Magic: The Gathering Inducted into Games Magazine Hall of Fame

November 4, 2003 (Renton, Wash.) – Games may come and go, but then there are the few that endure and become engrained in popular culture and Magic: The Gathering is undoubtedly one of those rare creations, according to Games Magazine, an independent publication that has been covering the games industry for more than two decades. Magic: The Gathering, the trading card game that captured our imaginations when Wizards of the Coast introduced it in 1993 and today is the most widely played trading card game, is being inducted into the Games Magazine Games Hall of Fame this month.

The Games Hall of Fame was created in 1984 to honor games that achieve the highest play value and have endured in the marketplace for 10 years or more, according to Games Magazine Editor Wayne Schmittberger. “One of our key criteria is the more you play a game, the more you want to play – the game just keeps getting better,” explains Schmittberger. “There really wasn’t any debate about whether or not Magic should be in the Hall of Fame. Magic is a very original type of game that has a lot of re-playability. You can always find new strategies and you want to play it over and over.”

The Games Hall of Fame judging panel is comprised of the magazine’s veteran editors and game-testers from outside of the magazine. There have been only 22 games elected to the Games Hall of Fame since 1984. Magic: The Gathering brings that number to 23, joining the ranks of such classics as Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Axis & Allies.

Created by award-winning game designer Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), Magic: The Gathering combines the dynamics of a card game with the excitement of trading and collecting. Magic players try to reduce their opponent’s score from 20 to 0, casting from their deck creatures, spells, artifacts and other cards of varying power-levels and abilities in a series of attack and defense moves. Magic has an active fan base of six million players in 70 countries, with more than 100,000 official tournaments held annually.

For more information about Magic: The Gathering, visit www.magicthegathering.com.

Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering and Magic are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. 2003 Wizards.