Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup FAQ/Walkthrough

Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
FAQs/Walkthrough by Adam Marx

This guide is for the GCN version of the game only. You can use it as a
reference for other versions, but there will be times when you'll find yourself
unable to use it due to the vast but necessarily unavoidable inconsistencies in
the controls. You see, I might tell you something like, "Hold L, then tap A."
But that's not going to help you at all if you're playing the PC version.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction [INT]
Version History [VER]
Quidditch [QUI]
Controls [CON]
Playing a Match [PLA]
Hogwarts [HOG]
World Cup [WOR]
Exhibition [EXH]
Queerditch Marsh [QUE]
Quidditch Cards [CAR]
Legal Garbage [LEG]
In Closing [CLO]

Those letters in square brackets are handy-dandy codes. Use your browser's
Search function (Ctrl+F in Internet Explorer) and type in the letters, square
brackets and all, then click "Find" or whatever. Click it again and you'll be
instantaneously transported to the desired section. So for example, to find the
information for Exhibition Matches, hit Ctrl+F (in Explorer), type in "EXH"
(with square brackets), and hit Find twice. You're there! Maybe I'm explaining
this too thoroughly though; unless you've never read a FAQs before this
shouldn't be anything new.

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| INTRODUCTION [INT] |
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Welcome to Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup!

Quidditch is unarguably one of the most entertaining aspects of JK Rowling's
'Harry Potter' universe. Ah, the majesty of it all: Fourteen players speeding
up and down the pitch at sixty miles an hour, the Quaffle little more than a
red blur as it changes hands faster than the eye can see...the iron Bludgers
doggedly assaulting them, the Seekers craning and searching for any sign of the
elusive Golden Snitch...so many readers have tried to capture these feelings
and cork them.

A number of fan projects have tried their hands at it, but being fan projects
I'm afraid to say none of them has gained netwide notoriety. The film
adaptations are good inward looks, but don't satisfy the craving for hands-on
action that many hunger for. Other Harry Potter games by EA have featured
Quidditch, but only in short bursts at a time. There was even a card game, but
that's not quite the same thing.

Apparently, whoever's in charge of EA's external licenses took a look and
realised there might be something to this. Sometime later, HP:QWC was
published. It's by no means a perfect game, maybe not even an enduring game,
but it's nowhere near as bad as gaming forums would have one believe. I get the
distinct impression that none of the criticizers even had a try at Firebolt,
the highest difficulty level. I could actually go on and on about this game,
but then it would be a review rather than an introduction. Make your own
judgement, I guess, though for $14.97 there shouldn't be much stopping you.
Let's just move on.

Okay, the purpose of this guide is to take you through all the features of the
game logically. I'm not going to hold your hand, but I am going to help you
along and see what I can do about the trickier spots. You're welcome to proceed
through the game in whatever manner you choose, but the guide is organized from
top to bottom. The greatest challenge of Quidditch World Cup is collecting all
104 Quidditch Cards. Like any Trophy Hunt it's a tall order, but satisfying. At
any rate, with this in mind the 'Quidditch Cards' section will probably be the
one most useful to you. Right then, let's get on with it.

Also, this is my first FAQs, though it's really more of a warm-up. Hope you
enjoy it.

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| VERSION HISTORY [VER] |
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Listed sequentially, with newer edits at the bottom.

Version 1.0
The initial version of this FAQs, the state it was in when first posted on
GameFAQs.

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| QUIDDITCH [QUI] |
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If you're playing this game or even reading this FAQs without owning the game,
I seriously doubt you don't know the rules of Quidditch. But for the
(inexplicably) uninitiated, those who have been out of the HP loop for a while,
filler, and the sake of completeness, here are the rules of the game as it
portrayed in the books and films.

Played on flying broomsticks, Quidditch can be explained as a bit of a hybrid
between hockey, football and basketball. The pitch is more than a hundred
metres long and fifty wide, divided by the centre line. In the direct centre of
the pitch lies a circle 2' in diameter around which the players and referee
gather as the game begins. At each end of the pitch are three golden hoops,
identical in size and make but at different heights. The spectators' boxes
surround the pitch, and flying out of bounds causes one's team to lose
possession.

The main ball is the Quaffle. Red in colour, made of leather and 12" in
diameter (roughly the size of a football), the Quaffle is used to score. The
three Chasers on either team seize the Quaffle and try to throw it through one
of the opposing team's three golden hoops. Doing so scores them 10 points, but
the other Chasers as well as the Keeper will do everything they can to prevent
this. Battles for possession can be quite brutal.

Two iron balls called Bludgers fly freely around the pitch of their own
volition. They are charmed to try and slam themselves into the player closest
to them, being objective about it of course, and can wreak quite a lot of havoc
if left to their own devices. Therefore, two Beaters on each time are armed
with heavy clubs and defend their teammates from being knocked off their
brooms. More to the point, they direct the Bludgers towards opposing players,
hoping to allow a steal, an easy goal, or an uninhibited grab at the Snitch.

The Golden Snitch, of course, is the fourth and final ball. A gold ball the
size of a walnut with two tiny, silvery wings, it rips around the pitch at
incredibly high speeds. Even when standing still it can be hard to spot. The
role of the Seeker is to keep a sharp eye out for the Snitch, which can be
quite difficult given the amount of activity in a Quidditch match. When the
Snitch slows down or comes to rest, the Seeker speeds off and tries to catch
it. When one or the other Seeker catches the Snitch, the game ends and the
catcher's team is awarded an additional 150 points.

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| CONTROLS [CON] |
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This is taken practically straight out of the manual; again, it's here mostly
for completeness, but it's a quick reference...also, you may not have had or no
longer have access to your manual, so here goes.

The computer controls your Keeper when you're facing an incoming shot, so you
don't need to worry about that.

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| PLAYING A MATCH [PLA] |
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Reading about it in a review or, especially, the manual, Quidditch World Cup
might seem like a very complicated game. If you think that fear not, it isn't
at all, you just need to get a few things figured out. Here, I'll provide you
with some tips about playing, as well as give an explanation of the sequence of
play.

As you start the game, you'll be in control of one of the Chasers. Get used to
it; your control is almost exclusively related to your Chasers. You use the
Control Stick to move him around. Figuring out which Chaser you're controlling
is easy, he's the one with the yellow star underneath him. Meanwhile, the guy
surrounded by the blue star is the one you need to be watching out for.

To begin, whoever's refereeing this match (either Madam Hooch or a
professional-level referee) will throw the Quaffle into the air. This signals
the start of the match. As soon as the other guy moves, lunge at the Quaffle.
However, actually getting there first is kind of tricky, so it's a good bet
you'll fail. That's okay.

If an enemy Chaser does go speeding off, go after him. When you get close, make
sure he's not flying too erratically then try a tackle. To tackle, press the A
Button while not holding the Quaffle. Your player will lean forward and try to
take possession. If you make contact with the Chaser holding the Quaffle while
pressing A, you'll steal it right out of their hands. Wheel around and head for
your opponents' goalposts.

Once you have possession of the Quaffle, it's time to try for a goal. But just
flying to the goalposts is unproductive, dangerous, and slow. Instead, press A
to pass to another Chaser. You'll now take control of this Chaser, at which
point it's a good idea to make another pass. Hold down A then release for a
harder pass, and if you need to aim somewhere different than where you are use
the Control Stick. After a few passes, you should be relatively close to the
goal; once you've entered the scoring area, press B to take a shot. Charging up
for a shot and aiming it work just like passing. Obviously, you should aim for
the empty goal if you can. The Keeper and Chasers will both try and block your
shots, so steer clear. Be quick or you may get tackled.

There are dozens of good tactics for successfully scoring, pretty well all of
which you can easily figure out for yourself. I'll throw you a few. First of
all, remember that the longer you hold B the harder the shot and the more
likely its chances to succeed. Oftentimes you can just blast one right through
without doing anything fancy. However, I like to sit there in the centre
holding B, changing targets several times so that the defenders spread
themselves too thin and get hung up, then release and go for the opposite goal
hoop. You can also start at one hoop, drift lazily across to the other side,
then go for a quick goal in your original hoop or the middle hoop. Finally, you
can use your Dodge move to go at one hoop, then quickly cross to the other and
toss it in. You get the picture. Every successful goal nets you 10 points,
which are useful seeing as how the team with the most points at the end is the
winner.

In the event you're scored upon, you'll be in control of your own Keeper, who
gets a green star. Pass to one of your Chasers and press the attack.

