THE BLACK FLAME CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT.

NOW THE SANDERSON WITCHES YOU MUST OUTWIT;

OR WITH A WRETCHED EVIL POTION,

A FOUL SPELL THEY’LL SET IN MOTION.

STUN THE WITCHES AND RUIN THE BREW

BEFORE THE SUN CAN RISE ANEW!

Last year we FINALLY introduced our girls to my favorite Halloween movie (it is a short list) Hocus Pocus. They loved it and thanks to Disney+ we’ve pretty much watched the movie all year.

When Ravensburger said they had a Hocus Pocus game they would like for us to review I knew this was another game for me and my family. The game was designed by Prospero Hall, and the I have to say I really enjoy playing this game.

I like that all of the players are on the same team, and we are trying to stop the Sanderson sister from running amok, amok, amok, amok in Salem. If they complete their potion all of the children are doomed!

The game comes in fantastic packaging that looks great on your board game shelf. It is designed to look reminiscent of a particular book. The art on the box should clue you in to how fun the artwork on the game will be.

When the book… I mean box is opened you will find a Cauldron board, 50 Ingredients cards, Witch board, 13 Spell cards, Sun token, 4 Trick tokens, Binx mover, and the Rulebook.

Whenever we play the girls want me to read the poem on the back of the box in my spooky voice to set the scene. The rule book may seem a little intimidating when you first flip through it, but after one play thru we felt like we had understood everything pretty well. Everything in this game is top quality.

The game play is simple, but to win you will have to work together to devise a plan of attack without talking. The Sanderson witches have placed a spell, and your group can only ask a single yes or no question on each turn. So you better make it count.

Thankfully, the heroic Thackeray Binx is there to help. When certain Ingredient cards are played on the Cauldron board the person who played the card can lay their hand face up on the table, maybe revealing a strategy that can be used to stop the witches.

The witches have come to the epic battle prepared with spells to try and steal your Ingredient cards. Whenever a spell card is played the Sanderson sisters have an opportunity to hit the players with what may be a game ending spell. The players are trying to change the brew on the Cauldron board and stun the witches. Three stuns and Salem’s children are saved!

We have only played a few times, and sadly we have allowed the sisters to gobble up all the kids in Salem each time. Our first play may have been our greatest match against the witches. We stunned them twice, but ran out of Ingredient cards just as we could see a plan forming for the win…

The game is intended for 2-6 players. I do believe it is easier with two. Each play lasts about 30 minutes. The game recommends 8 and up, but your 8 year old may need to be a huge fan of the movie or a board game fanatic to really get into it more than once. My kids love it, and they are determined to defeat the witches before Halloween.

Ravensburger has a great gameplay video that you can check out here: https://youtu.be/oBuuKceYJrw

If you would like to pick up a copy of the game check your local retailers, but if they don’t have it feel free to use our *Amazon Affiliate link to have a copy delivered to your front door: https://amzn.to/31eQEd9

Thank you to Ravensburger for providing us a copy of this game. It has already brought our home hours of laughter and enjoyment, and I have a feeling we will be playing it a lot in 2022 as we prepare for the Hocus Pocus sequel currently in early production.

*Purchases made using Amazon Affiliate links help support DuckTalks at no additional cost to you!