Game publisher Knight Models, long known for their high quality, licensed skirmish games (Batman, Harry Potter, DC Universe) have spun off a new imprint called Knight Games. This will be their board game focused brand, with Knight Models featuring only minis games.
Their first offering will be set in the Harry Potter universe titled: Harry Potters: Catch the Snitch. This board game, unsurprisingly, centers around the wizarding sport of Quidditch. Skimming through the rulebook, it does feel like Knight Games managed to create a streamlined version of the fictional sport. As the rulebook clocks in at only 24 pages, this is definitely lighter fare than their skirmish line of games. Yet there is also a good amount of things going on, as this appears to be a card-driven game with players using both tactical cards and cards for their Quidditch players. The tactical cards are used each round to choose actions, and dice will be used for things like shooting or stealing the Quaffle.
Unlike many skirmish games, there are no measurements in required Catch the Snitch as players will be moving to different areas around the board (pitch?) with a move action. Other than moving, players will be performing actions you might expect: Beating the bludgers; and passing, shooting, and trying to steal the Quaffle. The game is played in two parts, the first half being a standard Quidditch match, with the second half featuring players trying to chase down the Snitch once it’s spotted.
The core game includes the four house teams from Hogwarts, with some really nice looking sculpts. Interestingly, only the Gryffindor team is fully named, with other teams having generic names like “Hufflepuff Seeker” or “Ravenclaw Keeper”. I’m guessing that’s just because the other teams have never been named before? I’m sure someone with more knowledge of the Potterverse could chime in here about that.
While this isn’t the first board game to try and tackle Quidditch on our tabletops, most other offerings have been mediocre to terrible. Time will tell if Harry Potter: Catch the Snitch bucks that trend and gives Potter fans a game to enjoy.
Harry Potter: Catch the Snitch Board Game jumps onto Kickstarter on November 5th. If you’d like to dig around for more information, you can check out the Knight Models Instagram and Facebook page for nuggets and tibidts.