Your Golden Snitch Bar will fill due to various actions in a game. I'll
elaborate on this later, but you want your half of the Golden Snitch as far to
the right as possible. Anyway, you build up the bar primarily through passing,
and filling the bar also powers your special moves. To make it fill faster, use
Combos. To start a combo, hold L (or R, or both) before passing. Do this
several times in a row and then score to rack up a nice Golden Snitch Bar
bonus, proportionate to the number of times you passed. Just don't get greedy
and focus too much on comboing, or an opponent will swoop in and intercept. If
they do, not only will you lose possession, but you won't have gained anything
on the Golden Snitch Bar, meaning it was all wasted effort.

As your combo level rises, you will be able to perform a Combo Shot. To do this
hold L and R, then press B. Your Chaser will perform an impressive shot, you'll
get an automatic goal, your Snitch Bar will fill a bit, and your opponent's
Snitch Bar will empty a bit.

You'll get other Special Moves, though, too. They're great if you use them
right. First up is the Dodge, which is probably the least interesting and least
useful of the four Special Moves. It's not so much a dodge as it is an instant
speed boost. I suppose you can use it to get out of the way of an approaching
Chaser, or to tear up the pitch. It would be a lot better if you could use it
to escape a Bludger assault, but as it is I practically never use it. But if it
compliments your personal tactics, a quick tap of X does the trick.

Speaking of Bludgers, when you have the option use Y to whack one at an
opposing Chaser. If you hit him, he'll drop the Quaffle and you'll take
possession. Basically, just drag it straight down and you're likely to hit him.
Guide it a little if you have to, but don't try to be clever about it or you
may miss entirely.

If someone hits a Bludger at you, your Beaters will fly on either side of you
and do their best to defend you. Their best isn't very good, so you're going to
have to dodge the Bludger. It's quite tricky since the computer is very good at
it. Just as it starts to turn back and come after you, duck to one side, wait a
second, then whirl to the right and speed off. If you do it right one of your
Beaters will bat it away and you'll be good to go, otherwise you'll have to try
a quick tackle on the opposing Chaser as he makes the steal. You can't pass,
Dodge, or do anything like that while being pursued by a Bludger, but you can
still shoot, and the other players will give you a wide berth since they don't
want to get hit either, so if you're within the scoring area you may as well
let it fly.

Eventually you'll receive the option for a Special Move Tackle. Press and hold
B and a cursor will appear. Guide it to the Chaser with the Quaffle using the
Control Stick. If you can get it to zero in on him you'll do a cool little move
and automatically steal the Quaffle. However, doing a Special Move Tackle will
place you on the centre line, so only use it if you're on your own half of the
pitch or you'll be losing ground.

Last, we have the Team Special Move. At the World Cup level, you'll need to
perform certain actions in a game before you're allowed to use your Team
Special Move. When you do finally earn enough pops on the Golden Snitch Bar,
press Z. You'll be treated to a sometimes spectacular cinematic sequence that
depicts your Chasers performing marvellous feats of Quidditch. You'll score
either one or two automatic goals. Those that score two goals get you 20 points
rather than 10, but those that score only one have a greater effect on the
Golden Snitch Bar.

Okay, so enough of my talking about this Golden Snitch Bar without having
explained what it is! As I said before, you want your half of it to be as far
to the right as possible, and you accomplish this by performing various actions
in a game. Special Moves also affect your opponent's Golden Snitch Bar. As your
half of the Snitch moves to the right, your opponents' moves to the left. When
the two inevitably touch, the Golden Snitch suddenly appears. You'll now have
to enter the Golden Snitch Chase.

The farther to the right your half of the Snitch was when the two halves
collided, the higher your Boost Metre will be and the lower your opponent's
will be. The Seeker with the higher Boost Metre has an advantage, of course
being able to sustain a longer boost. Keep your Control Stick titled forward
and follow the Snitch's golden trail, trying to get ever closer to it. If
you're a good flier like me, you can just keep the A Button rammed down and not
worry about waiting for it to fill up again: As long as you stay within the
exact centre of the golden trail, your Boost Metre will perpetually recharge,
allowing you to keep up that Boost. If the opposing Seeker gets too close, give
her a kick with the Y Button. When you get close enough - that is, the camera
is right on top of your Seeker - press B to grab the Snitch. You'll get 150
points, end the match, and probably win it!

Whew! After all that, the match is over. That long-winded explanation might
sound slow, but in reality all that stuff happening at once keeps the game
moving. Hopefully that helps you to better grasp the concept of playing a game
of Quidditch. You'll understand more clearly once you start playing, and as you
get practiced it'll become like second nature.

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| HOGWARTS [HOG] |
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Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts...

When you first select 'Hogwarts,' Oliver Wood and Harry Potter will treat you
to an explanation of the game of Quidditch. Ah, but you don't need it, do you?
I just spent three entire sections giving you the lowdown on Quidditch, and
truth be told I'd have to say mine is better. Anyway, after that you'll get to
choose a team. Right now you're limited to one of the four Hogwarts House
Teams, but that will change soon enough, oh my yes. Later on I'll talk about
the teams individually a little more, but it's up to you for now. Choose
Gryffindor if you're a purist, Ravenclaw if you badly want to win, Hufflepuff
if you want to work for it just like they do, or Slytherin if you're evil. It
doesn't especially matter at this point.

Once you've picked a team, that team's Seeker is now your guide. Well, so am I,
and like before I'm the one you'd better pay closer attention to. Anyhow that
team's Seeker doesn't think you're very smart, so now you'll have to face six
training exercises of progressively greater difficulty.

==Training Exercises==

You'll have to pass the first three before you'll be allowed to play a match.
Once you have, play for a while, then return to the Training Exercises by
selecting your own team's Seeker. More exercises will become available as you
progress. Also, the more you pass the more moves will be available to you
during matches. If you're going for all Quidditch Cards you'll eventually want
to get the School Record on all six exercises, so read my tips closely if a
particular challenge gives you trouble.

*==Exercise 1: Passing==*

This one isn't terribly difficult once you get the hang of it. As you start
you'll have control of one of three Chasers. The other two are buzzing around
you with rings that stay between you and them. Press A to pass the Quaffle to
the Chaser who has the green ring around them. If you make a pass through a
ring while it's yellow, or if you miss the ring, you'll incur a 10-second time
penalty - that is, 10 seconds will be added to your total time, reducing your
chances of making a record.

After you've made ten successful passes, regardless of whether or not they went
through a green ring or not, your practise session ends. If you were relatively
quick about it and didn't miss too many rings, you'll get a record and probably
win a Quidditch Card. Hey, it's the first of many! Return as often as you like
until you get the School Record, or move on to Exercise 2. For every exercise
I'll try to give you some general tips to get that prestigious School Record
(though personal talent and luck is also important) like so:

TIPS:
As the challenge begins, there is a 3-second countdown before you can move. As
this is happening keep your eye on the Chaser with the yellow ring surrounding
them, not the green one. Almost by the time the countdown is over the green
ring will have turned yellow and the yellow, green, so watch for the switch and
make the good ol' Bullet Pass forthwith.

The key thing is to keep your Chasers close. You have no control over the other
two Chasers, so you'll just have to be ready. It's a little difficult to string
together passes but you can do it if you're on the ball, so to speak. It's also
a good idea to keep one eye on the Chaser you aren't aiming for in case the
rings change colour unexpectedly. Remember, just one mistake can send the whole
operation crashing down around your ears, with the School Record so close yet
so far.

You can try and stay between the other two Chasers in case there's a need for a
quick switch, or you can try and get them into a line and hope for a speedy two
volleys, turnaround, and another pass or two. Exercise 1 is actually much
harder than passing during a match, so it's good practise I suppose (especially
when playing with Slytherin, whose passes are kind of...awful.)

*==Exercise 2: Tackle & Shoot==*

One of your Chasers is matched up with Edgar Cloggs, formerly the local
Quidditch expert who now haunts the Hogwarts pitch. I could write a whole
paragraph about him, but all you need to know is that you need to tackle him,
then shoot. You probably figured that one out for yourself, though.

Okay, unlike last time, you don't start with the Quaffle - Edgar does. He
floats around erratically with no other objective than wasting your time and
taking away your record, so move towards him and press A while facing him to
tackle. If you're successful in this, immediately turn around and head for the
goalposts. Edgar will fly on ahead and take on the roll of Keeper. Once you're
inside the scoring area, press B to unload. Edgar takes the approach of
choosing one goalpost and hoping that's the one you'll aim for, so punish him
for it and pick the one that's farthest from where he is. If he catches the
Quaffle you'll gain 10 seconds, which is a bad thing since we're going for the
low time.

If you score a goal or he blocks the Quaffle, he'll re-take possession and
you'll need to chase him down again. Make another tackle, take another shot,
and go through this sequence one more time. The challenge ends when you've
successfully scored three goals. He won't ever take a shot himself, so don't go
worrying about that, but he will tackle you if you let him get too close, so
don't.

