Objective of Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
The objective of Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game is to work together in order to stall the Sanderson sisters’ potion long enough that the sun rises and foils their plan.
Setup for Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
- Place the Cauldron board in the center of the table. Set the four Trick tokens and the Binx mover near the board.
- Place the Witch board to the side of the Cauldron board where everyone can see it. Place the Sun token on the lowest space on the Sunrise track. Set the Stun token near the Witch board.
- Shuffle the Spell cards and place them face down near the Witch board.
- Shuffle the Ingredient cards and deal cards to each player. The number of cards you will deal to each player depends on the number of players.
- 2-3 players: 4 Ingredient cards
- 4-6 players: 3 Ingredient cards
- Players may look at their own cards, but they cannot show them to the other players.
- Place the remaining Ingredient cards face down next to the Cauldron board.
- Determine who starts the game by figuring out who most recently lit a candle. Otherwise you can let the oldest player go first.
Playing Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game is a cooperative game where all of the players work together in order to try and win the game. Even though the game is cooperative, players must keep their cards secret from the other players. You cannot share information with other players about what cards you have or what your strategy is. The only exception to this is if a card/gameplay mechanic specifically allows you to.
You will play the game over a number of rounds starting with the first player. Play proceeds clockwise throughout the game. On your turn you will take the following actions:
- Ask one question.
- Play one Ingredient card.
- Draw one Ingredient card.
Ask One Question
You will begin your turn by asking one question to the rest of the players. You can either ask about a specific Ingredient color or Ingredient type. For example you can ask if the players have a yellow card.
Starting with the player to your left, each player will answer the question. They can only directly answer and not provide additional information. For example you can say that you have the type/color of card, but you can’t say how many of the card that you have in your hand.
Play One Ingredient Card
After asking a question you will play one of the cards from your hand to the Cauldron board. On the board there are five different spots where you can play cards.
To play an Ingredient card it needs to either match the Ingredient type or color of the top card in the pile. The card you play can also match both the type and color of a pile. If a pile has no cards, the card has to match the color/type printed on the board. If you have a card in your hand that you can play, you must play a card.
Some of the Ingredient cards have special symbols printed on them. When you play one of these Ingredient cards, you will take the corresponding action. See the Special Ingredients section below for more details.
If you cannot play an Ingredient card from your hand, you will draw the top card from the Spell deck. You will take the action printed on the Spell card. See the Spell Cards section for details on Spell cards.
Should you not play a card from your hand, you will also have to discard at least one of the cards from your hand. You can discard as many of the cards from your hand as you want. For each card that you discard, you will draw a new Ingredient card.
Draw One Ingredient Card
You will finish your turn by drawing one card from the Ingredient deck. If a Spell card was drawn during the round, you will draw the card after any effects from the Spell card have been applied.
Special Ingredients
Some of the Ingredient cards will have a special icon printed on them. When you play one of these cards, you will take a special action.
Binx
When you play a card that has the Binx icon on it, you will place the Binx Mover in front of any of the players. You can choose to place the mover in front of yourself.
The player that has Binx in front of them may reveal the cards in their hand to the other players. They may play with their cards face up on the table in front of them. They can keep the cards face up in front of themselves as long as they have the Binx Mover.
Binx will stay in front of the player until one of the following happens:
- Another Ingredient card featuring Binx is played.
- You are instructed to remove Binx from play.
- The current round ends.
Spell Book
When you play a card that features the Spell Book icon, the witches will cast a spell. You will draw the top card from the Spell deck and take the corresponding action.
Spell Cards in Hocus Pocus: The Game
Should a player be unable to play an Ingredient card or an Ingredient card with the Spell Book icon on it is played, the top Spell card is drawn.
Each Spell card features one of the Sanderson sisters casting a spell. The name of the Sanderson sister casting the spell is written at the top of the card. The card also says what the spell does. Read the card and take the corresponding action. After taking the action, discard the card.
If the witch that is casting the spell is currently stunned, the spell will miss. In this case you will ignore what the card says and discard the card. You will not draw another Spell card to replace it.
