Hocus Pocus Yahtzee: A Great Addition To Any Witch’s Game Collection [Review]

The Sanderson sisters are back, and ready to terrorize… your game night! That’s right. It’s time to play Hocus Pocus Yahtzee!

We got the chance to check out this new release from The Op Games. Here’s a look at the witchy redesign and gameplay.

Hocus Pocus Yahtzee: Game Design

When you open up Hocus Pocus Yahtzee, you’ll find: five dice, a storage container/dice shaker, a scorepad, a mini pencil, and a set of game instructions.

The Dice

The dice in this Hocus Pocus version of the game get the biggest update. Not only are they a bright electric green, the dots have been replaced by visuals of witchy ingredients. Each side of the die has a print number and a corresponding potion ingredient. So, when you roll the dice, you’ll see:

1 – Oil of Boil

2 – Dead Man’s Toe

3 – Newt Saliva

4 – Dash of Pox

5 – Herb That’s Red

6 – Thine Own Tongue

I love that the potion ingredients come directly from the Hocus Pocus film. This could have been a generic “witchy” take on the game, but instead The Op made sure to make it distinctly Hocus Pocus, which I really appreciate. Also, the bright poison green of the dice is a great choice. It fits right into the Halloween aesthetic. (And honestly, it’s gonna make these dice easier to keep track of when you inevitably get a little too into your roll and send one flying off the table.)

The Shaker

Now, where does a witch mix up her potions? In a cauldron, of course! Naturally, Hocus Pocus Yahtzee comes with a black cauldron dice shaker.

I love the look of this shaker. It’s made of plastic, but there’s a special coating on the outside to give it a rougher texture (making it more similar to the cast iron of the real thing). Also, there’s a tiny cutout in the bottom as a tribute to Hocus Pocus’ Black Flame Candle. I don’t know why, but that little detail really made me smile. Again, we have the Hocus Pocus logo front and center on one side, so you know it’s not just witchy Yahtzee, but Hocus Pocus Yahtzee.

The shaker also doubles as your game storage. Everything fits right into the cauldron – the dice, scorepad, and pencil – so you can easily store and transport the game.

The Scorepad

The scorepad looks mostly like a traditional game of Yahtzee, with the same categories and point system for scoring. On the upper half, you’ll see the traditional number categories have been replaced by the potion ingredients on the dice. Above the scoring section on the sheet’s header, there’s also a quick and handy visual key for the new dice. And to further the Hocus Pocus theme, the Sanderson sisters make an appearance on every sheet!

Functionally, the scorepad comes with each sheet folded in half. (This allows it to fit inside the shaker for storage.) After you peel off your sheet and unfold it though, it looks like the same size as any standard Yahtzee scoring sheet.

Game Play

Here’s some good news: if you already know how to play Yahtzee, you also know how to play Hocus Pocus Yahtzee. The game operates on the exact same set of rules.

If you’ve never played Yahtzee or need a refresher, here’s the basics: on your turn, you’ll roll all five dice. You’ll get three rolls per turn, and before your second and third rolls, you get to decide how many dice you want to roll, and how many you want to keep. Your goal is to get every combination of rolls outlined on your score sheet. You’ll need a combination of skill and luck to outscore your opponents.

The only small disappointment I felt when checking out this game was seeing that the dice combinations were still referred to by their original Yahtzee names (“4 of a kind”, “small straight”, “full house”, etc.). Since this version of the game involves potion ingredients, I would have liked for each of these combinations to get renamed as a different potion instead. I think that would have been a fun way to extend the theme. 

However, I’ll admit that Hocus Pocus Yahtzee as-is is simple to play because it keeps those original dice combinations the same; you don’t need to learn anything new to dive into this game. So, I understand why the game designers made this decision.

Is Hocus Pocus Yahtzee worth it?

So, should you add Hocus Pocus Yahtzee to your game collection? I’d say… yes, definitely!

If you like Yahtzee and Hocus Pocus, it’s kind of a no-brainer. The custom shaker and dice perfectly fit the theme of the Disney classic, and the game plays exactly like the Yahtzee you know and love.

But honestly, even if Yahtzee isn’t your favorite game, I think this one is worth grabbing. The cauldron shaker looks great. Instead of putting this away with my other games, I’ve left it out as part of my Halloween decor. Plus, if you love tabletop and board games, it never hurts to have some fun extra dice lying around. You could easily swap out the dice of any other game you’re playing with these spooky green ones to add some witchy flair. 

All in all, Hocus Pocus Yahtzee is a great addition to any witch’s game collection!

You can grab Hocus Pocus Yahtzee from The Op Games now for $22.99.

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