TIPS:
If you don't have your wits about you you'll often miss your tackle. Either get
right in his face or pay attention to the direction he's going to ensure you
don't go diving past him. As long as he's still in front of you keep holding A,
but if you zoom off to the side immediately let go of A and pull back on the
Control Stick.

When you're taking your shot, it's paramount that you don't allow Edgar to
catch the Quaffle. Like always, charging up the shot (by holding B, then
releasing to shoot) increases your chances of putting it away. However, if he's
guarding one of the side hoops you can sneak one past him into the centre goal
hoop rather than the far one, which will save you a few seconds. I beat the
School Record by one tenth of a second.

*==Exercise 3: Seeker==*

This has got to be the easiest of all the challenges, by far. Oh nose! A Golden
Snidget has escaped from a nearby Snidget reservation! You've been asked to
round it up. Since the Snidget is the ancient predecessor of the modern Golden
Snitch, which stopped once the animal rights witches and wizards started mixing
it up, this is exactly like the Golden Snitch Chase in a full-on game of
Quidditch. Don't listen too closely to Madam Hooch; by the time her dialogue
finishes, the thing she's talking about has already happened. That is, the
filling of your Boost Metre. They should've caught that one in beta.

As soon as your Boost Metre fills you're ready to chase after it. I'm not going
to explain how to do this twice, so read the 'Playing a Match' section if
you're frothing at the mouth for more detail. Basically, tilt the Control Stick
forward and press A to Boost. Press B when you get close - that is, the camera
is right on top of you - to catch the Snidget and end the challenge. Now if I
said any more than that, I'd either be redundant or have a very small section
for...

TIPS:
Honestly, this one shouldn't give you much trouble. I got the School Record
first try, by quite a margin I might add, so I'm sure you can too. The first
and best piece of advice I can give you is this: Fly well. Honestly, beyond
that there's not much left besides practise. The idea, by the way, is to stay
directly in the centre of the Snidget's trail - the darker part of it. Flying
within this area is what refills your Boost Metre, and you're pretty much
hooped if that isn't happening. React to its movements and, if you have to,
memorize its route so you can anticipate its turns, but it honestly shouldn't
take that long.

If you really are having trouble, there is some strategy involved in the Boost
Metre. But before I talk about how to do that, let me tell you this: I prefer
to just gun it the whole way. Whenever I'm controlling my Seeker, be it
Exercise 3 or the Golden Snitch Chase, I always have the A Button firmly
depressed. You see, if you're constantly boosting but flying in the dark part
of the Snidget's trail, your Boost Metre will perpetually be both being emptied
and being restored simultaneously. It empties a little faster than it fills,
as you would expect, but the effect means that it empties very slowly if you're
doing it right. Overall, you can sustain a longer boost with this method, you
just have to be doing it right.

Now I only recommend judicious use of the Boost Metre if you aren't a skilled
flyer, and in fact I actually find it harder to win that way, but I'll try to
help you with this. First, you can wait for it to be completely or half-filled,
then jam the throttle and head for the Snitch. You'll be quite close after
doing this several times. Better yet, you can actually use your Boost to cut
corners. When the Snitch makes a violent turn, pull out of its slipstream,
realign yourself and head right back in. Since you've been Boosting the whole
time you won't actually have lost any ground! This will take some practise but
it might work for you. However, in case I haven't made it clear already: I
prefer my way.

*==Exercise 4: Beaters and Bludgers==*

Hoo, boy. This one's a bit of a toughie. You're in control of one of your
Chasers. You're flying around flanked by the team's two Beaters. Your goal is
to break the ten targets scattered around the area by smashing them with
Bludgers. As you approach a target, you'll hear a little chime sound. Press Y
to take control of a Bludger, then direct it to the target using the Control
Stick. When you're not doing that, make very sure you weave around the
Bludgers.

TIPS:
To do well in this challenge, you have to be proficient both at hitting and
dodging Bludgers. Hitting is easy. Hit Y as soon as you can in order to give
yourself more room to manoeuvre the Bludger. The worst thing that can happen is
being too late with the hit, which could result in you having to play the
Bludger out then send it back in, costing you precious seconds. Otherwise it's
a simple matter to guide the Bludger towards the target.

Dodging is a little more complicated. Essentially this challenge is the same as
if you were to hit a Bludger at the opposing Chaser, then have your opponent
immediately hit his own Bludger at you. The same tactics for avoiding a Bludger
apply here, and you'll want to do it well: Every hit will cost you 15 seconds!
OUCH, OUCH, OUCH! If you don't remember or haven't read that part, what you
have to do is head to one side just as the Bludger starts to come after you,
wait a second, then head in the opposite direction and make a clean break.
Again, making a loop is the absolute worst thing you can do in this situation.

Once you escape the Bludger, things return to normal and you can head for your
next target uninhibited. The annoying thing here is that the view you receive
when being assault by a Bludger limits your field of vision, so you might be
heading way to the left of your next objective and not even realise it.

The key here is to figure out a pattern and stick to it. You can develop one of
your own, probably one that's better than what I came up with, but here's mine:

Start off with the target immediately in front of you and slightly to the
right. Swerve left after this and head for the lake, where another target
awaits. Turn around a good 300 degrees and head straight over the copse of
trees in the middle of the field, just behind which is another target. Keep
heading in that same direction for another target. After this, head back
towards the castle and mop things up.

Yeah, pretty bad, and kind of hard to follow, I know. The point here is, do
what works for you. This one will definitely take some practise to master, but
once you do you might find your opponent listed as having 0 Bludger Hits rather
often...this one, in my opinion, is actually about the dodging, not the
hitting.

*==Exercise 5: Special Moves==*

This is the one exercise that doesn't accurately portray a function's mid-match
effects. This aside, it's remarkably like Exercise 2, Tackle & Shoot. You're
once again put to the brutal trials of Edgar Cloggs, but rather than a normal
tackle, you must use a Special Move Tackle.

In a match, as time goes on you'll eventually gain the option to try a Special
Move Tackle against an opposing Chaser. In this exercise, you start off with
that ability and immediately regain it every time you shoot. But just so you
understand, your chances to use a Special Move Tackle in a real match will be
few and far between.

At any rate, Edgar is flying around randomly just like last time, in no
particular hurry to do anything at all. What you have to do is get relatively
close to him, then press B. A whirling cursor will appear in front of you,
which you guide with the Control Stick. If you can get it to focus on Edgar,
you've successfully done your Special Move Tackle. Now in a real match, you'll
automatically steal the Quaffle. What happens here is that Edgar will sit
there, stunned. Zip in there, press A to grab the Quaffle, and speed off to the
goalposts. Edgar will try to stop you again. Get three goals to complete the
challenge.

TIPS:
This is a fairly straightforward challenge. There's nothing really tricky you
can do here, you just need to try it a few times until you get better at the
game. Again, you can anticipate Edgar's moves to ensure your Special Move
Tackle doesn't fail. Really, you just need to get a feel for it. The same goal-
scoring tactics you've been using for some time now will be more than
sufficient for our purposes here.

There are a couple things to note, though. Make sure you're dogged about
getting to those goal hoops, because Edgar, if only very occasionally, may try
to hit you with a Special Move Tackle of his own, costing you as much as 8
seconds and at least 3. Moving right along, if Edgar saves a goal or if you hit
him (or are forced to hit him, because you failed to home in on him) with a
regular tackle instead of a Special Move Tackle you will incur a 10-second time
penalty. Don't allow that to happen, with a little practise that sort of thing
is inexcusable. No pressure!

*==Exercise 6: Combos==*

Note: I'm afraid I still haven't *quite* got this one figured out. What,
exactly, are the conditions upon which time penalties are incurred? (In simpler
terms, I keep getting times with +40.2 on them, what am I doing wrong?) If
anybody can tell me this, I'd be greatly appreciative; please drop me a line.
(Contact information is in the 'Legal Garbage' section, it's kind of lumped
in.)

This exercise is sort of a hybrid between Passing and Tackle & Shoot, only
slightly more complicated and minus the tackling. All three of your Chasers are
trying to score a goal. Since there's nobody working against you this should be
a piece of cake, but there are some unusual requirements of you. You have to
make Combo Passes and Volley Shots, otherwise you'll incur time penalties.

You'll start out a goodly distance away from the goal hoops, but in possession
of the Quaffle. The first chance you get, do a Combo Pass to one of the Chasers
way out in front of you. Hold L, then pass as normal for a Combo Pass.
Eventually you'll be in a position to score. Now, here the instructions mislead
you. They say you need to perform a Volley Shot, which you do by double-tapping
B. What you actually need to do is shoot while holding down the R Button. Hey,
I didn't make it up, I'm just the FAQs guy.

