I do like the idea that catching the snitch ends the game. It's crazy, it's weird, and it just screams Wizarding World (because let's face it -- they're crazy and weird about a lot of things).

I agree about most of the rest. Right now the Seeker position is a little too important.

The easiest/simplest fix is to have it only worth 50 points or so. It leaves various other problems with the game but it at least removes the "catching the snitch damn near always means you win" aspect of things. A 5-goal lead is more believable than a 15-goal lead.

Pers brings up a nice "fix" that I hadn't considered before. Make it worth a percentage of total points. That makes it worth more or less depending on the game and adds a nice scoring dynamic that few games have.

I'm also a fan of fics that allow for some flexibility in positions. Make a few rules and keep them, like (1) only the Seeker can touch the Snitch, (2) only the beaters can use bats to hit bludgers, (3) only the Keeper can be within X feet of the hoops, (4) only Chasers can score goals, etc. but show the characters pushing the limits on that. Seekers who interfere with the plays the opposing team is trying to run, Chasers who keep an eye out for the Snitch, Beaters who hit Quaffles with their bats, or whatever.

I think it might work nicely with a scoring system like Pers mentioned, as there would be specific times during a game when you want your team (as a whole) to focus on one thing or another.

An idea I had a while back is that the Snitch becomes easier to catch as the game goes on. It takes either a massive amount of luck or a world-class player (Krum) to catch it within a few minutes of the game starting. The longer it stays active the less effective the magic on it is. Average time for a Pro game might be 1-2 hours. If a school team played with a Pro Snitch it might be 6-8 hours on average for a game. Most school teams however would play with non-Pro level balls -- Snitches that take on average 1-2 hours for a decent student player to catch, Bludgers that injure but are not as harsh as Pro ones, Quaffles that fall a bit more slowly, etc. Snitches don't always "decay" like they're supposed to however, which sometimes leads to extremely long games (weeks).

*shrug* I've given it some thought too, obviously, since I want to change up some stuff in the fic I'm working on. I've already messed around with the curriculum at Hogwarts and the Tri-Wizard events, why not Quidditch?

 

Who are you responding to?

 

No.

This is a perfect example of "fixing" shit and making it worse. Quidditch works fine as it is: it's exciting to watch and to play. Since that is all that matters, any change is superfluous, and that article just completely misses the point.