If you didn’t know better, you might wonder what the hell they’re selling at the Twenty Sided Store in Williamsburg.
On any given Friday night, dozens of people of all ages, genders and races sit at slim tables strewn with colorful cards and dice. They’re playing Magic: The Gathering, a k a Magic or MTG. The store is named for the 20-sided die used in the game, and Friday Night Magic — where players gather to land a spot in a tournament or simply to socialize — is a nationally recognized event.
The game itself has become so popular that it recently figured on “South Park,” when the boys’ interest in Magic spiralled out of control, landing them in a cockfight in the basement of a Chinese restaurant. There’s even a Magic: The Gathering movie in the works, with “Game of Thrones” writer/producer Bryan Cogman onboard.
Twenty Sided Store’s owner, Lauren Bilanko, 37, and her business partner/boyfriend, Luis Chato, 35, say that while Magic isn’t as well-known as Monopoly, it hooks people in through what feels like infinite options for gameplay. And it’s only growing.
Magic has had a faithful fan base since it was released by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. As a trading-card game, the cards are collectibles. It’s most often played with one opponent, but there are multiplayer formats, too. You are a wizard (called a “planeswalker”), conjuring up creatures and various spells to defeat your opponent.
Wizards of the Coast provides an in-depth description of gameplay at magic.wizards.com.
The game is similar in structure to Pokémon, which came on the scene three years after Magic, but caused more of a rabid craze for cards.
“If I were stranded on an island and I could only pick one game, and I was going to only be with one other person, it would hands down be Magic: The Gathering, just because there’s so many different ways to play,” Bilanko says.
“A lot of people compare it to a cross between chess and poker, where it’s got the strategy of chess, but it’s got the mental, face-to-face aspect of poker,” she adds.
Attendance at Twenty Sided Store’s events — which feature different styles of Magic gameplay, and other popular role-playing games like “Dungeons & Dragons” — has increased steadily since the store opened in 2011. “At the time, I felt a real lack of places to play games in New York City,” Chato says. “A lot of people don’t have huge apartments.”
They’ve never run an ad, but they’re selling plenty of card and board games. Magic cards sold as singles or by the box are a huge draw. Single cards can range from 5 cents to a whopping $500, depending on the rarity and age of each card. Many players grab a “booster pack” of 15 cards, at around $4 a pop. Players with cash to burn often do so.
Twenty-something Garrett Gardner of Bed-Stuy has seen Magic come back into vogue among his peers. “I think the reason is people like me played it when we were kids, and now we have an expendable income and free time and full-time jobs. I think that nostalgia has a lot to do with it.”
Money can come into it, too. Winners of the annual Magic World Championship go home with $50,000. It’s serious business for pro players — not just because of the cash, but because of the mastery involved.
Twenty Sided Store is sponsoring three players for the next Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. In February, players will head to Washington, DC, to compete for a top prize of $40,000. Other players can win smaller sums or spots on future Pro Tours.
“We provided a place for them to play, a great environment where they feel like they can test and get better and better,” Bilanko says. “We really work hard on our code of conduct and creating a safe, friendly environment for gamers.”
Carlo Bosticco, 30, an Italian native who started working at Twenty Sided Store a few months ago, says he was tentative when he first started. “The community can be a little bit of a put-off, whether the people are intense, or it’s a very male-dominant game. Here, it’s not like that. Straightaway, it was very inclusive.”
Bosticco and his fellow employees are more than willing to lead beginners through the haze of rules and amassing cards. “It’s a lot like snowboarding,” Bilanko says. “It’s hard to learn how to stay on your feet, but once you do, you’re already going off jumps.”
With some time and patience, game New Yorkers may find themselves with a handful of new friends and a fistful of new cards.