It also operated a judge certification program to provide consistent rules enforcement and promote fair play.

[3] In May 2009, Wizards of the Coast announced that 138,500 active Magic players were registered in the new organized play program since launching the WPN.

[15] Also in 2009, stores at the WPN Core level or higher were allowed to release Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) products before the official publication date.

[17] Wizards of the Coast began to advertise the D&D Encounters program, a D&D equivalent of Friday Night Magic, under the WPN umbrella in 2010.

The weekly sales tips sent out from Wizards' Customer Support usually (but not always) focus on how to enhance a store’s OP program as integral to the success of Magic and, to a lesser extent, Dungeons & Dragons.

[23] Then in October 2020, Wizards of the Coast announced a new ongoing ticketed series for Dungeons & Dragons called D&D Virtual Play Weekends which are organized by Baldman Games.

[32][6] The WPN previously maintained a global player ratings database[2] (formerly based on a variation of the Elo rating system; then based on "Planeswalker Points", earned for participating in events as well as for each win[33]) and members had access to their entire tournament history online.

[32][6][34][7] Newsweek reported that "your DCI number and the website that lets you track your tournament process back decades will be taken offline [...].

The Wizards Account and Companion app will simplify everything, and due to privacy laws, local game stores can no longer store local databases so each player will need to type the event into the app or give the organizer their Wizards Account email address".

[35] If a member commits frequent or flagrant rules infractions, their membership can be suspended for variable amounts of time depending on the severity, from one month to lifetime.

[39][40][41] Since January 2018[update], Wizards of the Coast has required participating stores to pay for background checks (where legal) on employees or others involved in the administering of WPN events.

Additionally, Wizards of the Coast made an explicit "requirement that WPN stores not employ staff or engage others whose names appear on a sex offender registry 'and/or have been convicted... for a violent sexual offense or a crime against children'."

Milton Griepp, for the industry trade ICv2, commented that this change occurred after recent social media coverage on a Magic judge who "was discovered to be listed on a sex offenders registry.

However, Wizards of the Coast began encouraging WPN stores to run events again by resuming metric counts in July 2021.

[48][49] Until September 2011, the WPN maintained rules and assigned players ratings for three basic categories in Magic: Constructed, Eternal, and Limited.

Early in Magic's competitive history, the event's organizers needed a system for training and certifying qualified tournament officials.

It thrives on the people who gather at lunch tables, in apartments, or in one of the six thousand stores worldwide that Wizards has licensed to put on weekly tournaments dubbed Friday Night Magic".

[59] Pre-release tournaments are held in hundreds of locations around the world several days before each new expansion, or set, is available for sale in stores.

[60][14][15] Friday Night Magic (FNM) tournaments and Arena Leagues (currently defunct) are offered in many stores and clubs, allowing players to compete for special foil promo cards and other prizes (rarely involving a cash top prize).