Regular Games Can Be Easily Harry Potter-ized

Turn ordinary games into Harry Potter-themed extravaganzas. With a little bit of effort and creativity, games can be easily adapted to incorporate Harry Potter into the rules. Here are three suggestions.

Wizard is a 19-point word score. And that's without a double letter or triple word score.

Scrabble is ideal to use only words from Harry Potter, whether magical or muggle. Before beginning, players should establish ground rules about words from the magical realm, proper nouns and names, or vocabulary from the books. Pick up a copy of The Pottersaurus (Pinewood Press, 2007, $9.95), which defines 1,500 vocabulary words used in the Harry Potter books, as well as a Scrabble dictionary to liven up the game. Here are a few high-point words to get you going, particularly if you aim for bonus point tile blocks.

Magical

Muggle 10
Horcrux 19
Squib 16
Hogwarts 13
Harry Potter 19
Voldemort 15

English

Wand 8
Magic 10
Battle 8
Quill 14
Cloak 11
Death 9

What is an animugus? How old was Harry Potter when he was Hogwarts?

Trivial Pursuit tests knowledge. Think you know a lot of Harry Potter's world? Then prove it. Use a Trivial Pursuit board and pieces, but instead of the regular cards, incorporate Harry Potter questions instead. You can peruse the book and Harry Potter knowledge, and come up with questions yourself, or use Internet resources. The Web site Kidsread.com has an entire section devoted to Harry Potter trivia questions from the books that can be copied onto cards. Sample questions include:

On which floor of Hogwarts was the forbidden corridor?

a) first b) second c) third d) fourth

What color is the Slytherin banner?

a) blue b) brown c) red d) green

Which country plays Ireland in the Quidditch World Cup?

a) Bulgaria b) Romania c) Slovenia d) Germany

Who does Sirius Black say was the Secret Keeper for Harry's parents?

a) Lupin b) Snape c) Peter Pettigrew d) Dumbledore

Who repairs Harry's injured leg with tears?

a) Fawkes b) Dumbledore c) Sirius Black d) Madam Pomfrey

He shoots, he scores!

Football - not the American kind, but soccer - is the basis of Quidditch. So round up a few House teams for a Quidditch/soccer match. Quidditch is an aerial game played on broomsticks, with seven players on each team. The object is to get the most points, put the quaffle (ball) past the keeper, and for the seeker to catch the golden snitch. Each quaffle is worth 10 points, and the golden snitch is worth 150 points.

Obviously, people can't fly, so incorporate Quidditch rules into football. Use four balls (one quaffle, two bludgers, one golden snitch), have four players (three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, one Seeker), and have an announcer to give the play-by-play between the two teams. For more information about the game and other ideas for play, look up Quidditch on Wikipedia or re-read some of the chapters about Quidditch in the books.

None of these games require the purchase of any special Harry Potter memorabilia or specific game pieces. Instead, they just need imagination and typical household games. The magic isn't limited to the books, so get playing and make Harry Potter a part of your household games.