Happy belated birthday, Harry Potter! Learn your Hogwarts spells on an app

By most accounts, Harry Potter would have turned 30 on July 31, so I’m a few days off in wishing him a happy birthday (and belated birthday greetings to the one who conjured up this famous wizard, author J.K. Rowling, who was born on the same day as Harry, but 25 years earlier.)

But what better way for Get App-y to celebrate this milestone than by talking about an app in his honor?

An 11-year-old fan of the series alerted me to Harry Potter Spells, available on Apple’s app store for the iPhone and iPod Touch for $2.99 from Warner Bros. Entertainment, and what fun it is!

Sign in with your name and get invited to attend Hogwarts School of Wizardry. Then, your wand picks you, and the Sorting Hat sorts you into the correct wizarding house. You can have the hat try again if you don’t like the selection. After rejecting the dreaded “House of Slytherin,” I am ultimately sent to Hufflepuff – The Sorting Hat keeps muttering something about me being “just and loyal, true.”

After that’s through, you’re off to master the spells, by your voice or by drawing on the screen. Eventually you can duel with friends, once you’ve learned which spell does what. For now, though, I’ll take the enthusiasm of my 11-year-old fan as word enough that this app has enough fun in it to justify the price tag, especially if you’re a Harry Potter fan. There’s a lot of depth to it, and it’s very well done.

Happy birthday, Harry Potter! I’m glad to know you through all seven of Rowling’s novels.

~ Lillie-Beth (lbrinkman@opubco.com)

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