FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sue-Lane Wood Wizards of the Coast (206)204-7702 WIZARDS OF THE COAST LAUNCHES ARENA-THE LEAGUE FOR MAGIC: THE GATHERING® Game Play Moves to Local Forum October 24, 1996 (Seattle, Wash.)-Wizards of the Coast, Inc., makers of Magic: The Gathering, one of the world's best-selling games, is changing the forum for game play. The company that revolutionized the industry by creating a new game genre, trading card games, continues to set new standards in the industry by introducing Arena, the official retail league for Magic: The Gathering. Arena creates a brand new forum for playing games by bringing competition to a localized level . . . an environment never developed and supported by adventure game manufacturers before. Magic players can now compete in weekly games at participating retailers and other sanctioned locations. Match results are recorded at participating locations and sent to Wizards of the Coast for tabulation. The game manufacturer posts rankings on the World Wide Web, allowing players to compare themselves to fellow league participants around the United States. At the end of every season, special prizes are awarded to high-ranking competitors. "The creation of Arena is an unprecedented event in the adventure game industry," said Richard Garfield, creator of Magic. "The ranking system and standardized format of play across the league will allow players around the world to actually compete against one another. And, the league is designed to accommodate Magic enthusiasts of all playing levels." The season kicks off Friday, November 8, in the following cities and outlying areas: Buffalo, NY Madison, WI Providence, RI Charlotte, NC Milwaukee, WI Rochester, NY Cincinnati, OH New Orleans, LA St. Louis, MO Greensboro, NC Norfolk, VA Salt Lake City, UT Hartford, CT Orlando, FL San Antonio, TX Kansas City, MO Pittsburgh, PA Tampa Bay & Memphis, TN Portland, OR St. Petersburg, FL and the state of Michigan Within a year, Wizards of the Coast expects to expand Arena into Canada and Europe. Since the league began in early August, more than 400 stores and 7,500 players around the U.S. have joined. Magic: The Gathering is the strategy card game that has become the intellectual sport of the '90s. Developed by a math professor, Magic contains elements similar to bridge or chess. The strategic game is often played in tournament settings where amateur and professional players compete to receive rankings and win prizes. Players interested in more information on the league can check out the Arena website at http://www.wizards.com/Arena, or call Wizards of the Coast® Customer Service at (206) 624-0933. Wizards of the Coast created a whole new category of games when it released the first trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, in 1993. To date, more than two billion cards have sold worldwide. The game is currently available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Late in 1996, Wizards of the Coast will release a Korean version of Magic. Wizards of the Coast is headquartered in Renton, Washington, with other offices in Glasgow, Scotland; Antwerp, Belgium; and Paris, France. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website at http://www.wizards.com.