revealing the cards one by one as they explore Hogwarts.
If they guess correctly, the team may continue guessing until they reach the stated number. But beware: revealing a card from the opposing house, a dead end, or a locked door immediately ends your turn. And if Argus Filch is uncovered, the game ends instantly and the rival house claims victory! 🪄
Back to Hogwarts is more than just Codenames
While the core gameplay feels familiar, Back to Hogwarts adds a magical twist. Each house has access to unique special abilities. In every game, each house chooses one of its two abilities, creating extra strategic depth and surprising combinations. As a result, no two games ever feel the same.
House Cup
Every victory earns points for your house. These points can be tracked across multiple play sessions using the Hourglasses, keeping the rivalry between Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin alive well beyond a single game.
Difficulty: 1.76/ 5
Re-playability: 9
Our score: 7,5 out of 10 dice
For Potter fans, this is the Codenames edition you simply have to own. If you are not a Harry Potter fan, feel free to skip this review and pick another game from the Codenames collection ;-).
Codenames: Back to Hogwarts perfectly blends the familiar feel of Codenames with the magic of the Wizarding World. Thanks to the unique house abilities, the competitive house vs house setup, and the House Cup that carries over across multiple games, the experience stays fresh and surprising. It is an ideal party game for larger groups, where teamwork, clever clues, and a touch of magic come together. That is exactly what makes this game hit the table time and time again 🪄
For the artwork, images from the movies have been used. This makes everything instantly recognizable, although not all images are always equally sharp or clear. Overall, this rarely causes issues during play. If you prefer to play with text only, that option is also available. Still, the most fun part is choosing one of the four houses you want to belong to and battling against one of the other three, for example Gryffindor vs Slytherin. Simply select the correct card, set up the grid, and you are ready to play.
The components look great and fully immerse you in the theme. After playing a few games, you can add the special abilities for each house, which brings even more challenge to an already fantastic game.
🙏 Thanks to Czech Games Edition for providing this review copy and for the opportunity to write about it.
