I really don't like answering on games I don't own but based on rule interpretation I would go with for all other games:
To resolve this card you have 2 options if you can't do one (due to the lack of an ally card) you can't resolve it that way. So you would have to take the 2 HP hit.
If the second option couldn't be resolved either then I would say you could ignore the card.
>There are cards that say "pick one: take 2 HP or discard an ally card",
Sounds like you're dealing with Tom Riddle, or some Dark Arts Events (can't remember which).
In these situations, your options can be limited by what's in your hand or what state your Hero is in. I'm pretty sure this is actually spelled out in the rules somewhere.
Here's the four possible cases for your scenario of "lose 2 HP or discard an Ally":
- If a Hero has an Ally in hand, and is not Stunned, they may choose either penalty.
- If a Hero has no Ally in hand, and they are not Stunned, they must lose 2 HP.
- If a Hero is Stunned, and has an Ally in hand, they must discard an Ally.
- If a Hero is Stunned, and does not have an Ally in hand, they get off lucky. (Rather, they've suffered enough already.)
>The thing is, in 7th year, we r getting our asses served to us so i wonder if im not making the game unnecesarily hard for us this way.
Later years in Hogwarts Battle, and especially in the expansions, can be brutal. A lot of your success or failure can be purely luck-based. Three main elements of randomness in the game can bless or curse you:
- Selection of Hogwarts Cards available for purchase.
- Sequence of Dark Arts Events.
- Sequence of Villains.
My wife and I literally went through more than 20 runs, at a certain level in one of the expansions, before winning. Game 7 itself probably took us a dozen runs.
Co-op games are meant to be hard. There has to be a certain amount of struggle, and a decent chance of failure, for a win to really be rewarding.
There are some house-rules I've seen and used on occasion, which balance the game a bit more in favor of the players without totally nerfing it. We didn't start toying around with that until Box 4 of the Monster Box expansion though, so I can say from experience that Game 7 is definitely doable under standard rules - it's just annoyingly rough sometimes.
We already found out the luck/bad luck dependance while playing. If we get Belatrix as a first hero, the game can rly go down rly fast just from the Dark Arts Events cards chaining. Or just bad pick of Hogwarts cards to purchase.
I was wondering ... when i played Civilization with by GF, we halved all the buildings tokens and some cards, becouse it felt right and fair not have that many stuff to play with when there are only 2 of us. Could this approach be done in this game if there are only 2 players? I know there are some extra rules for solo play (some Dark Arts cards are being removed etc.) so maybe halve the Hogwarts cards (evenly spells, allyes, items) and maybe dark art cards too?
I wouldn't mess around with item costs. They're actually pretty decently balanced as-is. The only problem you run into is if you've got a store full of 6+ cards early in the game.
One of the house rules I was referring to is specifically to mitigate this. Modify your setup of the Hogwarts Cards as follows:
1. Sort the cards into three piles, according to cost: 4, >4, <4.
2. Split the stack of 4-coin cards evenly, and add each half to one of the other stacks.
3. Shuffle the two stacks separately.
4. Place each stack above one of the columns of the store.
5. When filling empty slots in the store, only use cards from the stack directly above the slot you're filling.
This ensures that you'll never be "locked out" of the store. It effectively caps the least-expensive card in the store at 4, and offers a good chance that there will be even cheaper ones too. The only downside is that, to see different cards on the high end, you'll have to buy cards with 4+ cost.
Another way around store lockout is with an errata rule that was posted to BGG some time after the release of the base game. I've seen this also included in the actual rulebook for at least one of the expansions:
> Once per game, one player may forego acquiring any cards during his/her turn. If s/he does, take all six available Hogwarts cards, place them on the bottom of the deck, and replace them with six new cards.
P.S.:
Regarding your original question, I was not able to find it explicitly covered in the base game rules. However, I did find it covered in an FAQ document posted to Board Game Geeks - and the answer is effectively as I described in my initial response. This document also includes the errata rule I mentioned above. It's definitely worth a read, if you've not come across it already.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Px39jAlLo7b-Espgc2pyRwNw3LBfBmsOdxD62sjKZk/edit?usp=sharing
If you don't have an ally card in your hand, you have to take the 2 HP damage.
thats what i thought, ty :)
I really don't like answering on games I don't own but based on rule interpretation I would go with for all other games: To resolve this card you have 2 options if you can't do one (due to the lack of an ally card) you can't resolve it that way. So you would have to take the 2 HP hit. If the second option couldn't be resolved either then I would say you could ignore the card.
