Harry Potter loyalists made another effort to distance themselves from J.K. Rowling this week with the news that the world’s Quidditch leagues are officially changing the sport’s name to “Quadball.” Yes, in case you didn’t know, Hogwarts students’ favorite pastime is played in real life, too, albeit with a few changes that make it more manageable for muggles.
Recommended VideosBut while Quidditch is among the most beloved elements of the Potterverse, some critics are seizing this opportunity to call out the game for making no damn sense whatsoever. As @RealDJCthulu (kudos on that username, by the way) said in a viral tweet:
“Quidditch changing its name is funny because the irl game has to be heavily modified anyway to the point of barely being recognizable as the same game. Part of this is because of the lack of magic irl, but also the game as described in the book is just really poorly designed.”
Quidditch changing its name is funny because the irl game has to be heavily modified anyway to the point of barely being recognizable as the same game. Part of this is because of the lack of magic irl, but also the game as described in the book is just really poorly designed.
— Prime Minister DJ Cthulhu 🐙🎧 (@RealDJCthulhu) July 21, 2022The OP went on to explain their argument in a thread, pointing out that the Snitch portion of the game completely overshadows the rest of it.
—she didn’t stop there. The whole series has to revolve around Harry as the key figure, so she had to make up a special role for him. Enter the Snitch. It’s basically a chasing or catching game added on top of a basketball-like game, with its own rules.
— Prime Minister DJ Cthulhu 🐙🎧 (@RealDJCthulhu) July 21, 2022The point system is actually pointless.
By having it such that the snitch both ends the game and awards significantly more points than anything else, the entire thing is short-circuited. While I can see the temptation to engage with a favorite book series, there’s really not much here to play.
— Prime Minister DJ Cthulhu 🐙🎧 (@RealDJCthulhu) July 21, 2022If you’re curious, IRL Quidditch — or Quadball, as we should now call it — gets around these flaws somewhat by decreasing the Snitch’s worth to just 30 points. Oh, and sadly it’s not a flying golden thing with wings. In reality, the Snitch is a golf ball in a sock tied to someone’s waistband.
The irl game formerly known as quidditch compensates by nerfing the points on the snitch (represented by a person), reducing it to 30 instead of 150. However, it remains multiple games going on at the same time rather than a cohesive whole. pic.twitter.com/Mvs8rahiyf
— Prime Minister DJ Cthulhu 🐙🎧 (@RealDJCthulhu) July 21, 2022As the tweeter indicates, Rowling mostly devised the rules of Quidditch in order to keep Harry himself at the center of the action, hence why the Snitch, and by extension the Seeker, is so overpowered. Traditionally, folks were able to get over those logic holes big enough to throw a Quaffle through, but going by the thousands who liked this post, it seems the golden sheen has worn off somewhat now that the Rowling controversy has bludger-ed the Potter image.
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