The word on the schedule, in plain English

• Draft

  You are handed three sealed packs. Open one, take a card, pass the rest, repeat until they are gone, then build a deck out of what you ended up with. Everybody starts from nothing, so the person who has spent four thousand dollars on cards has no advantage over you at all. It is the single best night for a new player who wants to actually compete, and the cards you opened go home with you.

  $25you keep the cards
• Commander

  Four people, one big hundred-card deck each, one legendary creature in charge of it, and games that run about an hour. It is the social format: people talk, make deals, gang up on whoever is winning. No prizes here on purpose, because the moment there is a prize the decks get mean.

  $5or bring a friend, free
• Modern

  Built decks, a deep card pool, and the people who take it seriously. Four rounds, Swiss pairings, which means you play everybody at your record rather than getting knocked out. Very good games. Not the night to learn on, and we will say so kindly if you turn up with a starter deck.

  $10
• Blitz

  The short version of Flesh and Blood: a smaller deck, a young hero, and games that finish in fifteen minutes. Three rounds and you are out by eight. The fastest way into a game that looks intimidating from outside, and there are loaner heroes behind the counter so you do not have to buy anything to try it.

  $8loaners free
• Sealed

  Like draft, except you open six packs and build from those alone with nobody passing anything. Slower, friendlier, and the format most people prefer once they have tried both. The room votes on what to open at four o'clock and the price is the product cost plus two dollars, said out loud before anybody commits.

  variesannounced first
• League

  Not a tournament. Turn up, play whoever is there, get a stamp, collect a promo. Runs for eight weeks and you can miss five of them. This is what Wednesday Pokemon is and it is why the average age at the front tables is about nine.

  $3
• Board game night

  No cards involved at all. Roughly two hundred games on the shelf, anyone can take one down, and there is always somebody who will teach a four player game to strangers. Free, and the closest thing this shop has to a front door.

  Free

Three things that are true here and not everywhere

• Nobody will slow-play you into a loss. Judging is done by whoever is behind the counter and it is done gently. If somebody is being unpleasant at a table, say so, and it gets handled that night.
• You can leave in the middle. Drop after round two, keep the cards, no explanation needed. Half the entry comes back if you drop before the first round starts.
• Borrowed decks are real decks. Not a demo box with twenty cards. Six built decks live behind the counter for exactly this and they are good enough to win with.

What it actually costs to start

Nothing on a Tuesday afternoon or a Wednesday evening. Twenty-five dollars on a Friday, and you leave with about forty-five packs' worth of nothing or a card worth two hundred, which is the gamble everybody in the room is also taking.

The trap to avoid is buying a built deck off a shelf on your first visit. Come and borrow one for two weeks first, work out which game you actually like, and then spend money once.