Golden Snitch: Snitch Snatcher – The Quidditch Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Quidditch Players
  • Chasers
  • Beaters
  • Keeper
  • Seeker
  • Quidditch Player Movement & Designated Board Areas
• Equipment & Set-Up
  • Quaffle
  • Golden Snitch
  • Set Up
• Game Play
  • To Begin a Game
  • Turn Sequence
  • Roll Off!
  • Rules of the Pitch
  • Goal Attempts & Scoring
• Playing Cards
  • Skill Cards
  • Action Cards
    • Color-Coded Action Cards
    • Interrupt Cards
  • Spot the Golden Snitch
• Glossary of Quidditch and Magic Terms
  • Additional Golden Snitch Game Terms

Contents

The printed contents list: 1 game board; 2 decks of playing cards; 16 playing pieces; 4 observation towers; 1 die.

Quidditch Players

Each team of 7 players is made up of 3 Chasers, 2 Beaters, 1 Keeper and 1 Seeker.

Chasers

Each team has 3 Chasers to play offense.

• Chasers have possession of the Quaffle and score goals.
• Chasers move up to 3 spaces, diagonally, in any direction. They can move in a straight diagonal line or zigzag. They move only on dark green spaces.
• Chasers must move around other players. They cannot move onto or through a space occupied by another player (unless an Action Card enables them to do so).
• Chasers cannot occupy any space in their own team's keeper area (the row directly in front of their team's goal spaces).

Beaters

Each team has 2 Beaters to play defense.

• Beaters block opposing Chasers from scoring and aim to knock them off the pitch.
• Beaters move up to 2 spaces forward, backward, left and right, but not diagonally (unless an Action Card enables them to do so). They move on both light and dark green spaces.
• A Beater can knock an opposing player off the pitch by moving onto the space occupied by that player.
• A Beater can occupy any space on the board except goal spaces.

Keeper

Each team has 1 Keeper to defend the goals.

• Keepers are responsible for protecting their team's goals.
• Keepers move up to 2 spaces, diagonally, between their yellow goal spaces and the dark green spaces of their keeper area (the row directly in front of the goal spaces).
• A Keeper can knock any opposing player in their keeper area off the pitch by moving onto the space occupied by that player.
• Keepers cannot move beyond their keeper area.

Seeker

Each team has 1 Seeker to pursue the Golden Snitch.

• A Seeker's role is to capture the Golden Snitch before the opposing team's Seeker does.
• Seekers move only when a Spot the Golden Snitch card is drawn. How far a Seeker moves toward the Golden Snitch depends on a roll of the die.
• Seekers move only on the dark green spaces of the seeker track that circles the pitch.

Quidditch Player Movement & Designated Board Areas

Diagram notes (printed on the page): Chasers move diagonally. Beaters move forward, backward, left and right. Keepers move diagonally between their goal spaces and the dark green spaces in their keeper area. Seekers move on the dark green spaces of the seeker track.

Diagram labels (as printed): Middle Line; Chasers; Beaters; Keeper Area; Keeper; Goal Spaces; Seeker; Seeker Track; Golden Snitch Space.

Equipment & Set-Up

Quaffle

• The Quaffle piece sits on top of the Quidditch player that has possession of it.
• The only players that can take possession of the Quaffle are Chasers and Keepers.
• Chasers carry and pass the Quaffle downfield to score goals.
• Keepers only take possession of the Quaffle after a failed goal attempt by the opposing team. (See Goal Attempts & Scoring on page 4.)
• The Quaffle cannot be passed over the middle line of the pitch. (See Rules of the Pitch on page 4.)
• Beaters and Seekers never take possession of the Quaffle.

Golden Snitch

• Whenever a Spot the Golden Snitch card is drawn, it is played immediately. The Golden Snitch is placed on one of the two designated Golden Snitch spaces located at each end of the pitch, as indicated on the card.
• Roll the die to move your Seeker towards the Golden Snitch.
• If you land on the Golden Snitch, your team wins 150 points and the game is over. (See more Spot the Golden Snitch rules on page 5.)

Set Up

1. Choose a Quidditch team to represent. Arrange your team's Quidditch player pieces in their starting positions:
   • Chasers start on the dark green spaces with a light green dot.
   • Beaters start on the light green spaces with a dark green square, directly behind two of the Chasers.
   • Keepers start on the center goal space with a yellow dot.
   • Seekers start at the midpoints of the seeker track, to the right of their team's starting positions, on the space marked with a circle.
2. Take your team's playing card deck, separate the Skill Cards from the Action Cards, shuffle them separately, and place them face down on the board as shown below.
3. (Optional) Set up the 4 observation towers and place them around the Quidditch pitch.

