What is an LGS?
LGS is short for Local Game Store. Just about every tabletop game community uses this acronym – not just Magic. A Local Game Store isn't just a store, it’s a gathering place for people engaged in the hobby. Your local game store is probably a WPN store, that’s short for Wizards Play Network (Wizards as in Wizards of the Coast, the current owners of Magic. WPN stores usually host small-to-medium events Magic: The Gathering events. This may be as small as a little 6-person get together for a mini-tournament on any old Friday, or it may be as large as an eighty person extravaganza to celebrate the release of a new expansion (these are usually “prerelease events”).
Sounds Great! Where are they?
Just about everywhere! Linked at the bottom of this paragraph is
possibly the best resource for someone looking to play more Magic; the
Wizards Store Locator. This will show you all the stores in your area
that are WPN registered. That means that they’ll carry magic products
and run magic events. From that page, you may be able to find more about
the store, but you can just as easily search them up externally as well.
Your LGS probably has a website with an event calendar, or even a phone
number, but they’re also probably open to people showing up and asking
in person! Personally, when I found my current preferred game store, I
just walked right in and asked when I could play magic. They told me
the days they hold magic events, and when I showed up they pointed me
to people who like to play with newbies.
Wizards Store & Event Locator
One Last Thing
If you're still on the fence, I highly recomment checking out a prerelease event. I've embedded Wizard's of the Coast's video on why below.
Pro tip though, don't riffle shuffle in front of older players.
This is every magic players least favorite sound: