Pastimes Comics & Games

What Pastimes Comics & Games does

Pastimes, Inc., operating as Pastimes Events, is a privately held US tournament organizer founded in 1992 and headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois (with a secondary Chicagoland warehouse in Niles). The company runs trading card game (TCG) events for Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana at major US conventions including PAX East, PAX Unplugged, Gen Con, and MagicCon, as well as its flagship self-owned event, Eternal Weekend. Its end-to-end service portfolio covers tournament scheduling and execution, online event registration, on-site judge and operations staffing, prize distribution via its Prize Wall redemption system, and convention hospitality management, supported by integrations with Wizards of the Coast's EventLink and Melee platforms and an active Discord community of 13,000+ members.

The underlying technology stack is conventional rather than differentiated: Pastimes relies on third-party tournament management software (EventLink, Melee) for registration and scorekeeping, layered with its own Prize Wall ticketing system, Discord-based community tooling, and an e-commerce storefront on pastimesevents.com for badge and tournament sales. Product breadth spans a wide format menu (Standard, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Draft, Sealed, Two-Headed Giant, Team Trios, and specialty formats) for Magic, a parallel Lorcana format suite, and packaged bundles combining event credits with exclusive merchandise.

The business model is transactional and event-driven. Revenue streams include per-player tournament entry fees ($0–$290), convention badge/admission fees (subject to a 10% admissions tax), event packages ($80–$225) bundling credits with merchandise, and vendor booth fees from card shops and trading companies. Go-to-market is hybrid: consumer-facing sales run through online registration and on-site convention sales, while enterprise revenue flows through contracted publisher partnerships with Wizards of the Coast and Ravensburger and convention partnerships with PAX and Gen Con. The company operates with a lean core team of 1–10 permanent staff and scales event labor through independent contractors paid via Wise, with key leadership comprising Alan Hochman (Owner/President), John Temple (Senior Manager, Events), and Meg Baum (Manager, Staffing and Logistics).

Name

Pastimes Comics & Games

Legal name

Pastimes, Inc.

Website

https://pastimesevents.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pastimes Events is a privately held US tournament organizer, founded in 1992, that operates Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana events at PAX, Gen Con, MagicCon, and its flagship Eternal Weekend, serving TCG players, game publishers, and convention organizers through paid tournament entries, badges, and staffing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tournament Organization Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Esports Event Production & Operations (Broadcast, Stage, Refereeing) (MPAKANAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Venue-Owned/Operated Event Organizers (In-House Promoters) (MPAKADAI), Esports Festival & Multi-Title Events (MPAKANAJ)

Keywords

• Trading card game tournaments
• Tabletop gaming events
• Event management services
• Convention tournament operations
• Organized play services

Headquarters

HQ city

Niles, Illinois

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tournament Entry Fees: Players pay registration fees to participate in tournaments ranging from $0 (free events) to $290 (team events). Revenue is per-player/per-team entry.
2. Badge/Admission Fees: Convention badges required for entry with 10% admissions tax applied to online and on-site badge purchases.
3. Event Packages: Pre-packaged deals combining event credits with exclusive merchandise (playmats, cookies) ranging from $100-$225
4. Vendor Booth Fees: Third-party vendors (card shops, trading companies) pay for exhibit space at Eternal Weekend and other events

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pastimes Events operates as a tournament organizer and event production company for trading card games (TCG), running Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana tournaments at major conventions and standalone events across the United States and internationally. Services span end-to-end tournament organization, judge staffing, on-site operations, online registration, a Prize Wall redemption system, and convention hospitality management for publishers and convention partners.