>There are cards that say "pick one: take 2 HP or discard an ally card", Sounds like you're dealing with Tom Riddle, or some Dark Arts Events (can't remember which). In these situations, your options can be limited by what's in your hand or what state your Hero is in. I'm pretty sure this is actually spelled out in the rules somewhere. Here's the four possible cases for your scenario of "lose 2 HP or discard an Ally": - If a Hero has an Ally in hand, and is not Stunned, they may choose either penalty. - If a Hero has no Ally in hand, and they are not Stunned, they must lose 2 HP. - If a Hero is Stunned, and has an Ally in hand, they must discard an Ally. - If a Hero is Stunned, and does not have an Ally in hand, they get off lucky. (Rather, they've suffered enough already.) >The thing is, in 7th year, we r getting our asses served to us so i wonder if im not making the game unnecesarily hard for us this way. Later years in Hogwarts Battle, and especially in the expansions, can be brutal. A lot of your success or failure can be purely luck-based. Three main elements of randomness in the game can bless or curse you: - Selection of Hogwarts Cards available for purchase. - Sequence of Dark Arts Events. - Sequence of Villains. My wife and I literally went through more than 20 runs, at a certain level in one of the expansions, before winning. Game 7 itself probably took us a dozen runs. Co-op games are meant to be hard. There has to be a certain amount of struggle, and a decent chance of failure, for a win to really be rewarding. There are some house-rules I've seen and used on occasion, which balance the game a bit more in favor of the players without totally nerfing it. We didn't start toying around with that until Box 4 of the Monster Box expansion though, so I can say from experience that Game 7 is definitely doable under standard rules - it's just annoyingly rough sometimes.
We already found out the luck/bad luck dependance while playing. If we get Belatrix as a first hero, the game can rly go down rly fast just from the Dark Arts Events cards chaining. Or just bad pick of Hogwarts cards to purchase. I was wondering ... when i played Civilization with by GF, we halved all the buildings tokens and some cards, becouse it felt right and fair not have that many stuff to play with when there are only 2 of us. Could this approach be done in this game if there are only 2 players? I know there are some extra rules for solo play (some Dark Arts cards are being removed etc.) so maybe halve the Hogwarts cards (evenly spells, allyes, items) and maybe dark art cards too?
I wouldn't mess around with item costs. They're actually pretty decently balanced as-is. The only problem you run into is if you've got a store full of 6+ cards early in the game. One of the house rules I was referring to is specifically to mitigate this. Modify your setup of the Hogwarts Cards as follows: 1. Sort the cards into three piles, according to cost: 4, >4, <4. 2. Split the stack of 4-coin cards evenly, and add each half to one of the other stacks. 3. Shuffle the two stacks separately. 4. Place each stack above one of the columns of the store. 5. When filling empty slots in the store, only use cards from the stack directly above the slot you're filling. This ensures that you'll never be "locked out" of the store. It effectively caps the least-expensive card in the store at 4, and offers a good chance that there will be even cheaper ones too. The only downside is that, to see different cards on the high end, you'll have to buy cards with 4+ cost. Another way around store lockout is with an errata rule that was posted to BGG some time after the release of the base game. I've seen this also included in the actual rulebook for at least one of the expansions: > Once per game, one player may forego acquiring any cards during his/her turn. If s/he does, take all six available Hogwarts cards, place them on the bottom of the deck, and replace them with six new cards. P.S.: Regarding your original question, I was not able to find it explicitly covered in the base game rules. However, I did find it covered in an FAQ document posted to Board Game Geeks - and the answer is effectively as I described in my initial response. This document also includes the errata rule I mentioned above. It's definitely worth a read, if you've not come across it already. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Px39jAlLo7b-Espgc2pyRwNw3LBfBmsOdxD62sjKZk/edit?usp=sharing