- Designer: Ravensburger
- Publisher: Ravensburger
- Player Count: 2-6
- Playtime: Approximately 30 minutes
- Age Range: 8 and up
Overview
Hocus Pocus – The Game is a cooperative board game where players team up to defeat the Sanderson Sisters and save the children of Salem by successfully adding ingredients to the cauldron. The goal is to match all 5 ingredients of the same color or type to stun the witches. If players can stun the witches three times before sunrise, they win; otherwise, the witches claim victory!
What’s in the Box
- Cauldron
- Ingredient cards
- Witch board displaying the Sanderson Sisters and stun requirements
- Stun Token
- Sun Token
- 13 Spell Cards
- 4 Trick Tokens: Circle of Salt, Daylight Savings Time, Billy Butcherson, and Burning Rain of Death
- Binx mover
Setup
Place the cauldron in the center of the play area and shuffle the ingredient cards, placing them near the cauldron. Set up the witch board to show all three Sanderson Sisters and their stun requirements, along with the Sun Tracker.
Gameplay
Players are dealt a hand of ingredient cards: 4 cards for 2-3 players and 3 cards for 4 or more players. Although players cannot directly reveal their cards, they can ask one question per turn, such as “Do you have any green cards?” or “Do you have Eye of Newt?” to deduce what others may have.
Turns proceed in clockwise order, starting with the last person who lit a candle. On their turn, players may:
- Ask one question.
- Place one ingredient into the cauldron.
- Draw one ingredient from the deck.
Some ingredient cards feature symbols: Binx or a spell book. Playing a Binx card allows the player to choose another player to reveal all their cards to the table. If a spell book card is played, a spell card is drawn. If the spell stuns a witch, its effects are ignored; otherwise, players must follow the spell’s instructions.
Our Experience
Given the game’s rating for ages 8 and up, we anticipated mastering it quickly. However, we played twice and lost both times! The witches proved to be quite challenging.
The game’s design showcases impressive attention to detail, appealing to fans of the “Hocus Pocus” film. The box resembles a spell book, the cards are well-designed, and the Binx marker is adorable. I would definitely play this game again and recommend it to fans of “Hocus Pocus” and cooperative games.
Final Thoughts
Hocus Pocus – The Game offers a charming experience for cooperative gameplay. Its connections to the beloved film make it a must-try for fans. I do love the Binx meeple and thought the artwork was great, but I am unsure if we just weren’t the target audience. There seemed to be a lot of random chance to the gameplay that made it feel a little clunky. Overall, this was not a winner for our table.
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