Playing the Game

Starting at Platform 9 and 3/4 instead of GO, this plays like regular Monopoly and there are no special rules.  The traditional railroads have been replaced with the four Hogwarts houses, and the utilities are now The Daily Prophet and The Quibbler.  Naturally, Jail has been changed to Azkaban.  Chance and Community Chest spaces are now Death Eaters and The Order of the Phoenix respectively.  Each player selects a Harry Potter themed token to traverse the board.  The properties are all locations in the Harry Potter Universe with Hagrid’s Hut being the cheapest, and Hogwarts Castle being the most expensive.  Free Parking is now Free Dobby!  Tiny cottages represent houses, and mini Hogwarts castles represent hotels in my version of the game.  There is no paper money in Harry Potter, so all denominations were changed to gold, silver, and bronze galleons, or coins distributed to each player.

 

If you don’t care about me babbling on, and just want to see pictures, click here for Photo gallery of this drool-worthy Harry Potter Monopoly Board.

Making The Monopoly Board

I created a Monopoly board template a while back, and used this as my starting point. Using Adobe Illustrator, I used images mostly found through google image search*.  The crest was created using graphics purchased from creative market.  The board was cut from 1/4″ pecan plywood.  For my other boards, I had used Cherry, but really like the look of the lighter engrave.  Since my Glowforge has a maximum cut area of around 18.96″ x 10.96″, the board is divided into 2 pieces and held together on the fold line with gaffers tape.  The graphic for the crest in the middle was custom designed my me, which overlays part of the Marauders Map.  The colors for the different properties were colored using oil-based sharpies.  

 

Properties & Property Cards

The properties in this version of Harry Potter Monopoly are all based upon locations in the Harry Potter Universe. They are placed on the board based upon my perceived value, and sometimes grouped together based on location like Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.  The railroads are now the four houses of Hogwarts, as that seemed to fit nicely into the game.

Each property card was laser cut and engraved on 1/8″ maple plywood, and painted using oil-based sharpies.  The values like rent and mortgage info match the numbers from the original Monopoly game, but are represented as galleons versus dollars.

Monopoly Money: Gringotts Bank

As the only bank in the wizarding world, Gringotts was used on the board as a fee space.  The coins were laser cut on my Glowforge from mirrored acrylic. The back side of each coin was painted with metallic paint.  The denominations are the same as in regular Monopoly, but represent galleons versus dollars.  I think that using coins instead of paper money puts a nice touch on the entire set.

Tokens, Houses, and Hotels

These were all 3D printed on a resin printer to capture as much detail as possible from the STL files, which were all downloaded off Thingiverse.com.  

Chance & Community Chest Cards

I changed the Chance spaces to be Death Eaters, and Community Chest card to be The Order of the Phoenix.  Cards for these were printed at moo.com.  There are nods to the original Monopoly with the usual Get out of Azkaban free, or Gringotts Bank error in your favor, collect 100G.  Most of the cards are custom and related to events in the Harry Potter world.

Board Game Box

This box was cut from 1/4″ Cedar for the outside, and :proofgrade: draftboard for the interior dividers. There is a music box embedded that plays Hedwig’s theme.  Thee box acts as the bankers tray as well.

Disclaimer

People make fan art all the time because they love the Harry Potter books and movies. This unique collectible is one of my favorite creations that I’ve made using my Glowforge, which is why I’m excited to share it here with you.  However, the images that I used on this fan created Harry Potter Monopoly board game were mostly downloaded from the internet using simple Google searches, which are all subject to copyright. I cannot sell this game due to the fact the artwork used is not my own. I made this for me, and it is now part of my personal collection.  I also cannot sell or give away the template with the graphics.  So, unless you’re Emma Watson or Bonnie Wright, this bad boy is not for sale.   

Want your own Glowforge?

So you want a Glowforge more than ever.  I’m happy to answer your questions, and I’ve mentored a number of new Glowforge users to help get them started.  If you’d like to use my referral code, you’ll get $500 off a Pro, $250 off a Plus, or $100 off a Basic.  I’d be delighted because I also get some credits to buy more Proofgrade materials for future creations.  I’ve added a contact form here if you’d like to ask anything I haven’t covered.  You’ll love owning a Glowforge!

Here is my Glowforge referral code and link:  TBPLHPFL

https://glowforge.us/r/TBPLHPFL

Design your own custom Monopoly Board!