Top Toys for Christmas 2011: Lego Hogwarts Castle (Harry Potter)

Take the most successful children’s book series of all time (Harry Potter) and add in one of the most successful toys of all time (Lego) and you end up with LEGO Hogwarts. This isn’t simply another Lego building kit; it actually allows you to build Hogwarts and then play a game in it.

Hogwarts Castle is the location where most of the Harry Potter story takes part; he attends classes all over the castle. The castle is almost alive as it often has moving staircases and there are plenty of secret passages to get lost in! So pick up the instruction booklet and Lego pieces and build your very own Hogwarts Castle.

Once you’ve had lots of fun building Lego Hogwarts with the family you can play a fun and challenging game; try and navigate the secret passages and moving staircases to find your homework and then get back to the common room before anyone else! However, beware – your opponents get to rotate staircases or place other obstacles in your way, making the game a great educational game that teaches strategy in planning your own moves as well as hindering your opponents moves.

What is particularly fun about the game is it really builds on imagination and creativity, as well as skills in adapting the game board to make many different and fun combinations of the game – the instructions show you how to build Hogwarts castle, but you can adapt and change it as you see fit. As your children play their favorite characters you’ll find that the whole world of Harry Potter comes alive as they delve into the depths of Hogwarts castle.

This is one of the better Lego games out there and is probably going to be one of the hit games for 2010. It’s sturdy, comes in a easy to store case and features all your favorite characters from the Harry Potter series. You don’t have to buy the game, and can simply build a castle and play with the characters, but the game does add an element of competition and fun!

This game is suitable for children 8 or older as the small pieces can be a choking hazard.

What’s in the box:

• 1 buildable LEGO Die (with rubber edges – doesn’t damage the box when thrown)
• 9 LEGO microfigures including Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore?
• Building instructions and 1 rule booklet  (game is for 2 to 4 players)
• 332 LEGO pieces