A new tabletop deck-building card game brings the "Harry Potter's" seven-year storyline into player action. Players act as the main characters from the novels. Their adventures in Hogwarts -- along with their battles against known foes -- are all included in the involving action of the new card game.
Many might think that this is the "Harry Potter" franchise's way of absorbing more cash from its fans. According to Ars Technica, this is not the case as it is an enjoyable game. Ars Cardboard column reviewer Nate Anderson said that while playing with his daughter -- a huge "Harry Potter" fan -- he himself enjoyed the game and appreciated its efforts to help children understand the concepts of deck-building, power combos and other technical aspects of most tabletop card games.
Anderson said the game begins with different levels divided into the franchise's "Years." One can say "Year 1" was the day Harry first got into Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione -- the main story characters. During this chapter, deck-building and other concepts are introduced along with simple combat against certain characters. As the years progress, Anderson said players can see characters "grow" like in the novels and movie and see the storyline progress with players being responsible for it.
The "Harry Potter" universe may also need another card game for its successful "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." Set years before the actual timeline of signature characters and having different but charming stars, the new movie series could do well with cards -- given it involves monsters, wizards and witches. The successful movie is believed to be a jump from the "Harry Potter" childhood adventure stories into "adulthood" that shows more forces are in control beyond the characters.
But the new movie series falls short somehow. According to The Verge, "Harry Potter" writer JK Rowling had to "bend it all around the narrative needs of one 'Chosen One' stereotype" that made the "Potterverse [depend on] one hero, his friends and a useless backdrop of frightened bystanders and fumbling, impotent bureaucrats."