Diagram labels (as printed): Golden Snitch Space; Observation Towers; Skill Cards; Chasers; Beaters; Seeker; Keeper; Golden Snitch Space; Action Cards; Display the Skill Cards you draw. Components key: Quaffle; Golden Snitch; Die.

Game Play

To Begin a Game

1. Draw 4 cards from your Action Card deck. (If you draw a Spot the Golden Snitch card, put it back in your deck, reshuffle, and draw another card.)
2. Roll the die to see who takes the first turn. If you win the roll, your team gets possession of the Quaffle. Put it on top of your forward-most Chaser.

Turn Sequence

There are 3 steps you can take on each turn. They must be taken in the following order.

Step 1: Draw a Card. Draw one card from either your Action Cards or Skill Cards. If you draw a Skill Card, lay it face up in front of you. If you draw an Action Card, place it in your hand with your other Action Cards for only your eyes to see.

Hint: Draw Skill Cards for your first few turns because most Action Cards cannot be played without at least one corresponding Skill Card.

Step 2: Play a Card (optional). When the situation is right, and you have enough Skill Cards in your arsenal, play an Action Card to boost your advantage on the pitch. Not every turn will be the right time to play a card. Save them for the right moment! If you choose to play an Action Card, you must do so prior to making your 2 pitch plays. After playing an Action Card, put it in your discard pile. (Each team should have its own discard pile.)

Step 3: Make 2 Pitch Plays. Make 2 pitch plays on every turn. A pitch play consists of:

1. Moving a player to a new position on the pitch, or
2. Passing the Quaffle from one player to another.

Important: An individual Quidditch player cannot be moved to a new position twice on the same turn. A player can move once and pass the Quaffle on the same turn.

Quidditch Strategy Hints:

• If your team has possession of the Quaffle, move 2 of your Chasers downfield and try to score; or pass the Quaffle and move 1 Chaser to outmaneuver your opponent's defense.
• If your team is on defense, place your Beaters in position to block the opposing team's path to goal. Look for opportunities to knock opposing Chasers off the pitch and take possession of the Quaffle.
• Even if you do not have possession of the Quaffle, move one or two Chasers downfield so they are ready to score if your team gets the ball.

Roll Off!

When you get a card that says "roll off" opponents roll the die. The highest roll wins the roll off.

Rules of the Pitch

1. You can move 2 different Quidditch players on a given turn. You cannot move the same player twice.
2. Two players cannot occupy the same space on the pitch.
3. When one or more Quidditch players are knocked off the pitch, they are out of the game until the start of their team's next turn. At that time players can be returned to their designated starting positions. (Returning a player to the pitch does not count as a pitch play). If all starting positions are occupied, players must wait until the start of a turn on which a starting position is available.
4. Only Beaters and Keepers can move onto a space occupied by an opposing player (thereby knocking that player off the pitch).
5. Beaters cannot knock Keepers or Seekers off the pitch.
6. The Quaffle cannot be passed over the middle line of the pitch. Only players on the same side of the pitch can pass the Quaffle to each other. A Chaser that is on the middle line can pass to any location on the pitch and receive a pass from any location.
7. Only Chasers and Keepers can have possession of the Quaffle.
8. When a Chaser in possession of the Quaffle is knocked off the pitch, the Quaffle goes to the Chaser on the opposing team who is closest to where the Quaffle was taken.

Goal Attempts & Scoring

1. Score a goal by moving a Chaser in possession of the Quaffle onto one of your opponent's open goal spaces. Your goal attempt will be successful unless your opponent uses an Action Interrupt Card that can block a goal.
2. Whenever you make a goal attempt, whether or not it is successful, your turn ends.
3. When a goal is scored, all players return to their starting positions, except the Seekers. The team that was scored against takes possession of the Quaffle.
4. When a goal is blocked with an interrupt card, possession of the Quaffle goes to the Keeper that blocked the goal. The Chaser who made the goal attempt returns to a starting position on the pitch and that team's turn is over. The team now in possession of the Quaffle, must use one of their pitch plays to pass the Quaffle from their Keeper to a Chaser in order to put the Quaffle back in play.
5. Score 10 points for each goal. Score 150 points when a Seeker catches the Golden Snitch. The game is over when one team reaches an agreed upon number of goals (play to 3 goals for a shorter game or 5 goals for a longer game). If a Seeker catches the Golden Snitch, the game is over and that team automatically wins!

