FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW MAGIC: THE GATHERING--BATTLE ROYALE BOX SET First Ever Multiplayer Box Set for Expert and Advanced Gaming Enthusiasts November 12, 1999 (Renton, Wash.)--Adventure games leader Wizards of the Coast Inc. announced today the eagerly awaited release of the Battle RoyaleTM box set, the first ever multiplayer product for the Magic: The Gathering® trading card game. The latest release for the world-renowned trading card game is designed for multiplayer play for advanced- and expert-level Magic® enthusiasts. The Battle Royale multiplayer box set will enable Magic players to stage epic Magic: The Gathering wars with their friends in a casual and social group play environment. The set includes four tuckboxes containing evenly matched decks specifically designed for multiplayer Magic sessions. Each deck contains 40 white-bordered, reprinted cards--including two rare, eight uncommon and 30 common/land cards. The Battle Royale box set also includes rules for several forms of multiplayer Magic play, two quick-reference rules cards and an outer card box that can hold more than 700 cards. Battle Royale is available now at a suggested retail price of $24.99 in most hobby game, book, music and toy stores, and will be available in eight languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese Traditional, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Italian. Additionally, fans of the Magic trading card game will have the opportunity to experience Battle Royale firsthand at the third annual Magic: The Gathering Pro TourTM event in Chicago, Illinois, on December 3 - 5. The Magic: The Gathering trading card game was developed by award-winning game designer and mathematician Richard Garfield. In this intense game of strategy, players battle to reduce their opponents' scores from 20 to 0 through a series of attack and defense moves. The illustrated cards depict fantastic monsters and imaginative worlds. With an estimated fan base of more than six million players, Magic games are played in social and competitive settings, including the prestigious $1 million Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour circuit. Played in more than 52 countries worldwide, Magic is supported by the DCITM players' organization, the governing authority for all officially sanctioned tournaments. Helping both amateur and professional Magic players track their rankings, the DCI currently sanctions more than 60,000 Magic tournaments around the world per year. Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty retail chains. The company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games and produces the world's best-selling PokémonTM* and Magic: The Gathering trading card games. Publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons® games, family card and board games and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers. The company's retail locations, many of which provide game-play areas, include a growing chain of Wizards of the Coast® specialty game retail stores as well as 53 The Game Keeper® stores. With headquarters near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast also has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at , or learn to play the Magic game at . © 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement