Even in a world of witchcraft, wizardry, magic duels and Quidditch, there’s no substitute for a good old-fashioned board game: in the Gryffindor Common Room of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley can often be found kicking back with a game of Wizard’s Chess. Not only can you get your very own Harry Potter Wizard’s Chess set, but there are all kinds of other Wizarding World-themed games, puzzles and toys out there to keep Potter fans of all ages amused for hours.
There are magical editions of firm board game favourites, including Trivial Pursuit and Lex-Go!, quick-fire card games like Top Trumps and Dobble, and jigsaws featuring all your favourite characters from Harry’s world – from Dumbledore and Hagrid to Malfoy and Voldemort. Or if you’re looking to build something, there are 3D puzzle kits and stunning LEGO sets to keep you entertained for hours, and give you something to display at the end of it all.
Read through our round-up of the best Harry Potter games and puzzles, ideal gifts for the witch, wizard, muggle, or squib in your life, or a perfect treat to yourself for some magic-based fun.
Harry Potter: The Forbidden Forest Experience
Of course the Harry Potter world is been made even more immense and has been richly brought to life at the Harry Potter Studios, and the latest adventure The Forbidden Forest Experience. If you're interested in treating the family this year to an exciting trip to soak up all the magical creatures of the wizarding world, tickets for the Forbidden Forest based at Arley Hall in Cheshire are available for the second year running.
What's The Best experienced the woodland walk along with other wizards, witches and muggles heading into the depths of the dark forest where we met a plethora of fantastic beasts and enjoyed some of the most iconic wizarding world moments. We took part in a wand battle and cast a spell to find our Patronus, before arriving at an enchanting Hogwarts-inspired Village that has roast dinners, fish and chips, sweets, and a blazing fire to roast marshmallows over. Tickets start from £34 for children and £46 for adults, with discounts available for family and group ticket bundles. The woodland walk lasts around 45-60mins, and is very muddy on a wet evening so dress appropriately. Food and drink are all sold separately so prepare to take extra cash!
The very best Harry Potter games and puzzles
1 of 13The Noble Collection Harry Potter Wizard Chess Set - Includes Chess Storage Bags
The pieces might not smash each other up, but otherwise this is an authentic Wizard Chess set all the pieces styled after those seen in The Philosopher's Stone. "Knight to H3!"
£43.96
2 of 13Hogwarts Express 3D Puzzle
Put together your very own Hogwarts Express model (with Platform 9 3/4 and the flying Ford Anglia) in this 180-piece 3D puzzle and keep it on display once it's built.
3 of 13Funkoverse Harry Potter Game
Play out a battle of good vs evil in either Diagon Alley or the Room Of Requirement, with a set of four Funko figures to set the scene: Harry, Hermione, Voldemort, and Bellatrix Lestrange.
4 of 13Harry Potter LEGO Diagon Alley
Up for a real challenge? This brand new LEGO set offers an epic build of one of the series' most iconic locations Diagon Alley. Consisting of over 5,500 pieces, it includes all kinds of famous shop faces, from Ollivander's Wand Shop and Quality Quidditch Supplies, to bookstore Flourish & Blotts, and the best of all - Fred and George's dazzling joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
5 of 13Harry Potter Dobble
What if Dobble had more, well, Dobby? The fun and frantic circular card game gets a Harry Potter makeover but remains as easy to pick up and difficult to win as ever.
6 of 13Harry Potter 1000 Piece Heroes And Villains Jigsaw
You can't go wrong with a good jigsaw puzzle and this Harry Potter set collects the series' most iconic heroes (Dumbledore! Dobby! Hagrid!) as well as the most hissable baddie Voldemort!
7 of 13LEGO Harry Potter 1-7 Collection Video Game
Potter-themed video games are disappointingly thin on the ground these days, but this remastered set includes both of LEGO's super-charming co-op-friendly adventure games, covering Harry's entire 7-year adventure. Play through the greatest scenes and locations from the films with that added dose of snappy LEGO humour.
8 of 13Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle Game
Team up with a Potter pal to play this co-operative deck-building card game. Step into the shows of Harry, Ron, Hermione or Neville to take on the evil forces intent on attacking Hogwarts. Each of Harry's years at Hogwarts gets its own new deck of cards, meaning you can play through each one in turn, and venture through the entire story, broadening the world and your abilities as you go.
9 of 13Harry Potter LEGO Hogwarts Great Hall
Made up of over 850 pieces, put together a LEGO set of Hogwarts' crown jewel the majestic Great Hall. Styled after events from The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber Of Secrets, mini figures include young Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Susan Bones, plus Dumbledore, McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, Hagrid, and Nearly Headless Nick. Oh, and you get a buildable Basilisk too.
10 of 13Harry Potter Ultimate Trivial Pursuit
Do you prefer your general knowledge games to be ones where it's general knowledge about the Wizarding World, rather than our own? This edition of Trivial Pursuit is for you to test your knowledge of all things Potter with over 1,800 questions about the series.
11 of 13Harry Potter Top Trumps – Collectors Tin
Not only does this set include two decks of Top Trumps cards one based on the Prisoner Of Azkaban, and the other on the Goblet Of Fire but they come housed in a lovely collectable tin, styled after a Gryffindor trunk.
12 of 13Harry Potter Lex-Go! Word Game
Put your Wizarding vocabulary to the test with this quick-thinking letter-tile game, with bonus added magic pieces and the possibility of instantly winning the round if you can spell out 'SNITCH'.
13 of 13Cards Against Muggles
Based on the popular adult game Cards Against Humanity, this version will bring out the Slytherin in you regardless of your house. This is a true test between those who loved the books and those who stuck to the films.