Playing Cards

Skill Cards

Collect Skill Cards to increase your skill level in offense, defense, and wizardry. Place them face up in front of you. The more Skill Cards you collect, the more Action Cards you can play. Keep all the Skill Cards you have drawn for the duration of the game; do not discard them.

Action Cards

Use Action Cards to make special moves on the pitch and outmaneuver the other team. You may play one Action Card on each turn, but you don't have to. Use them strategically at key points in the game. Discard each Action Card after playing it. At the end of each turn, you can have no more than 7 Action Cards in your hand. Choose which excess cards to discard. If you run out of Action Cards, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down as your Action Deck.

Color-Coded Action Cards

There are 3 types of color-coded Action Cards. Offense cards are purple. Defense cards are green. Wizardry cards are red. The number on the card tells you how many corresponding Skill Cards you need to play the Action Card.

Example card (printed): "Fly Sideways" — Offense. You must have at least 1 offense Skill Card to play this offense Action Card. The purple border indicates this is an offense Action Card. Card text: "Trick maneuver! Move one of your Chasers 2 spaces to the left or right."

Interrupt Cards

Some Action Cards have a yellow checkered border. These are interrupt cards. They can be played when it is not your turn. Keep these cards at the ready to interrupt a move your opponent is making.

Example card (printed): "Keeper Defense" — Defense. You must have at least 4 defense Skill Cards to play this interrupt card. The green border indicates this is a defense Action Card. The yellow checkered border indicates this is an interrupt card. Card text: "Your Keeper successfully blocks a goal and takes possession of the Quaffle! The opposing Chaser that attempted the goal returns to a starting position."

Spot the Golden Snitch

There are 6 Spot the Golden Snitch cards in each deck. Whenever one of these cards is drawn, it must be played immediately, as follows:

1. Place the Golden Snitch on one of the Golden Snitch spaces at each end of the pitch, as indicated on the card.
2. Each person rolls the die and moves their Seeker that number of dark green spaces toward the Golden Snitch.
3. To catch the Golden Snitch, you must roll the exact number needed to land on the Golden Snitch's space. (Example: If your Seeker is 3 spaces away from the Golden Snitch and you throw a 6, your Seeker does not advance. You must throw a 3 for your Seeker to land exactly on the Golden Snitch. A Seeker cannot cross over a Golden Snitch space.)

Important: Whenever you draw a Spot the Golden Snitch card, it does not count as part of your turn. Play Spot the Golden Snitch, then draw another card and complete your turn.

Glossary of Quidditch and Magic Terms

For a Better Understanding of Wizardry and the Centuries-old Game of Quidditch

• Accio: Incantation for the summoning charm that causes objects at a distance to come to the caster of the charm.
• Bludger: A black iron ball, 10 inches in diameter, bewitched to fly around during a Quidditch match and knock players off their brooms. Two Bludgers are used in each match.
• Beater: Defensive position in Quidditch. Each team has two Beaters who use bats to keep Bludgers away from their teammates. They also aim to hit the Bludgers towards the opposing team.
• Chaser: Offensive position in Quidditch. Each team has three Chasers whose role is to control the Quaffle and shoot it through the goal rings. Each goal is worth 10 points.
• Confundo: Incantation for the Confundus Charm that causes a person or animated object to become highly confused.
• Dopplebeater Defense: Quidditch tactic whereby two Beaters strike a Bludger at the same time, increasing the Bludger's danger to opposing players.
• Double Eight Loop: Quidditch tactic used by a Keeper, who swerves around the three goal posts at high speed in an effort to block a goal attempt.
• Expelliarmus: A defensive charm that disarms an opponent.
• Golden Snitch: A bewitched, walnut-sized sphere with silver wings that flies around the Quidditch pitch at high speeds, sometimes pausing and hovering in place. A Seeker's goal is to catch the Golden Snitch before the other team's Seeker does, thereby scoring 150 points and ending the game.
• Immobilus: Spell that immobilizes living targets.

Additional Golden Snitch Game Terms

• Keeper Area: Row of spaces on the Golden Snitch game board directly in front of each team's goal spaces. In the game of Golden Snitch, Keepers can only occupy their team's goal spaces or the dark green spaces in their keeper area.
• Middle Line: Line in the middle of the Golden Snitch game board that extends the width of the pitch. In the game of Golden Snitch, the Quaffle cannot be passed over the middle line. (See Rules of the Pitch on page 4.)