Potterfan and Proud Gryffindor/Thunderbird here so I had to add this book to my library. Do you have to too? Will you be missing out on crucial information if you're a first time reader of Harry Potter (Welcome!)? No; you get a vivid enough picture of the game in the books to make it through just fine. It's just fun extra content to enhance the experience. My tip would be check it out at the library and you'll get a feel if you're the type of person who buys the book or pulls a Ron Weasley and spends that money on dungbombs instead.
Content: I like the history of the game; the reactionary newspaper articles that come every time there is a major change in the rules always include a little funny line about someone crying that the game isn't going to be the same again. You get the rules of the game, descriptions of the brooms and other equipment, different plays, one paragraph descriptions of the various teams and leagues. I always like a bit of backstory into the Wizarding World, but the book is short enough not to be tedious. I'm sure that people who LARP Quidditch will wear their texts out because you really do get solid Wiki description of how to play the game.
Edition: I got the 2001 edition pictured here. The 2001 Comic Relief editions of the Hogwarts Library books have proved to be my favorite (along with Tales of Beedle and especially with Fantastic Beasts because the commentary goes missing in the 2012 box set). I know there is a 2012 edition of this book that is in the Hogwarts Library box set, but I've heard (have not witnessed) that the content is relatively the same. I think the deal with the hardcover 2012 edition is the cover looks different, more like a textbook and uniform with the other books, but I like my 2001 mismatched editions just fine.
Happy Reading!
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