You can never avoid the spell Take Flight as it features all three witches. Since you can’t stun more than one witch at a time, it is impossible to stop the spell.
If the Spell card deck ever runs out of cards, shuffle the discard deck to form a new Spell deck.
Trick Tokens
To help you in the game, at the beginning of the game you are given four trick tokens. On your turn you can choose to use one of these tokens. The team can only use each trick once per game though. Once you use a trick, you will flip it over to show that it can’t be used again.
Circle of Salt
When a Spell card is drawn, you can use this trick to ignore its effect. You will discard the Spell card without applying its effect. You will not draw another Spell card.
Daylight Savings Time
After asking a question but before playing a card, choose another player to swap an Ingredient card with. Each of the players in the swap chooses one of the Ingredient cards from their hand and places them face down on the table. The two players will swap these two cards adding the new card to their hand. The current player will then have to play an Ingredient card from their hand. After playing the card, they will draw a card to end their turn.
Billy Butcherson
After asking a question, you can use Billy Butcherson to avoid playing an Ingredient card on your turn. You will not draw a card at the end of your turn.
Burning Rain of Death
After asking a question but before you play a card, you can use this trick to discard three Ingredient cards from your hand. You will draw three new Ingredient cards from the top of the deck. You will then play a card to the Cauldron board and then draw a new card.
Stunning A Witch
After playing an Ingredient card to the Cauldron board, you should check the top card from the five different piles. You should also check after a Spell card is revealed that changed the cards on the Cauldron board. If the card on top of all five boards match, you have stunned one of the three witches. You can stun any of the witches, and can even stun the same witch multiple times in a row. Winifred’s spells are the most powerful so it is best if you can stun her.
The witch you stun depends on how the cards on the top of the piles match.
If the color on top of each of the piles is the same color, you have stunned Sarah.
If the Ingredient type is the same on the top of each pile, you have stunned Mary.
Should each pile have the same ingredient on top and each are a different color, you have stunned Winifred.
Whenever you stun a witch, the current round ends immediately. If the card that stunned the witch was a Special Ingredient, you will ignore its effect.
End of Round in Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
When a round ends you will take the following actions to prepare for the next round.
The player who is the current player when the round ended, draws one Ingredient card from the Ingredient draw deck. Their turn will then immediately end.
Place the stunned token on the picture of the Witch you stunned. Any ongoing Spell effects are ended immediately.
Each time you stun one of the witches, you will move the Sun token up one space on the track. It does not matter which witch you stunned. You do not have to stun all three witches during the game in order to win.
Collect all of the Ingredient cards from the Cauldron board and the discard pile. Search for cards that either have the Binx or Spell Book icon on them. Shuffle these cards back into the Ingredient card deck. Return the other cards to the box as they won’t be used for the rest of the game.
If Binx is in front of one of the players, move it next to the Witch’s board. The players won’t have the effect of Binx until one of the corresponding cards is played again.
The next round begins with the player to the left of the player that ended the last round. Players will not discard any of the Ingredient cards from their hands. You will keep the same cards for the start of the next round.
End of Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game
Disney Hocus Pocus: The Game can end in one of two ways.
If you stun the witches enough times to move the Sun token to the top of the Sunrise track, you have defeated the Sanderson sisters and have won the game.
Should you have to draw an Ingredient card but there are no cards left in the Ingredient deck, all of the players lose. You do not immediately lose when a player draws the last card from the Ingredient deck. Players can keep taking turns without drawing Ingredient cards at the end of their turn. Should you be forced to draw an Ingredient card due to a Spell card or not having a card in your hand that you can play, you will lose the game.
Year: 2020 | Publisher: Ravensburger | Designer: Prospero Hall | Artist: Ann Marcellino
Genres: Card, Family, Cooperative
Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light-Moderate | Luck: Moderate
Components: Cauldron Board, Witch Board, Sun Token, Stun Token, 50 Ingredient cards, 13 Spell cards, 4 Trick Tokens, Binx Mover, instructions
Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.