If the Keeper blocks your shot, it'll still count but you'll get a 30-second
time penalty. (I'd sooner just lose possession!!) There's a 10-second penalty
for not doing a Combo shot. You also rack up penalties for reasons I have yet
to understand.

TIPS:
It's impossible and somewhat unethical for me to offer tips until I better
understand this challenge. As soon as I can find somebody who can help me out
with this, I'll go more in-depth on Exercise 6. I hate to leave this
unfinished, but I have to. (If you're really having trouble, try your luck with
Gryffindor - their Chasers are the best.)

Well, that's it! After a while those laudable School Records will be yours, as
long as you keep practising. Remember, you'll need all of the House and School
Records if you intend to get every Quidditch Card like a good young boy or
girl, but otherwise there's probably not much point in going for that perfect
score.

==The Hogwarts Quidditch Cup==

There's not a lot I should need to explain here. Select your own Seeker to
practise the basics some more. Select Madam Hooch for a practise game, which I
don't recommend doing, by the way, just jump right in. Finally, select another
team's Seeker for a competitive match. This plays out just like a normal
Quidditch match, only it's much, much easier than the World Cup, as you will
see soon enough.

After your first match, you'll find out about the league. As long as you won,
and you should have, you should be at the top or at the very least in second.
Now it's time to play another match. Play three matches and you'll win the
Quidditch Cup, and with that, you'll be ready to go on to the World Cup! Don't
get too excited, though; you have to do this with all four teams, and you might
as well do it sooner rather than later. I'd say you're pretty darn ready for no
less than Nimbus 2000 difficulty once you've gone through Hogwarts once or
twice.

Also, you might like to know that you'll see shots of team members, the
commentators or audience members cheering and congratulating each other after a
goal. The Captain and the Seeker of the team you won with last are the ones who
will appear when you see the audience members. Make sure it's a team you don't
despise; you don't want to see Marcus Flint's disgusting face contort into a
victorious grin every time you pull off a Combo, do you? Nope, you want Cho to
cheer instead.

==Teams==

Hogwarts fields four amateur teams for you to choose from, one from each house.
The team listing for Hogwarts and the World Cup is the same. I'll give you my
two cents, the names of the members, et cetera. The headings are painfully
self-explanatory, so let's get to it.

*==Gryffindor==*
Overview: Well, I'd have to say that Gryffindor is a pretty good team to learn
the ropes with. They're very well rounded: Like so many people in video games
these days, they don't excel in any one area, but have no blinding weaknesses
either. Actually, the Chasers are worthy to note, since they're probably the
best of the Hogwarts teams - their passing is great.
Uniforms: Scarlet with gold trim
Home Stadium: Hogwarts
Seeker: Harry Potter
Chasers: Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet
Keeper: Oliver Wood (Captain)
Beaters: Fred Weasley, George Weasley
Team Special Move: The 'Weasley Wangler.' One of the Chasers makes a straight
drive down the centre of the pitch. The Weasley twins trap a Bludger and hit it
back and forth between them. Not wanting to get hit, the Chasers abandon their
defensive positions. Finally, the twins pelt the Bludger at the Keeper, who
falls out of the way giving the Chaser an easy goal. (1 goal.)

*==Ravenclaw==*
Overview: Ravenclaw is probably the best team overall. They're widely
acknowledged as simply being a cut above the rest, and I'm inclined to agree.
Their players are the best, they have an absolutely awesome Team Special Move,
and they've got Cho Chang! (Not that that matters...)
Uniforms: Sapphire with bronze trim
Home Stadium: Hogwarts
Seeker: Cho Chang
Chasers: Randolph Boon, Roger Davies (Captain), Jeremy Stratton
Keeper: Grant Page
Beaters: Duncan Ingleby, Jason Samuels
Team Special Move: The three Chasers fly high into the sky, blue smoke trailing
from behind them. The opposing Chasers gape in awe. Covered by the smoke, the
Chasers dive and come in low. The startled defenders try to stop them but are
kicked and punched out of the way. They then come up and score three great
goals. This is the most of any Team Special Move, but remember it also has the
least effect on the opponent's Golden Snitch Bar. (3 goals.)

*==Hufflepuff==*
Overview: Sorry Hufflepuff fans, this one is simply the worst team. But if you
don't mind doing a bit of legwork or would like a challenge, go for it.
Honestly though, who wants to play as Hufflepuff? I only did to get its
Quidditch Cards.
Uniforms: Yellow with black trim
Home Stadium: Hogwarts
Seeker: Cedric Diggory (Captain)
Chasers: Tamsen Appleby, Heidi McAcvoy, Malcolm Priest
Keeper: Herbert Fleet
Beaters: Maxine O'Flanagan, Antony Rickett
Team Special Move: (1 goal.)

*==Slytherin==*
Overview: A bit of an average team. More or less on par with Gryffindor, which
would make sense, the two houses being such great rivals. However, a Slytherin
player holds like a rock. The most noticeable disadvantage with this team is
the terrible passing. Rather than giving you passing opportunities, the other
two Chasers actually fly *behind* you, which is great for maintaining
possession but slows you down and makes comboing tricky.
Uniforms: Emerald with silver trim
Home Stadium: Hogwarts
Seeker: Draco Malfoy
Chasers: Marcus Flint (Captain), Warren Montague, Adrian Pucey
Keeper: Miles Bletchley
Beaters: Lucina Bole, Peregrine Derrick
Team Special Move: Singularly brutal and not very interesting. The Chasers fly
tactlessly towards the goal hoops, knock around the defenders as they go, beat
up the Keeper (Stooging penalty!) and do some crude work with the Quaffle. (2
goals.)

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| WORLD CUP [WOR] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

After you win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup for the first time, you'll be able to
compete in the Quidditch World Cup. Whether you choose to do so immediately or
hang back until you've gotten all the Hogwarts-related Quidditch Cards is up to
you. Once you're ready, though, you're presented with the Seekers of nine
teams. Eight of these teams are available for use right from the start, but
Bulgaria must be unlocked. As with the Hogwarts teams, one team isn't really
that much better than another, so just pick one. You'll then have to choose one
of four difficulty levels:

Comet 260 (*)
'The Comet Trading Company's finest racing broom. Although starting to shows
its age, the Comet 260 is an extremely versatile model and a great first broom
for the club Quidditch player.'
This level is barely even harder than Hogwarts! Honestly, if you can beat that
one without any trouble then playing at the Comet 260 level will be a snap. But
it's supposed to be, isn't it, it's a beginner's broom. This broom can get you
into the World Cup schwerve, but it might leave you bored; the Nimbus 2000 is
probably be a better bet.

Nimbus 2000 (**)
'One of the Nimbus Racing Broom Company's most successful models. A highly
reliable broom with a great turn-of-speed and exceptional handling. This broom
is not for beginners!'
I disagree. Although it's a big step up from Comet 260 level, if you're
practised at the game the opposition shouldn't give you too much trouble. But
in the later matches, make sure you're comboing or you may end up clawing
unsuccessfully at the Snitch.

Nimbus 2001 (***)
'The top of the Nimbus Racing Broom Company's range. Capable of previously
unseen speed and control, the Nimbus 2001 is a world-class broom. Only
experienced players need apply!'
This is where things start to get a little harder. Honestly it's not really
very much trickier, you just have to be a better player in order to do well.
You have to be more precise and, especially, quicker, particularly with your
combos. You're definitely going to want to have a few Nimbus 2000 championships
under your belt before you take a stab at this one. Besides, you need 35
Quidditch Cards to unlock it, so might not have a choice about that.

Firebolt (****)
'A state-of-the-art racing broom. Each component has been honed to aerodynamic
perfection, giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance, pinpoint precision and
an awesome turn-of-speed.'
You know all those people who complain that QWC is far too easy? They've never
even seen a Firebolt. Maybe that's because they don't have the pluck to collect
the 50 Quidditch Cards you need for this broom. Back on track, Firebolt
difficulty does take some serious skill to master, but after playing Nimbus
2001 for a while you'll be wiping the floor with Firebolters of all nations.

Once you've chosen a team (detailed at the end of this section) and a
difficulty level, you'll be taken to the 'Fixture List.' This shows you who
will be playing whom for Round 1. Your team is the one with the red shield
beside it. Look across to see your opponent for this round and press A to begin
the match. At the end of the match you'll see which teams beat which, how many
points each team garnered, and finally the league standings. Just like in
Hogwarts, the team who earned the most points during its first match will be at
the top of the league. Hopefully that's you, but if you messed up you'll have
plenty of chances to redeem yourself.

There are 18 Rounds in a single Quidditch World Cup. You are required to play
every other team twice. However, you skip Round 6 and Round 13. This ensures
that everybody plays the same number of matches. Every round there's a team who
isn't playing, but you probably don't notice. The last round, Round 18, pits
you against Bulgaria. Well, usually Bulgaria, but not always. If you beat them,
you win the World Cup! Give yourself a pat on the back, considering you
probably earned about 12 Quidditch Cards, but remember you're just getting
started; you have another eight teams to lead to victory!

