Harry Potter — Electronic Quidditch Game
Tiger Electronics
Ages 9 and Up

What It Is

The Harry Potter Electronic Quidditch Game, in designed to simulate the most exciting activity at Hogwarts–the game of Quidditch, a kind of aerial soccer/cricket/polo played on flying broomsticks. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry discovers that he’s a natural at the game and becomes the first first-year student in over a century to play for Hogwarts.

In real life, the Tiger Electronics game is a large plastic broom with an extending stick and an LCD game screen built into the handle. One is supposed to straddle the broomstick and play the game, which involves manipulating the plastic, broom-shaped game and monitoring your position on the LCD screen. Twisting the broom handle moves you left and right on the screen, while tilting it moves you up and down the Quidditch field. Electronic Quidditch adds "realism" by emitting electronic "flying" sounds and vibrating. The game is essentially similar to other hand held games in its play pattern; it just happens to come in fancier packaging, which could appeal to the young wizards in your household. Players can choose which house (or "Hogwarts" dormitory) to play for and against. The player who captures the "Golden Snitch" first, wins. The broom handle expands for full play and collapses for easy travel.

Why It’s Fun

This is as close to playing real Quidditch as you can get, but it’s really for fans of the game. This will ideally be suited for kids ages 7-9. The game offers a handheld, electronic gaming experience for die-hard Harry Potter fans.

Who’s Going To Love It

The game is entertaining, but we found that kids grew quickly frustrated with it and found it hard to work. Those who keep at it will find the challenges entertaining enough.

What To Be Aware Of

Of all the wonderful Harry Potter games on the market that we’ve played with, this one proved to be the most frustrating. It is unlikely that kids will really want to play the game by straddling the broom. The broom appeals to younger kids who love to pretend they’re zipping around in search of the Golden Snitch. However the game itself is somewhat more sophisticated and requires a certain amount of finesse to make it work well. This is not really the kind of game that a kid can flop down in a chair to play or take along in the car.

Parents will also want to supervise the play of younger children to ensure that they don’t take the flying part of the game too seriously and believe they can really fly. (Of course, this would happen with a household broom and an active imagination as well.)

The game unit can be damaged easily if left in direct sunlight or excessive heat. Requires 4 "AAA" batteries.