Looking for a New Party Game? “Top Trumps” Trumps All!
I personally am not usually a huge fan of board or card games, unless it involves Harry Potter somehow. I’ve played Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit so many times I practically have all the cards memorized. That’s why I was so excited for the opportunity to review a new Potter-themed game.
I gathered a group of the biggest Potter nerds in my town, and we headed to a local bar for its weekly game night. (What do you get when you bring two Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw, and two Slytherins together? A great time!)
Top Trumps is a card game that you may not have heard of, but it has actually been around for 35 years! Each pack of cards has a theme, and in each deck, there is a character from that theme with a list of individual strength levels.
The dealer deals out every card in the deck, and each player can only look at one card at a time. Then, the player to the dealer’s left picks a category on their card. (It doesn’t have to be the one with the highest number, so make sure to read the instructions… more than once. I *totally* did.)
Here I am “expertly” explaining the rules.
After that person calls out their character, category, and level, everyone goes around the circle naming theirs. Whoever has the highest number in that category wins and gets to take everyone’s cards. The goal of the game is to be the one with all the cards in the end.
The great thing about this game is, you don’t absolutely have to have an obscene amount of, or really any, Potter knowledge to have fun with it. Having a little extra knowledge may come in handy, though, if your group is like mine and wants to debate the level of strengths for certain characters.
It’s worth noting that if you purchase more than one deck, the strength levels change on the different themes. For instance, Harry’s magic level will be higher on a Deathly Hallows deck than it is on the Prizoner of Azkaban deck, so it’s best not to mix the decks in order to keep the game fair.
One card that always won over the others was none other than Minerva McGonagall, and rightfully so! Anytime someone had the Hogwarts Headmistress in their hand, they took the round.
Honestly, in the beginning, I wasn’t sure how to make a long, entertaining game out of this. Boy, was I wrong. This game is simple enough to grasp right away but not too simple to be bored of in ten minutes. Our game lasted a solid 1 1/2 hours! In that time, there was a lot of yelling and many laughs. Things really heated up when it came down to the last two players. Our resident Ravenclaw ended up taking the win home, in true Ravenclaw fashion. Hufflepuff took the silver medal.
If you’re looking for a party game for all ages that everyone can enjoy. Top Trumps Harry Potter edition is for you. It’s the perfect combination of fandom and fun. What are you waiting for? Head over to their website and buy some packs for yourself!