==Teams==

*==Australia==*
Overview: Australia falls into the category of the three 'average teams' in the
game, the other two being England and the USA. They're termed as such because
they've really got nothing to them. It's quite easy to learn the game while
playing as them because they have no particular quirks, but as in any game with
proper balance, their exceedingly even nature makes them powerful in the hands
of a master.
Uniforms: Dark yellow with some green
Home Stadium: A massive canyon in the middle of the outback, pretty cool.
Seeker: Ebunga
Chasers: Mathew Eschunga, Kenneth Hastings, Maria Montine
Keeper:
Beaters:
Team Special Move: This one is focussed on the element of water, and on the
theme of surfing. This is probably the Woollongong Shimmy (seeing as how this
team is most likely the Woollongong Warriors). They zigzag their way up the
pitch, riding their brooms like surfboards with water trailing behind them,
then deke around the Keeper to score. (2 goals.)

*==Bulgaria==*
Overview: Since you need 65 Quidditch Cards just to use them, it's
understandable that Bulgaria is one of the better teams overall. If you're
playing against them, they can be quite a pain since they seem to be set just a
tad above your chosen difficulty level. The biggest thing you'll need to get
used to is their passing. The Chasers move in an erratic formation. While this
theoretically makes it harder to steal from Bulgaria, it makes passing a hassle
for you. Still, they're great once you have them figured out, the Wronski Feint
is fun, and since they were featured in Goblet of Fire they've got tons of
character behind them.
Uniforms: Bright scarlet
Home Stadium: In the middle of a slab of rock. Lame.
Seeker: Viktor Krum
Chasers: Vasali Dimitrov, Clara Ivanova, Alexi Levski
Keeper: Zograf
Beaters: Volkov, Vulchanov
Team Special Move: The Wronski Feint. Krum dives as though he's seen the
Snitch. The other Seeker falls for it and chases after him, but Krum lures her
towards her team's Chasers, then barges her into them. His own Chasers whip
past their dishevelled opponents and go for the undefended goal hoops. (2
goals.)

*==England==*
Overview: Another one of the average teams. Not precisely bad, but certainly
not breakout in any way. Sorry, there's just not much to say about England,
which shouldn't be the case if you think about it...
Uniforms: Chequered red and white
Home Stadium: An English castle from yore.
Seeker:
Chasers: Keaton Fligny, Avery Hawksworth, Edrick Vospar
Keeper:
Beaters: Whitney
Team Special Move: The English team shows its love of football and handles the
Quaffle using feet only for several seconds. Two Chasers approach, each at
different goal hoops. The first passes across to the one in front of the
unguarded hoop for an Assist and a goal. (1 goal.)

*==France==*
Overview: France is fairly average, but not as average as the three most
average. Passing seems a little laggy, but maybe that's just me. The thing that
actually sets this team apart is that it fields women almost exclusively. I
don't know if EA is trying to get that token all-women's team or what, but
whatever.
Uniforms: Powder blue
Home Stadium: Made of marble, has a hedge maze and a fountain
Seeker: Pelletier
Chasers: Hildegard a Lafarge, Matilda Mallard, Josephine Marat
Keeper:
Beaters:
Team Special Move: So average I hardly remember what it's like. Well, there's
some trippy passing and some dangerous hanging from broomsticks, then a quick
goal. (1 goal.)

*==Germany==*
Overview: This team is better than average and will do well at the higher
difficulty levels. You'll want to be a fairly good player before you take them
under your charge, however: The German team has a very unforgiving combo
window, so you really need to keep that Quaffle moving if you don't want to
lose precious time and energy. All of this means that keeping that Golden
Snitch Bar up to speed is quite a chore, and I'm sure you can see why that's
not a good thing.
Uniforms: Dark greyish-blue
Home Stadium: Marble floor, pattern in centre. Somewhere in the Black Forest
Seeker: Bryce
Chasers: Kirsten Blake, Igor Brandt
Keeper:
Beaters:
Team Special Move: A brutal clearing-house. It's more interesting to watch than
I can explain it, sorry. Just know that there's lots of punching and barging
involved, and that sort of thing. (2 goals.)

*==Japan==*
Overview: This is easily by favourite team, not so much because of the team
itself, but because I love the country, and because Watanabe's really hot...um,
but that's a discussion for another day. In all seriousness, though, Japan
(probably the Toyohashi Tengu) has above-average passing, an awe-inspiring Team
Special Move, and Ludo Bagman himself even says Watanabe is the best flier in
the league.
Uniforms: No real pattern. Kind of a hippyish, discordant style associated with
the stereotypical anime fan.
Home Stadium: I forgot to mention their stadium is the best, too. It's in the
theme of an ancient feudal Japanese fortress, with a bridge
across the centre line and a pond at the bottom, with lotus
blossoms drifting across its surface.
Seeker: Watanabe
Chasers: Noriyuki Sato, Yoshihiro Suzuki, Ryotaro Tanaka
Keeper:
Beaters: Takahashi
Team Special Move: Definitely the most visually satisfying Team Special Move,
it involves lots of kicking and spinning and flipping. I can't quite explain
it, you need to see it for yourself, but it is very very impressive. (2 goals.)

*==The Nordic Team==*
Overview: They handle as you would expect from a team that fields seven lumps
of muscle in place of players. Everything with the Nordic team is exceptionally
slow and laggy. They do make up for it somewhat with above-average power, but
after being spoiled with the quick and forgiving teams like Japan or France
you'll need to practise for a bit before the Nordics feel right in your hands.
Uniforms: Big, woolly parkas
Home Stadium: Blanketed in snow and ice
Seeker: Lundstrom
Chasers: Olaf Anderson, Lou Gustafson, Peter Hanson
Keeper:
Beaters: Peterson
Team Special Move: Much as Australia's theme is water, the Nordic theme is - as
one might imagine - based on ice. It's nothing very impressive, though. (2
goals.)

*==Spain==*
Overview: Spain seems to be one of the better-liked teams in Quidditch World
Cup, don't know why that is. They don't have too much that sets them apart,
except for one thing: They can really keep that Quaffle moving! If you want to
consistently end up scoring goals up the wazoo, then topping it all off by
catching the Snitch within five seconds of the Golden Snitch Chase beginning,
this is a good team to try.
Uniforms: Yellow cloaks, red shirts and pants
Home Stadium: It seems to be a bullfighting arena
Seeker:
Chasers: Cartire, Garcia, Librong
Keeper:
Beaters:
Team Special Move: There's some pretty crazy acrobatics going on here, but it's
all too easy to liken it to the unremarkable French TSM. (1 goal.)

*==USA==*
Overview: The USA has never won the Quidditch World Cup, and here we can
clearly say why. If you asked me honestly, I'd have to say that the USA is
easily the worst team in the league. I group it as an 'average' team, but
really all of its attributes are below average. They do have a relatively
lenient combo window, however.
Uniforms: Kind of a colonial American style, dark blue cloaks with tan pants
and shirts.
Home Stadium: Halloween
Seeker:
Chasers: Shiani Fredole, Robert Green, Debbie Monts
Keeper:
Beaters: Kersinski
Team Special Move: Rather like England's, but with a basketball motif rather
than a football one. Nothing to write home about. (1 goal.)

You'll note that, just for fun, I've tried to name the members of each team.
Since I have had to figure it out entirely by ear, where a name isn't listed
it's because I don't know what it is. Do you know a name I haven't figured out
yet? Feel free to send it in!

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| EXHIBITION [EXH] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

If you're in the mood for a quick game of Quidditch, the outcome of which will
have no effect on anything at all, this is the place to be. You have three
basic options here: You can play against the computer, compete with another
human, or play cooperatively with another human against the computer. Of the
three, only the cooperative selection takes very much figuring out, but I'll
explain your options for all three anyway.

==Versus Computer==

This is a regular game of Quidditch, only you earn nothing if you win and
sacrifice nothing if you lose. Furthermore, you can't win Quidditch Cards based
on your actions in an Exhibition Match, though you DO need to have unlocked
your Team Special Move to use it. This is basically for those 'Oh, look at
that, it's still a half-hour before my show starts, I think I'll play a little
Quidditch' moments.

When you choose to play an Exhibition Match versus the computer, you'll first
have to choose who will be the home team and who will be the away team, then
which of the two you want to play as. You can choose any of the Hogwarts teams
OR any of the World Cup teams, but you can't mix the two; you can't choose
Ravenclaw to be the home team and Bulgaria to be the visiting one, for example.

