Move or effect first?
#Short answer：For an ordinary Explore card, you choose whether to resolve movement or its eligible effect first. A stated condition still has to be met.
Applies when：A card played for Explore on your own turn. Dark Arts effects must also be unlocked. An outside-turn reaction uses a different procedure.
In order
- Read the actual effect, including its trigger, duration and any compulsory instruction.
- Choose effect before movement, or movement before effect, only when that effect is available at the chosen time.
- Resolve the chosen parts and any resulting board effects before closing the turn.
Common mistake：Permission to choose the order does not waive a trigger, unlock a colour or allow a stunned pawn to move.
Does the effect last all turn?
#Short answer：Only when its wording gives that duration. The rules distinguish instant effects, effects with a condition, and effects lasting for the whole turn.
Applies when：Read the timing of the specific effect you are using; the rulebook examples describe types, not a universal duration for every card.
In order
- An instant draw resolves when you use that effect.
- For a conditional effect, establish the printed condition first; the rulebook example grants extra movement after ending a move outside the castle.
- Keep a whole-turn permission active for the stated turn, such as the rulebook example allowing passage through a specified obstacle.
Common mistake：A resolved instant or conditional effect is not automatically a continuing bonus for every later card or pawn.
May I skip the effect?
#Short answer：Card effects are optional unless the card makes them compulsory. If an applicable effect explicitly contradicts a normal game rule, that effect takes precedence.
Applies when：This is the Card Effect rule. It does not turn required Event Card instructions into optional actions.
In order
- Check whether the card requires its effect to be resolved.
- If optional, decide whether to use it, then apply its conditions and limits.
- Apply an actual contradiction according to the card text, rather than inventing an exception that is not written there.
Common mistake：An optional effect is not permission to ignore a compulsory instruction elsewhere, or to import a spell ability from the story.
Can I react outside my turn?
#Short answer：When a Reactive Effect’s printed condition is met outside your turn, you may reveal the card from your hand, resolve only its effect immediately, then discard it.
Applies when：The card has the lightning-bolt Reactive Effect icon and is in your hand. Dark Arts must also check the effect’s colour unlock.
In order
- Confirm the icon, the actual trigger and any relevant colour restriction.
- Reveal the card and immediately resolve its effect without its movement value.
- Put the reacted card on your Discard Pile after the effect. On your own Explore turn, it can instead be played for movement while avoiding the reaction.
Common mistake：A reaction does not give a full Explore action, an extra move or permission to keep the used card until your next turn.
When can I play the second card?
#Short answer：If the first card allows a second card, first resolve the first card’s movement and/or effect. Do not leave its movement unfinished to begin the second card.
Applies when：A played card actually grants this ability. Ordinary Explore is not permission to play an arbitrary second card.
In order
- Check the exact permission and any conditions on the first card.
- Finish the first card’s movement and/or effect in an allowed order.
- Then play the permitted second card and resolve it; discard normal Explore cards at turn end.
Common mistake：Choosing which multi-move value to use first does not let you interleave unfinished first-card movement with another card.
When does the played card enter Discard?
#Short answer：Ordinary Explore cards are discarded at the end of the turn. A card used as an outside-turn reaction is discarded immediately after its effect.
Applies when：Distinguish a played Explore card from a discard paid as a cost and from a shared Event Card.
In order
- Keep an ordinary played Explore card separate while its turn is still being resolved.
- Finish House Main Action, Bonus Spaces and Free Actions, or Dark Arts Main Action, bumps and path advances.
- Discard played Explore cards at turn end. If a draw depleted the Draw Deck earlier, only cards already in Discard can be reshuffled then.
Common mistake：Do not reshuffle the current Explore card early. Event Cards are discarded beside their Event deck, not into a personal Discard Pile.
Can I use the Token I just took?
#Short answer：No. A Hogwarts Token must have been acquired on a previous turn. Return it before or after your Main Action, then immediately Explore with a matching card.
