The Harry Potter series of books has gained worldwide attention from legions of fans, and its popularity in books and movies has led lovers of Harry Potter in a search for ways to personally relive his adventures. If you're a gamer looking for a way to escape your Muggle existence, you can find enjoyment in author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe through dozens of games available on a wide variety of consoles, the PC, and in board game form.
Video Games
Harry Potter games have been especially popular after the start of the movie releases. Since the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, these movie based games lets you move through Harry Potter's world, experiencing the story in his own shoes. For every movie released there has been an accompanying game release of the same name, generally marketed in the same time period, including a few best selling games like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the latest, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. These games tend to be of the action adventure game genre, focusing on the story and the characters, with action interspersed in the form of mini games.
Not all Harry Potter video games have tried to recreate the movies. For lovers of the game of Quidditch, Electronic Arts released the game Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for the PS2, XBOX, Game Cube, and Gameboy Advance consoles. In this game release you can experience the famous game from atop a broomstick competing against recognizable characters from the Harry Potter story, including Harry, Cho, Malfoy, and the Weasley Twins.
There are a host of other games video games for you to play based in the Harry Potter universe online. These games are usually short flash games made without official sanction, but in order to play all you'll need is a browser equipped with Adobe Flash Player. The flash games offer up a wide variety of Potter experiences for you to play through, including a Potter version of the classic Pong called Quiddich Pong, to broom flight simulators like Broomstix. There's even a Hogwarts Student creator that allows you to build your own novice wizard.
Trivia Games
If you enjoy trivia, the world of Harry Potter has been especially fruitful for trivia game makers. The company Screenlife has released multiple versions of the Scene it? DVD trivia game for Harry Potter, updating the game occasionally to keep up with new books and movies. The two first books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets, each have trivia games devoted entirely to them. For a game covering all seven books, you can play the hand-held game 20Q Harry Potter, an electronic 20 questions game of all things Potter.
Board Games
Harry Potter and his schoolmates have made it into board game form as well. There's a Harry Potter version of Clue, called Harry Potter Mystery at Hogwarts, and a Harry Potter version of Uno. You can play harry Potter trading card games, and card based dueling games. You can participate in a contest for House Cup in the Harry Potter Hogwarts House Cup Challenge Adventure, and even play a game of Quidditch with the Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire Quidditch Dice Game.
The world of Harry Potter has captured the imagination of millions, and game designers have responded by designing games for all ages to enjoy. So if you're a gamer of any type with an interest in the Harry Potter universe, there's sure to be something out there for you to try.
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