Stuttgart beyond the main event: free pack, Biergarten, Funfair

by Riccardo Emanuele Eustor·Riftbound Zone

Riftbound Organized Play has filled in the European Regional Championship page, and the picture that emerges is of a weekend worth attending even without a qualification: every badge comes with one free Riftbound booster pack, opened on camera, there is a Biergarten-style free play area with local beer and pretzels, a small indoor funfair, and unlimited free popcorn. The venue is Messe Stuttgart, Halls 8 and 10, November 6-8. Badge collection opens on Thursday, November 5 at 2:00 PM.

The setupThe badge opens the whole hall

The main event is for qualified players only, but the rest of the weekend is not. The badge — the weekend ticket, on sale since September 18 — gets anyone through the door: side events (the open tournaments running alongside the main event), free play tables, prizes and activities. If badges sell out a waitlist opens, but it closes before the event weekend starts: it is not a second box office to hope for on site.

The venue is Messe Stuttgart, Messepiazza 1, minutes from Stuttgart Airport and linked to the city by public transit. Riftbound takes over Halls 8 and 10.

For freeA pack each, and something to drink

The item that actually moves the budget is called Ripper's Bay: every badge holder opens a complimentary Riftbound booster pack on camera and keeps it. One pack per badge, not one per day.

Next to it sits the Biergarten, a free play area built like a German beer garden: long tables, pretzels, local beer and, as Riftbound Organized Play puts it, "plenty of room for one more game". There is nothing to sign up for — you sit down and play. And then there is the detail the official page spells out in full: free popcorn, as many trips as you like.

At badge collection you also get a flag sticker for your country, to wear and be spotted by. It is not only decoration: the country on your badge is the one you represent in Nation Clash, the side event that scores points for nations.

The hoursWhen doors open and when to collect your badge

All times are local German time, which in November is the same as Italian time. Arriving on Thursday gets badge collection out of the way and skips the Friday morning queue. Premium badge holders get in half an hour before everyone else on all three days.

The restPrizes, store and creators

The Prize Wall works as usual: play events, earn tickets, spend the tickets at the wall. Beside it the Merch Store carries exclusive event items and Riftbound products, and PCG grades cards on site at the prices already published.

For those not playing there is the Hall of Legends, where creators hang around for a chat and a casual game, and roaming cosplayers move between the tables. We have already covered the full side event schedule and the main event prize pool.

Source: Riftbound Organized Play – European Regional Championship. Images: Riot Games / UVS Games.