Applies when：A House player holds an earlier-turn Token and a matching-type card in hand. This Free Action has its own timing.
In order
- Check that this is not the turn on which the Token was gained.
- Choose the window before or after the Main Action; return the Token to its space.
- Immediately play the matching card for the extra Explore action.
Common mistake：A Token is not a permanent bonus, and its timing does not let it interrupt a Main Action halfway through.
Draw, recover or advance first?
#Short answer：House Replenish: optional discards and draw to five, stand stunned pawns, then advance the Dark Arts Marker. Dark Arts Replenish: stand pawns, then draw to five.
Applies when：A Replenish Main Action before the final phase. The Dark Arts player cannot discard to refresh the hand, and their Replenish does not itself advance the path.
In order
- Identify the active side and use that side’s ordered Replenish steps.
- For House, advance the path only after drawing and reversing stun.
- If the advancement lands on an Event Space, resolve the Event now, including any changes it causes to the recovered pawns.
Common mistake：A Card Draw effect is not Replenish: it does not by itself stand pawns or advance the Dark Arts Marker.
Who resolves the Event first?
#Short answer：All House players resolve the House part first, if possible. Then Dark Arts chooses its effect or the current zone’s Progress Token, if not already held.
Applies when：The Dark Arts Marker lands on an Event Space and the top Event Card matching that space’s colour is drawn.
In order
- Draw the matching-colour Event Card and read both parts.
- Resolve the House instructions first, where possible.
- Dark Arts then chooses its effect or an available Progress Token; taking the Token does not cancel the House part.
- After resolution, discard the Event Card beside its own Event deck.
Common mistake：Do not take both the Dark Arts effect and the Token, or treat House Event instructions as optional Card Effects.
What changes when the zone changes?
#Short answer：Dark Arts card effects unlock cumulatively: white from the start, orange at the first orange space, red at the first red space. Event decks follow a different rule: a previous zone’s Event Cards stop being used.
Applies when：The marker crosses a colour boundary on the Dark Arts Path. Its current zone is different from an effect’s active duration.
In order
- Before leaving a zone, ensure Dark Arts has taken that zone’s Progress Token.
- At the first space of the next colour, make that colour’s card effects available alongside earlier unlocked colours.
- Use the new colour’s Event deck when landing on its Event Spaces; stop using earlier-zone Event Cards for the rest of the game.
Common mistake：Earlier card-effect colours stay unlocked; earlier Event decks do not stay in circulation. Unlocking does not make every effect last for the rest of the game.
Can I still draw in the final phase?
#Short answer：Replenish is no longer allowed. The rulebook expressly preserves card effects and draw spaces, so this is not a ban on every draw.
Applies when：The Dark Arts Marker has reached the last path space. Normal victory goals still apply.
In order
- Apply the last-space procedure and stop offering Replenish.
- Resolve a permitted draw effect or draw space according to its own text.
- Check victory goals; if everyone runs out of cards without a winner, the game is a draw.
Common mistake：The existing-hand treatment and whether an earlier Location Card’s pawn requirement changes at the last space remain open source questions. This page does not supply a ruling.
Changes affecting this page
- · 1.6.0
Consistent terms, section search and two-side teaching
Unified 35 sourced English–Chinese terms and registered all three open rule questions. Search and guide backlinks now lead to matching sections in the current language. Added card-flow diagrams, conditional Dark Arts lessons and exact movement allowances alongside the five existing House comparisons. Unknown rules, routes, card effects and future draws remain unfilled.
View this revision → - · 1.4.0
Card lookup, comparison and effect timing
Unified card navigation on the card catalogue and labelled map links as movement guides. Added attribute filters and a shareable comparison of up to four source-checked card faces. Six additional Dark Arts Starter faces bring the collection to 16 named faces and 55 reference entries. Added 11 timing questions and four hypothetical worked examples with printed-page sources. This records preview content; the complete Acquire Deck remains outside the available evidence.
View this revision →