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**This review covers content from the Harry Potter universe. It is focused on fan content. Bonus Action does not condone, support, or agree with anti-trans perspectives shared by J.K. Rowling. We supply this review to support those who are still a part of the fandom, and respect everyone’s journey with the complex issues hate speech has caused for this media**
As someone who has been a fan of Harry Potter since elementary school, I was thrilled when we at Bonus Action received an early review copy of The Ultimate Wizarding World Puzzle Book: Reveal the Secrets of Hogwarts and Harry Potter. Trivia, puzzles, brainteasers, and more are all couched in the magical world I have loved for over 20 years? Sign me up!
Before we get too deep into the review itself, I do want to acknowledge that, while I’ve been a longtime fan of the Harry Potter franchise, it is the fandom that has made it a safe place and is the reason that I keep coming back to it year after year. I know many fans, myself included, struggle with the views expressed by JK Rowling particularly on X/Twitter and in interviews. As such, I know this can be a difficult fandom to be in these days for many.
For my own mental well-being, I have chosen to distance myself from much of the official Harry Potter content in 2024, but still embrace and enjoy that content created by the fans for the fans. To me, those people are what keep the Wizarding World a truly magical place.
**Please note: While images from the book are shown in this article, I will not be showing any answers to any of the puzzles. These images will also not be a comprehensive view of all of the types of puzzles, brainteasers, and trivia available in the book.**
Details
- Author: The Editors of MuggleNet
- Publisher: Media Lab Books
- Cost: $14.99 USD | $19.50 CAN
- Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
- Review Copy Provided: Yes
- Release Date: July 8, 2024
- Age: 8+
Book Trivia that Movie-Only Fans Might Miss
Upon opening the book, the first thing I wondered was what the balance between movie trivia and book trivia was going to be. As someone who has read all the books (multiple times) and watched all the movies (also multiple times), I was really pleased by the mixture between the two types of knowledge.
For those who have played the Harry Potter edition of Trivial Pursuit, it felt a lot like that. It was well balanced between information that only book readers would know but also sprinkled in with movie trivia regarding the actors, props, and other happenings on set.
However, like many readers, I would have to admit to being a bigger fan of the books than the movies. So the questions, like in the image above, mentioning professors who do not appear in the movies, or an early puzzle of recalling the sorting of the students in Harry’s class, the Hogwarts Class of 1998, which included students who were never mentioned in the movies such as Daphne Greengrass, Wayne Hopkins, and Anthony Goldstein, were a joy to me as both a fan of the books and of fan creations of minor characters.
For those questions that I didn’t know the answer to, it inspired me to pick up my copies of the books and take another read. I also consulted a copy of The Ultimate Wizard World – History of Magic: A Comprehensive Chronicle of the Harry Potter Universe Through the Ages also by Media Lab Books and the editors at MuggleNet.
In addition to being a brilliant resource for the puzzles in this book, it is an absolutely stunning guide (and part of a larger group of reference books) that would be an amazing gift for any of the Harry Potter fans in your life or a gorgeous addition to your own bookshelves.
Movie Trivia Aficionados – This is For You!
Even if you haven’t read the Harry Potter books, there is plenty of trivia in this puzzle book that you can excel at! I’ll admit, I was quite arrogant going into this book in thinking I’d know all the answers – but the jokes on me…I knew next to nothing about the movie trivia. That said, it only made me want to rewatch the movies, read the IMDB pages, and check out the behind-the-scenes of the movies to find out more about it.
The images throughout The Ultimate Wizarding World Puzzle Book are taken from the films and are gorgeous (the pictures from my camera do not do it justice). At first, I was a little nervous to write in the book itself because of how pretty the copy is, but once I got going, it was just fun. It was enjoyable to select my pen color based on the Hogwarts Houses and to embrace the experience that the book gives.
Puzzles for Everyone!
I think The Ultimate Wizarding World Puzzle Book would be great fun to do with friends or family, not just on your own. For those who maybe don’t have in-depth Potter knowledge, there are still many puzzles that they can enjoy and participate in – they do not all require specific knowledge of the books or movies, but still embrace the magic of the Wizarding World.
With logic puzzles, mazes, and word scrambles, there is something for all the puzzle lovers in this book. One of the puzzles that stood out that doesn’t require any specific knowledge, does require some math skills (and was trickier than I thought it would be!).
The second puzzle in the book is “A Robbery at Gringotts” and you help the bank’s goblin employees to figure out what is missing from the vaults based on the known inventory list. It held me captivated as I tried to do the math and figure out what was missing. I did get there in the end, even if it took me longer than I thought it would.
Embrace the Magical Journey
As you’re going through, I would recommend taking your time. Read the trivia, laugh at the jokes, and re-experience the Wizarding World again from start to finish. I’ve always been a fan of puzzle books, but I tend to skip around in them.
In this one, I wanted to go through it page by page. I wanted to enjoy going through the story that I’ve known for so long and gain more from those characters that I love. It drew me back into the Wizarding World and how I wished I could experience it again for the first time.
Final Score – 9/10
The Ultimate Wizarding World Puzzle Book is fun, it embraces the magic of the books and the movies and has a little bit of something for everyone. While some of the trivia was more difficult than I expected (and the temptation to check the answers at the back of the book was strong on occasion), rather than being off-putting, it made me want to explore more about the universe.
I wanted to take my time. I wanted to listen to Jim Dale reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the hundredth time as I relaxed under a shade tree and worked my way through from start to finish. It is another great addition for the fans by the team over at MuggleNet.
**A physical copy of this book was provided to Bonus Action for the purpose of this review**
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