this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2024
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The Leaky Cauldron

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 months ago (4 children)

They need to up the intelligence on the snitch. Make it so hard to catch that it hardly ever happens. Seekers now spend most of their time as normal players, while keeping an eye out for the snitch, then darting away every once in a while for a catch attempt

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago

This helps but doesn't address the other issue, which is spectators can't see anything related to the snitch.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago (2 children)

That was my take when watching the movies (never read the books). I figured the snitch was near to impossible but Harry just had main character syndrome, being able to actually see the snitch.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah harry is just cracked at the game for no particular reason (never even flew before he went to Hogwarts)... they allude to some quidditch games lasting days, at which point 150 points isn't a big deal anymore.

[–] threelonmusketeers 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

never even flew before he went to Hogwarts

Or so he thought. We later find out that Sirius sent him a toy practice broom for his first birthday. Harry could have had three months of practice at a very impressionable age, which could account for some of his "immediate talent" when he gets to Hogwarts.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

"I road a tricycle for a handful of months when I was one years old and then moved to a country that outlawed bikes until I was 10. Of course I'm qualified for the men's varsity cycling team. Yes, I'm still ten. So what?"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] threelonmusketeers 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

DH10, in Lily's letter to Sirius:

Dear Padfoot,

Thank you, thank you, for Harry’s birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I’m enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course, James thought it was so funny, says he’s going to be a great Quidditch player, but we’ve had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don’t take our eyes off him when he gets going.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

If anything that just tells us that he has always been talented on a broom.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Totally forgot about that, thanks! I kind of like that it implies that he has a natural talent with the broom.

[–] threelonmusketeers 1 points 3 weeks ago

I'm often hesitant to dismiss skills which can be acquired through practice and persistence as "natural talent", but in this case, that could be a valid interpretation as well.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Yeah, the first book mentions that there have been matches that lasted days or even months.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago

Another option would be to add other win conditions, like the game automatically ends after an hour. That would add some strategy too- if your team is up and the clock is starting to run down, you could devote a couple players to blocking the other teams seeker. But you would have to be careful because then the other team would have an advantage scoring goals, and could sneak back into the game that way. With a few minutes left, unless the score was very close, the game would turn into a mad scramble for the snitch since that would be the only way to make up the score difference, with maybe just a couple people playing defense to keep the other team from getting free goals.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Another way to balance would be to simply make it not an instant win. Instead it's just worth a large amount of points, but the other team could still win if they score enough before the game ends.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's not an instant win. It's already 150 points and an instant end to the game. It usually happens that whoever catches the snitch wins, but not always. See: Quidditch world cup in Book 4 of the series.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Which is also dumb because he caught the snitch, causing his team to lose the game.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Yeah that was dumb. The rationale in the book was his team was getting clobbered and he just wanted to end it on his terms, but at that moment his team was only down 160 points! They were perfectly capable of scoring ONE more goal, after which if he caught it it would go to overtime or sudden death or whatever they do in the quidditch world cup when it's tied.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's technically not an instant win, just a ton of points and an instant end to the game. In a lopsided enough match a team could catch it and still lose.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

In a lopsided enough match a team could catch it and still lose.

That literally happens in the books

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

In the world cup, right? All these people discussing how the snitch is an instant win got me thinking I totally imagined that happening

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

And once also in a game Harry didn't play in cause he was... banned I think. Although that made more sense because the quidditch cup is based on point differential not w/l, so catching the snitch and ensuring getting the 150 points is a good idea even if you lose.