Overview
On Smith Street in Collingwood, muggles and magical folk alike can shop for wands, pick up Harry Potter merchandise, knock back butterscotch brews and try Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, all at Melbourne's Store of Requirement. For wannabe witches and wizards, that's reason enough to pretend that your favourite form of transport is the Hogwarts Express and make your way to the shop — but if you need more motivation, the enchanting joint is now hosting Harry Potter-themed tournaments.
It's not quite the Triwizard Tournament, but The Store of Requirement's Wizard's Tournament will put your skills to the test, as well as your Harry Potter trivia knowledge. When you're not answering questions about the huge book and film franchise, you'll solve escape room-style riddles and puzzles. Each two-to-four person team will represent a different house while they're competing (and no, everyone can't be in Gryffindor).
While just what the escape room part of the fun will entail hasn't been revealed, it has been designed by Escape Hunt Brisbane and Directors of the Extraordinary. Up north, the latter was behind the huge interactive zombie game, Containment, that took over Brisbane Powerhouse back in 2017, so you can reasonably expect their Potter antics to be immersive.
Kicking off in Melbourne in mid-October, ten sessions are scheduled — and although some tournaments have already booked out, you can sign up for October 12, 13, 19 and 20. Tickets cost $99 for two people, $145 for three and $190 for four, with an option to pay extra for platters of cheese, cheese and meat, or wraps.
A live scoreboard will track your progress throughout the session, so you'll know just how often you'll need to say "accio points!" to try to up your score.
Unsurprisingly, dressing up is encouraged — so all that's left to do is find some Potter-loving friends to don some robes and house colours with you.
Find The Store of Requirement at 6 Smith Street, Collingwood — and head to the shop's website to book a spot at The Wizard's Tournament, which takes place at 4.30pm and 7pm on Saturday, October 12; 2pm on Sunday, October 13; 2pm and 4.30pm on Saturday, October 19; and 2pm on Sunday, October 20.