After that, you pick the difficulty (anything from Comet 260 to Firebolt is
fair game as long as you've unlocked it - what do you think of those 'easy'
Hogwarts teams NOW, eh?). You also get to choose which stadium you'll play at.
You're allowed to use any stadium you've unlocked, but in the same vein, you
can't play a Hogwarts match at a World Cup stadium or vice versa. At this
point, it's all straightforward - you play a game of Quidditch just as you
would under any other circumstances.

==Competitive Multiplayer==

For this, all you're going to need is a second controller. You probably got a
free WaveBird when you bought your Cube anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem
even if you're not a multiplayer kind of a gamer.

With that, you're ready to go to it. Each of you chooses a team, then Player 1
chooses the stadium. The same rules apply: You must stay within league. So if
Player 1 chooses Gryffindor, Player 2 must choose a Hogwarts team and you must
play at Hogwarts, and if Player 1 chooses Australia, Player 2 must pick a World
Cup team and you must play at a World Cup stadium. You get it.

Now, Quidditch World Cup is a well-designed game. Like any proper sports game,
it can be played in multiplayer mode without any modifications to the control
scheme, the camera or the mechanics. Just play your regular game! However, keep
in mind that you're playing somebody with half a brain rather than a series of
reactionary algorithms, so many of your usual tactics will be startlingly
ineffective in this context. It can make for quite a challenging game. Also,
the 2P aspect does kind of mess up the Golden Snitch Chase, but that's a minor
drivel.

==Cooperative Multiplayer==

First of all, let me state for the record that since I don't own the GBA
version of Quidditch World Cup, this area is a little fuzzy for me. Compounding
the problem is the fact that my actual playing experience in this mode is
limited. That said, I'm going to do my best to outline everything you need to
know as the GCN player, plus a little more.

Okay then. This is probably the most complicated form of play, and certainly
the one that requires the most hardware. I'm glad to see the Connectivity
Feature getting proper use, and here's another good one, maybe even one of the
better ones. While it means those of us lacking the necessary equipment get
shafted, it means that cooperative play is exclusive to Nintendo's version of
the game. You'll need to tick off all of the following items on this laundry
list before you're ready:

Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo Gameboy Advance
GCN Controller
GCN-GBA Link Cable
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GCN)
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GBA)

Once you've got that taken care of, hook everything up. You should be able to
figure out which version of the game goes in which system on your own. Put the
GCN Controller into Controller Slot 1. Attach the GCN-GBA Link Cable to the top
of the GBA and put it into Controller Slot 2. Turn on the GCN first, THEN the
GBA.

I have no idea what the GBA player is supposed to do, but once you reach the
Main Menu you need to select 'Exhibition Match' and choose the teams. Once
you've done that, you have to pick which of the teams you're playing as and
also make sure your game realises that a GBA is involved. After you've got your
connection worked out and everything, choose the difficulty level and stadium.
The GCN player gets to choose while the GBA player sits there and watches.
Harsh, I know.

Once the match starts, however, your paths diverge. As the GCN player, you have
the more important and more interesting job: To control the Chasers and try to
score goals. For you, it's pretty much the same game you're used to playing
under normal circumstances. Just use your regular tactics and keep those goal-
scorings - and combos - coming. Leave the GBA player to his own devices for
now. As you play, you'll accrue Dodges, Special Move Tackles, and even Team
Special Moves as normal...but hold on. No Bludgers?

As you're playing the match, the GBA player has something quite different going
on. As I understand it they have a player flying through something of an
obstacle course, avoiding Bludgers. (One of the GBA Exercises is of this
nature.) If they do well, you will gain the Bludger option. If not, you
hopefully honed your skills, because you're about to come under attack by an
enemy Beater. Of course, all that's at stake is possession of the Quaffle, so
it would seem the GBA player has little influence on the outcome of the match.

Ah! The two halves of the Snitch join in a flash of golden light! This is
familiar, but you're not about to start the Golden Snitch Chase. That's for the
GBA player! They have a different task now, a bit of a mini-game but one of
rather great importance. All your work could be undone right here, unless you
did very well in your Chaser duties. Meanwhile, to keep things interesting for
you, you have some more opportunities to capture a few more points.

Things can get interesting here if you're behind 150 points or more, which just
might happen if chance goes against you and you're playing at a high
difficulty. Don't be afraid to yell: 'Don't catch the Snitch yet! Let me score
two more goals first or we'll lose!!'

As always, once the Snitch is caught, that's that. This mode's a good diversion
and it's sure a lot more fun for the second player than just watching you go
through a match, but you might not want to call a friend over solely for the
purpose of this mode. It's enjoyable if you can, though, you can have a couple
of fun matches playing this way.

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| QUEERDITCH MARSH [QUE] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

After you've won the Quidditch World Cup once, you earn the right to have a
match at Queerditch Marsh. As any avid Quidditch fanatic knows, Queerditch
Marsh is the place where 'those numbskulls' gave birth to the sport.

There are a few funny things about Queerditch Marsh, though. First, you access
it from the main menu and set it up just like an Exhibition Match. However, it
seems multiplayer games on Queerditch Marsh are prohibited. Also, you can
choose only one of the Hogwarts house teams - maybe the World Cuppers are too
busy training to be worrying about their sport's origins. You choose the
difficulty level as normal.

Strangest of all, though, is the fact that Queerditch Marsh doesn't really
qualify as its own mode at all. I thought maybe the Snitch would be omitted, or
the Keepers could move freely, or the rules would be tweaked, to reflect the
way ancient Quidditch was played. But nope, it seems to be only an alternate
stadium. Other than that the game is identical. Did I miss the gimmick or what?

Well, since I've gone to the trouble of dedicating an entire section to
'Queerditch,' I may as well describe this one deviation. First, the goal hoops
are suspended in the branches of trees rather than on the ends of long poles.
Instead of turf there's dirt. Instead of being solid, the spectators' boxes are
on stilts. I guess that was deemed undignified, because instead of sitting in
them everybody stands on the ground beside a number of menhirs. There's a river
running through the middle of the pitch from end to end, though of course the
surface doesn't make a wit of difference when the entire game is played while
airborne. There are a number of minor aesthetic details in addition to those
mentioned, mostly in the background. Finally, the music is quite different than
anything you hear elsewhere in the game. Played on the flute, it's a jaunty
kind of folk-tune that invokes memories of virtually any stereotypical
mediaeval town you've ever seen in a film. It's really quite pleasant.

Other than that, it's the same game, so the same mechanics and tactics apply.

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| QUIDDITCH CARDS [CAR] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

There are those who say you can experience everything Harry Potter: Quidditch
World Cup has to offer within a week. They're partly right. You can unlock the
World Cup, Queerditch Marsh, maybe even Bulgaria in a DAY, never mind a week.
However, the real value of Quidditch World Cup comes in the Quidditch Cards.

There are 104 collectible Quidditch Cards. You earn them for performing
assorted feats in a match and beating various teams at your home arena, or
theirs, among other things. Like any Trophy Hunt, it is long and arduous, but
satisfying. This one, however, is substantially easier than most, since you can
collect every Quidditch Card with relatively little difficulty once you're
somewhat practised at the game.

When you earn a Quidditch Card, it becomes viewable in your Inventory under
'View Cards.' You can ogle it for a while - tilt the Control Stick to see the
parts of the card not visible while at rest, though sadly there is no zoom
function - but they're primarily for show, for pride. Furthermore, collecting
every card doesn't earn you anything special. No secret team, no secret
stadium, no secret difficulty level, not so much as a secret referee. ('There
is no evidence to suggest Slytherin built so much as a secret broom cupboard!')
It's for bragging rights only. It's kind of a shame, but then again, those who
would rather not suffer through it don't feel like they have to if they want to
unlock everything. Whether or not you pursue the task of collecting every card
is up to you, but I heartily recommend it.

In this section, I'm going to list every Quidditch Card and what you need to do
to earn it. They're organized by culling, starting with the World Cup,
proceeding counter-clockwise, and ending in Special.

For the harder or more complicated requisites, I'll give you some tips about
how to earn that card. Many just need to be set up properly. Don't worry if you
can't get a specific card; leave it alone for now and try a different one. If
you keep it up you'll eventually get it, though I understand how frustrating it
is to try again and again without success.

Don't give up, though! The vast majority of the cards are quite easy to obtain.
I'll give you a quick idea to that end right now: Get the School Record for all
six Exercises, complete Hogwarts with all four teams, and complete the World
Cup with all nine teams. When you've done that you should have fairly near all
of the cards, and you'll just need to mop up the last few. You might be missing
some of the Team Photos and Stadium cards, because whom you play at which
stadium is entirely out of your hands, as well as some the more gimmicky TSMs
(*coughBulgariacough*).

