this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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Harry Potter
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You don't have to ditch it, just make it so it's not a guaranteed win under normal circumstances. Make it so the snitch isn't released until a certain amount of time has passed, or points have been scored. And instead of having it be worth a ton of points, have it be worth a small enough amount that it could make a difference in a close game but not the only deciding factor. Then it's a strategic position. A position that requires timing instead of just speed.
Just make it so that catching the snitch ends the game. As in, the scores from either side get fixed. This way the losing team would have an incentive to stop the winning team from getting it, but themselves wouldn't be interested in doing so. It's not game breaking, just another angle.
The mechanic of catching the snitch immediately ending the game is a pretty good one, and there's several ways you could go about it.
Adds no points to either side: you want to catch it when your team is up, but if you find it when your team is down, you want to misdirect the other team's Seeker
Adds a small number of points to your side: you want to catch it when your team is within striking distance of a win
Adds a small number of points to the opposite side: you only want to catch it when your team is up significanty
My favorite would be a random or rotating points penalty. Like say every 3 minutes the points given to each side upon grabbing the snitch is randomized. It still allows for that stupid main character syndrome special boy causing the win thing, but it doesn't completely break the strategy of the game.