Participants

Unlimited

Age Range

6 years old

Description

Party game of mystery and stealth.

Supplies

Assignment cards and badges equal to the number of guests.

Instructions

As guests arrive they receive an envelope containing an assignment card and a token. These are to be kept top secret! The assignment card designates the guest as either an Auror or a Death Eater. The tokens are Auror badges or DarkMarks accordingly. The goal of the game is for the Aurors to catch the Death Eaters and the Death Eaters to foil the Aurors' attempts.

Play goes like this:

- Guests secretly whisper the incantation "Accio badge" to another guest. That guest must then trade badges with the attacker, without being noticed.

- If another guest witnesses a switch in progress, they must say “Expelliarmus”, and the switch is foiled.

- Aurors are trying to stick the DEs with their darkmarks and DEs are trying to steal the Auror's badges. (so everyone is after the Auror badges, no one wants to be stuck with the darkmarks.)

- The game ends when the party host conjures the DarkMark by calling out “Morsmordre”

- All guests produce their assignment cards, and Aurors gather together and so do the Death Eaters. Whichever side has the most Auror badges is declared the winner. (Let's hope for the Aurors!)

Assignment cards can be hand printed or computer generated, decorated or simple, and should be of a size that is easily tucked away in a pocket. The rules can be printed on the card, or explained aloud to start the game.

Tokens should be made from something small and sturdy. I used bottle caps with a sticker inside. Poker chips, plastic milk jug lids, colored buttons, painted tokens, coins, or cardboard cutouts are all options. Note that paper doesn't hold up well to being handled so much in this game. Guests should be able to hold the badge discretely in their hands for extended times and slip quietly into pockets.

Its fun to watch the dynamics of the party guests! You can sometimes tell when someone has an Auror badge because they tend to siddle away from people who approach them, and someone holding a Darkmark might be antsy, looking for someone to attack. And all guests become like hawks, watching for switches in progress. Sometimes guests will reveal their associations to each other and begin to gang up. By the end of the night, most everyone has figured out which side each is on, and ambushes are taking place in hallways etc! Aurors must be Constantly vigilant! Requires a fun loving group.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.