By the way, see the Hogwarts [HOG] section for advice if you're having trouble
with the Exercises, they can be aggravating.

Now, as if I haven't beaten the life out of this point enough yet, the
Quidditch Cards add a lot to the game, so here we go!

==World Cup==

*==Germany==*
1. Stadium
Beat Germany at German stadium

2. Team Photo
Beat Germany at home stadium

3. Team Special Move
Score 15 goals in a match
Strike a Chaser 3 times with a Bludger
Win a match without catching the Golden Snitch

4. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with Germany

The Team Special Move is very easy at the Comet 260 level. Just play until
you're 160 points or more ahead of the other team. So if your opponent has 20
points, you need at least 180 points in order to get that part of the Team
Special Move. Then start up the combos or just pass over and over until the
Snitch appears - this is what I call 'Aggro Snitch Tactics.' When it does, just
hang back and let the other Seeker grab it. If you do this, you'll satisfy both
the first and third requirements. As for the second, just combo a lot to get
those Bludger moves, try some stalling tactics if the Snitch halves are getting
too close, and make sure to whack a Bludger at every opportunity. It won't be
hard at all.

*==France==*
5. Stadium
Beat France at French stadium

6. Team Photo
Beat France at home stadium

7. Team Special Move
Score a goal through each of the three goal hoops
Score 15 goals in a match
Perform a 4-part Combo

8. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with France

France's TSM is nothing after you're fairly good at the game. You'll probably
get it by accident. You can get the first requisite without even thinking about
it and the second one is a snap once you know a couple of advanced moves. The
same goes for the Combo - a four-parter is really not all that impressive, to
be honest! If this one does give you trouble, it's probably because you haven't
got the basics quite figured out, which is easy enough to fix.

*==USA==*
9. Stadium
Beat USA at American stadium

10. Team Photo
Beat USA at home stadium

11. Team Special Move
Perform 3 Special Move Tackles in a match
Perform a 3-part Combo
Score 25 goals in the Quidditch World Cup

12. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with USA

As with Germany's three Bludger hits, the three Special Move Tackles involves
doing lots of combos so you build up that 'Special Move' button. Remember to be
relatively close to the opposing Chaser to ensure success, or else you may miss
and waste time. As you're doing that, you're sure to score a 3-part combo.
Finally, 25 goals across the entirety of the Quidditch World Cup is nothing at
all. I mean, come on, you can score that much in a single MATCH.

*==Japan==*
13. Stadium
Beat Japan at Japanese stadium

14. Team Photo
Beat Japan at home stadium

15. Team Special Move
Score 3 goals through each of the three goal hoops
Perform a 4-part Combo
Win a match without conceding a goal

16. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with Japan

This is similar to France's TSM requirements, but it's a much better move, so
huh. For the first one, you should be fine as long as you spread your fire. For
the second, this won't give you any trouble unless you don't know how to do a
Combo. You don't even have to score out of it, just work it up to four. The
last one can be quite a trick on the higher difficulties, though, largely
because your opponents have no scruples against using their unblockable shots
(supershots, TSMs, etc.) The solution, therefore, is to attempt this one at
Comet 260, under which circumstances it should be a snap.

*==England==*
17. Stadium
Beat England at English stadium

18. Team Photo
Beat England at home stadium

19. Team Special Move
Perform a Combo
Perform 3 Special Move Tackles in a match
Score 20 goals in the Quidditch World Cup

20. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with England

Getting this move is easy as pie, and it deserves to be: The English Team
Special Move is pretty boring. You should know by now how to perform a combo.
It says *A* combo. So throw it once and toss it in, you're there. Getting those
three Special Move Tackles involves doing lots of combos anyway, which builds
up that 'Special Move' button. Remember to be relatively close to the opposing
Chaser to ensure success, or else you may miss and waste time. Finally, 20
goals across the entirety of the Quidditch World Cup is nothing at all. I mean,
come on, you can score that many in a single MATCH.

*==Spain==*
21. Stadium
Beat Spain at Spanish stadium

22. Team Photo
Beat Spain at home stadium

23. Team Special Move
Score 12 goals in a match
Perform a 5-part Combo
Play and win a match scoring only through the right goal hoop

24. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with Spain

Scoring 12 goals in a match is nothing, once you're practised you can routinely
score 30 or more. Meanwhile, five parts is the biggest combo you're likely to
see very much of, and certainly the biggest for a Team Special Move requisite,
but it's nothing you can't handle. For the third requirement, you're going to
need to be careful. If you aren't consciously reminding yourself not to stray,
you'll score in one of the other goal hoops without even thinking about it.

*==Australia==*
25. Stadium
Beat Australia at Australian stadium

26. Team Photo
Beat Australia at home stadium

27. Team Special Move
Score from a Combo
Strike a Chaser 5 times with a Bludger
Score 3 goals through each of the 3 goal hoops

28. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with Australia

Scoring from a combo isn't difficult, you should be doing it without even
thinking about it at this point. Just set it up: Hold L, pass to another
player, pass again, pass again, score, let go of L. Simple enough, no? Just
take time to aim and don't let any one player hold the Quaffle for very long,
otherwise your combo will run out. The same rules as normal apply for the five
Bludger hits: Just combo a lot to get those Bludger moves, try some stalling
tactics if the Snitch halves are getting too close, and make sure to whack a
Bludger at every opportunity. As for the last one, just make sure you spread
your field of fire and you'll fine.

*==The Nordic Team==*
29. Stadium
Beat the Nordic team at Nordic stadium

30. Team Photo
Beat the Nordic team at home stadium

31. Team Special Move
Score 15 goals in a match
Strike a Chaser 3 times with a Bludger
Score 25 goals in the Quidditch World Cup

32. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with the Nordic team

The 15 and 25 goals are easy as all get-out. You can score 25 goals in a single
match, never mind the entire cup. I've started just copying and pasting
everything about Bludger hits: Just combo a lot to get those Bludger moves, try
some stalling tactics if the Snitch halves are getting too close, and make sure
to whack a Bludger at every opportunity.

*==Bulgaria==*
33. Stadium
Beat Bulgaria at Bulgarian stadium

34. Team Photo
Beat Bulgaria at home stadium

35. Team Special Move
Score 3 Combo goals in a match
Win a match without scoring any goals
Lose a match but catch the Golden Snitch

36. Quidditch World Cup
Win World Cup with Bulgaria

Of all the Team Special Moves, Bulgaria's is the trickiest to obtain. The first
one shouldn't give you much trouble as long as your comboing skills are good.
Remember, keep that Quaffle moving and you're golden. Winning a match without
scoring any goals is sort of difficult. In my opinion, the easiest way to do it
is with Aggro Snitch Tactics. However, that plan is fundamentally flawed since
Bulgaria's passing is so lousy! Well, not if you have a lot of experience with
the Chasers' erratic movements, but you'll want to have your wits about you for
this one. Anyway, it'll take a LONG time, but when the Golden Snitch Chase
starts you'll have an enormous lead over your opponent if you did it right. Go,
Krummy, go! Losing the match but catching the Golden Snitch requires the same
tactics. The problem is you need to let your opponent score at least sixteen
goals, but your half of the Golden Snitch needs to be substantially farther to
the right than theirs in order to ensure you catch the Snitch. To do that, make
sure they stay ahead, but keep the passing coming. Furthermore, use the Special
Move Tackles and Bludger hits you accrue to lower THEIR Golden Snitch Bar while
raising your own, but not actually scoring any goals. When the time comes, just
hope the other Seeker flies as badly as Lynch and beat her to the Snitch...All
in all a highly gimmicky way to obtain that TSM, but hey, it's a special team,
isn't it?

*==Special==*
37. Comet 260
Win World Cup for first time at Comet 260 level

38. Nimbus 2000
Win World Cup for first time at Nimbus 2000 level

39. Nimbus 2001
Win World Cup for first time at Nimbus 2001 level

40. Firebolt
Win World Cup for first time at Firebolt level

41. Ludo Bagman
Win World Cup on all four skill levels

42. Queerditch Marsh
Win World Cup for the first time

Remember what I said earlier about winning the World Cup with all nine teams?
Well, winning it once immediately earns you five cards in addition to the many
you'll have won along the way: Ludo Bagman, Queerditch Marsh, your team's
Quidditch Cup, the broom for whichever difficulty you were competing at, and
the Bulgarian stadium. Then don't forget you probably got your team's Team
Special Move card as well as, in all likelihood, more than five Stadiums and
Team Photos. Great!

It slows down substantially after your first World Cup win, but you'll always
earn at least one Quidditch Card: Your team's Quidditch World Cup. You'll
probably earn another card or two from time to time as incidentals, and then
there's the whole thing about your TSM. It's a laborious and occasionally
tedious task to go through the World Cup over and over, but sometimes you must
do what you don't want to do.

