Recently, we announced the reactivation of Play Metrics requirements, which were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Play Metrics reactivated, snapshot metrics (if available) will no longer be used in determining your product and promo allocations that support Magic: The Gathering events at your store.

Now more than ever, it's key that you report your events in Wizards EventLink, whether it's casual play during the week or your bustling Prerelease.

Along with the Metrics reactivation, we are offering stores a reward for achieving it: a poster featuring stunning artwork from the holiday release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™.

WPN stores and WPN Premium stores who meet WPN minimum metrics requirements before September 22 will have this poster shipped to their store, estimated to arrive alongside your Lost Caverns of Ixalan promo kit. As a reminder, you must meet minimum WPN Metrics by March 1, 2024 to remain part of the Wizards Play Network.

Play Metrics Details

Your play metrics are data collected and used by the WPN team to help track the growth of your in-store play. All Magic events reported through Wizards EventLink, including Webcam and At-Home events, will count towards play metrics: Tickets, Engaged Players, and Activated Players.

Here's a breakdown of each component of Play Metrics:

• Tickets. Tickets are the total number of entries across all your Magic events in a rolling calendar year; all manner of play counts, and one player can count as multiple Tickets across multiple events.
• Engaged Players. This refers to players who register for your events with their official Wizards Account and have played at your store six or more times in the past rolling calendar year, regardless of format.
• Activated Players. Primarily measured for stores on the Path to WPN Premium, Activated Players are players that register for your events with their official Wizards Account, are in their first year of in-store play, and have joined six events at your store, regardless of format.

All WPN members must meet a baseline metric requirement to remain part of the network—currently, the minimum requirements are 250 Tickets and 5 Engaged Players annually; that means your store must host events with a minimum of about five players per week on average.

For WPN Premium Stores, the minimum metrics requirements are 1500 Tickets and 30 Engaged Players annually; however, WPN Premium stores only need to meet the WPN minimum metrics to be eligible to receive the poster.

Tips for Growing Your Metrics

Meeting your metrics is all about getting entries to the Magic events at your store. Again, all manner of play counts for Tickets, so you can encourage your staff to keep a tally of casual players in your store outside of your scheduled events. For scheduled events, make sure to report your events through Wizards EventLink in a timely manner to ensure that play is being recorded.

There are two other things you can consider when it comes to growing your Ticket count at your store:

• New Player Acquisition. With multiple new player-friendly products on the horizon, try advertising the Bring-a-Friend promotion or other new player-friendly events such as Open House.
• Repeat In-Store Play. Engaged Players play a critical role in your community, and kicking off a rewards program for repeated play can be a great way to turn newer players into repeat customers.

There are numerous ways you can go about building up your Metrics to meet the requirements before September 22, and we're always here to help if you have questions. A great way to start is to check out the Events Calendar and fill your EventLink with incredible Magic events for your community!