Harry Potter Drinking Game

Pick a Harry Potter film, get your drinks ready and agree on the rules before you press play. Take a small sip whenever one of the classic Hogwarts moments happens on screen. The list works with every film in the series, from first year to the finale.

If you like, split the rules up: everyone watches out for a few moments and calls them when they happen. That way nothing slips through and nobody has to remember the whole list.

One sip when …

• Harry touches his scar or it starts to hurt.
• an owl delivers the post.
• Hermione puts her hand up or corrects someone.
• Ron complains or thinks about food.
• Snape takes house points from a Gryffindor.
• Malfoy picks on Harry or his friends.
• someone won’t say Voldemort’s name.
• a spell goes wrong.
• Hagrid lets slip something he should have kept to himself.
• Dumbledore turns up out of nowhere or gives cryptic advice.
• a painting moves or a staircase shifts.

Two sips when …

• Harry, Ron and Hermione sneak around the castle at night.
• the Invisibility Cloak comes out.
• Harry has a strange dream or a vision.
• the answer to a mystery is hidden in a library book.
• a Quidditch match starts.

Finish your glass (or three sips) when …

• Harry comes face to face with Voldemort.
• a dragon, troll or giant causes chaos.

Variations

• House points: everyone picks a Hogwarts house. When your house gains points, hand out a sip – when it loses points, you drink.
• Light version: only the two-sip and finish-your-glass rules count. Nobody drinks for the frequent moments.
• Alcohol-free version: swap beer or wine for pumpkin or apple juice, hot chocolate or lemonade. The rules stay the same.
• Marathon: all the films together run to almost 20 hours. Play the full rules for one film at most and watch the rest with the light version.

Tips

Spread a marathon over a weekend rather than one night, and plan breaks with food and water. The later films are darker and spend less time in lessons, so the one-sip rules come up less often. Great for a cosy film night around Christmas.