==Hufflepuff==
43. Chasers
Challenge One: Passing - Team Record

44. Keeper
Challenge Two: Tackle and Shoot - House Record

45. Beaters
Challenge Three: Seeker - School Record

46. Seeker
Challenge Five: Dodging & Special Move Tackle - Team Record

47. House Logo
Challenge Six: Combos - House Record

48. Team Photo
Match Two: Win

49. Team Special Move
Score 5 goals in a match
Successfully complete 10 passes in a match
Be the first to the Quaffle

50. Quidditch Cup
Win Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with Hufflepuff

The 5 goals is hopefully not a problem by any means. You should be passing
constantly to build up your various metres and abilities, so the second one
should happen right quick as well. Being first to the Quaffle is somewhat
difficult, however. You're kind of on your own with that one, there's no real
strategy involved other than timing. Every time you play a match of any kind
try to grab the Quaffle first - you have to kind of jerk the Control Stick and
press A like you want to tackle it - and you'll eventually be able to do it
with some semblance of consistency.

==Ravenclaw==
51. Chasers
Challenge One: Passing - House Record

52. Keeper
Challenge Two: Tackle & Shoot - School Record

53. Beaters
Challenge Four: Beaters and Bludgers - Team Record

54. Seeker
Challenge Five: Dodging and Special Move Tackle - House Record

55. House Logo
Challenge Six: Combos - School Record

56. Team Photo
Match Two: Win by 100 points

57. Team Special Move
Score 12 goals in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup
Be the first to the Quaffle
Score 5 goals in a match

58. Quidditch Cup
Win Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with Ravenclaw

The Team Photo is easy to snag with Aggro Snitch Tactics. After a while you'll
be scoring twenty and thirty goals a game, so the first and third TSM
requirements aren't much to gawk at. Being first to the Quaffle is somewhat
difficult, however. You're kind of on your own with that one, there's no real
strategy involved other than timing. Every time you play a match of any kind
try to grab the Quaffle first - you have to kind of jerk the Control Stick and
press A like you want to tackle it - and you'll eventually be able to do it
with some semblance of consistency.

==Gryffindor==

59. Chasers
Challenge One: Passing - School Record

60. Keeper
Challenge Three: Seeker - Team Record

61. Beaters
Challenge Four: Beaters & Bludgers - House Record

62. Seeker
Challenge Five: Dodging & Special Move Tackle - School Record

63. House Logo
Match One: Win

64. Team Photo
Match Three: Win

65. Team Special Move
Go after the Snitch with more power than your opponent
Successfully complete 10 passes in a match
Score 6 goals in a match

66. Quidditch Cup
Win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with Gryffindor

Aggro Snitch Tactics take care of the first two requirements for Gryffindor's
TSM. Scoring six goals in a single match...well, I think I've gone over that
one often enough, don't you?

==Slytherin==
67. Chasers
Challenge Two: Tackle & Shoot - Team Record

68. Keeper
Challenge Three: Seeker - House Record

69. Beaters
Challenge Four: Beaters & Bludgers - School Record

70. Seeker
Challenge Six: Combos - Team Record

71. House Logo
Match One: Win by 100 points

72. Team Photo
Match Three: Win by 100 points

73. Team Special Move
Score 6 goals in a match
Successfully complete 10 passes in a match
Score 12 goals in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup

74. Quidditch Cup
Win Hogwarts Quidditch Cup with Slytherin

If 71 or 72 give you any problems, just use Aggro Snitch Tactics. If the TSM
eludes you for very long, well then I've failed miserably, because it means
you've learned nothing from this guide. So make sure you grab that one, kay? :D

==Special==
75. Hogwarts (Summer)
Match One: Win by 150 points

76. Hogwarts (Winter)
Match Two: Win by 150 points

77. Madam Hooch
Match Three: Win by 150 points

78. Edgar Cloggs
Collect ALL Quidditch Cards

For 75-77, you can Aggro Snitch 'em if you like, but I doubt you'll need to.

That's it! Here's a suggesting you might like: Copy and Paste the list into a
text document and save it on your computer. Remove all the cards from the list
that you've already won. Now you have a quick and easy reference of all the
cards you haven't yet won and what you need to win them! Every time you win
another card, remove it from the list. This can help you coordinate your card-
collecting efforts, or even just remind you if you haven't played the game in a
while.

'But Adam, you said there were 104 Quidditch Cards! The list only has 78
spots!' True, true. This one stumped me for quite some time. It's
mathematically impossible, I exclaimed to myself, who drew the same conclusion.
The explanation is that while you can't use a team's TSM until you complete all
its requirements, and it only says there's four cards on each team's list of
Quidditch Cards, in actuality every time you earn a TSM you've netted yourself
a full three cards. So that's what fell by the wayside. :)

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| LEGAL GARBAGE [LEG] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

Wow...I've been dreaming of writing this section since I first created this
guide. Prepare to be floored by the startling Legal Garbage.

I'll get the important stuff out of the way first. Harry Potter and all
affiliated characters, places, et cetera are copyright JKR. They belong to her
and are her exclusive intellectual property.

All versions of Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup were developed by EA Games, a
subsidiary of Electronic Arts entertainment software. They created the games
and own all rights to them. This document is not a challenge to that right,
merely the expression of a fan.

That said, all original content is mine - copyright Adam Marx. It may not be
reproduced or distributed by any mode, except for personal, private use. Except
for brief quotes, I will not tolerate the plagiarism of this guide. Said quotes
will only be tolerated if they are relatively unmodified ('...' and '[ ]' for
clarification is fine) and full credit is given to me.

Only GameFAQs has the right to display this guide in any medium. No other
publication, online, printed, or in any other form, may display it. If you see
it on any other website, please contact me (see below.)

This section states that GameFAQs is the only site on which I will permit my guide to be displayed. This is no longer the case. SuperCheats now has my permission as well; however, I'm not currently prepared to update it there. That's what's going on there. Thanks for your concern.

If you are found to be in violation of the above regarding GameFAQs'
exclusivity or plagiarism of my work, you will be asked at minimum to remove my
guide from your publication, and may be required to pay some sum of money,
including any royalties earned, among other things.

While I'm at it, the lame ASCII art - the headers for each section - are
copyright (c) Adam Marx. You may not use them for your guide, though why you
would want to I have no idea. I'll also take this opportunity to let you know
that the corners of the headers were supposed to look like Quidditch Cards, but
I kind of mangled them. I'm new at this.

I'll wrap up with the oft-promised Contact Information. Questions, comments,
praise, criticisms, suggestions, corrections and more are all welcomed. If I
get a lot of questions, perhaps I'll even start an FAQs section. Actually,
anything having to do with this guide or HP:QWC in general is fun to get.

There are a couple of ways to contact me. E-mail is probably going to be the
fastest. Here's my address:

Roth/enb (a/t) oc/is (d/ot) ne/t

This, too, has been disfigured beyond recognition. This is simply to stop spam
programs from latching onto my address and sending me even more schmut than I
get already. When you type in the e-mail, ignore the slashes and of course make
it all lower-case. Furthermore, (at) and (dot) are just for show. Type @ where
it says (at) and . where it says (dot). This is just another method of crowd
control, sorry.

Make sure you be very clear in your subject or you'll be blocked. I need
'Nintendo,' 'Harry Potter,' 'Quidditch,' or something else to ensure I even
open it, and even then it might still get deleted. Sorry, but I share an e-mail
account with people who are very very worried about viruses, it's not my fault.

You can also try the following address:

Darknut_king (at) yahoo (dot) com

It's highly unreliable, though.

Finally, I do pop into the Quidditch World Cup boards on GameFAQs now and
again, but they've been dead so long it's rarely worth checking. It's worth a
try, though.

/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/
| IN CLOSING [CLO] |
/\___________________________________________________________________________/\
\/ \/

According to my computer, I've spent more than seventeen and a half hours
writing this guide. I'm sure you can add at least another eight or nine hours
of Quidditch World Cup playtime when this file wasn't opened. I shouldn't have
to tell you that you really need to be enjoying what you're doing to
voluntarily devote that kind of time to a project.

I've certainly enjoyed writing this FAQs; it ultimately took me about four days
of solid work to put it all together, by the way. Considering this is the first
FAQs I've ever finished, I'm quite pleased with the results.

Hopefully I managed to pass along a thing or two in this guide. If you enjoyed
it, or even if you hated it, or if you have anything whatsoever to say about
this guide or HP:QWC, drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you. If enough
people ask me questions, I may start an actual Frequently Asked Questions
section. We will see.

Have fun at the Quidditch World Cup, I know I did, and will continue to do for
that matter. Keep your eye on the Snitch and don't blink!

~Adam

EOF