Product overview

Pastimes Events operates as a tournament organizer and event production company for tabletop gaming conventions, not a product retailer. Its service portfolio spans end-to-end tournament organization and execution for Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana events, a Prize Wall redemption system, online event registration and ticketing, and convention staffing and hospitality management. The company organizes tournaments across a wide range of formats — from Standard and Commander to specialty events like Grand Melee and Super Sealed — at major conventions including PAX, MagicCon, Gen Con, and Eternal Weekend, hosting more than 400,000 event entries since 1994.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tournament Organization & Execution Services End-to-end tournament organization and execution for trading card game events, including Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana, spanning scheduling, registration, judge staffing, and on-site operations for individual players at conventions and standalone events.
• Prize Wall & Prize Ticket Redemption System A prize ticket redemption system where players earn Prize Tix by competing in events and redeem them at the Prize Wall for booster packs, sleeves, accessories, uncut sheets, and other items, deployed across all events where Pastimes runs TCGs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400,000+ event entries hosted across the nation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Wizards of the CoastflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary publisher client for Magic: The Gathering organized play. Pastimes operates as tournament organizer for MagicCon events, Eternal Weekend, Pro Tour, and other MTG premier events. Works with WOTC on format development and event execution.
• RavensburgercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublisher client for Disney Lorcana Challenge Series. Pastimes organizes and operates Lorcana Challenge events including DLC Indianapolis and other Challenge locations.
• PAX/Penny ArcadeflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConvention partner running Magic: The Gathering events at PAX East (Boston) and PAX Unplugged (Philadelphia). Pastimes operates dedicated tournament areas at these major gaming conventions.
• Gen ConcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConvention partner for Gen Con in Indianapolis. Pastimes runs TCGs including Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana at one of the largest gaming conventions.
• Dragon ShieldminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsorship partner providing sleeve products for events. Event participants receive Dragon Shield sleeves as bonuses with entry to certain tournaments.
• Cookie BrigademinorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner providing cookies for event packages. Cookie Lovers Package at PAX East includes cookie vouchers redeemable with Cookie Brigade.
• Venue Convention CenterscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnerships with major convention venues including Pennsylvania Convention Center, David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Georgia World Congress Center, Indiana Convention Center, RAI Amsterdam for hosting events.
• Vendor ExhibitorsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party vendors including Three For One Trading, The Gathering Place, Card Monster Games, Pink Bunny Games, Strike Zone Online, Galactus, Top Deck Games, Mighty Meeple, Stomping Grounds, Journey's End Games, and Tales of Adventure rent exhibit space at Eternal Weekend.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Star City Games: Major U.S. trading card game retailer and tournament organizer running large-scale Magic: The Gathering and other TCG events, with a comparable mix of retail, content, and organized play operations.
• Face to Face Games: Canada-based TCG retailer and tournament organizer running large-scale Magic, Lorcana, and other TCG events — directly comparable in scope of tournament operations and player community.
• ChannelFireball: TCG content, retail, and tournament organization platform closely aligned with Pastimes' Magic-focused tournament operations and publisher relationships.
• The Gathering Place: TCG retailer running organized play and tournaments for Magic and other card games, with a similar tournament-driven GTM and community focus as Pastimes.
• Card Kingdom: Online TCG retailer that also operates in-store and event-based tournament programming, providing a comparable mix of retail, community, and organized play.
• Cool Stuff Inc. U.S. trading card game retailer hosting Magic, Lorcana, and other TCG tournaments and events at its locations — comparable in scale and format breadth to Pastimes' event operations.

Others

• TCGplayer: TCG marketplace and pricing infrastructure adjacent to organized play; comparable as a critical ecosystem participant for the same Magic and Lorcana player base Pastimes serves.

Broad incumbents

• ReedPop: Convention organizer that owns and operates PAX East and PAX Unplugged, where Pastimes is a tournament partner — comparable as a broader live-event operator in the same gaming convention ecosystem.
• Gen Con: Major tabletop gaming convention where Pastimes operates as a tournament partner — comparable as the broader event platform owner within the same gaming ecosystem.
• Wizards of the Coast (MagicCon): Publisher of Magic: The Gathering and operator of MagicCon events where Pastimes is the contracted tournament organizer — comparable as the larger incumbent that both partners with and competes with third-party T.O.s.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/pastimesevents
• Facebookfacebook.com/pastimesevents
• Instagraminstagram.com/pastimesevents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pastimes-comics-&-games

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pastimes Comics & Games