Magic: the Gathering has a basic rules PDF, aka the Quick Start Guide, that was instrumental in my understanding the basics of the game (like the stack and spellcasting). The M15 version is available from the Wizards site.
Despite being such a great resource, I've never actually seen this in the form of a physically printed booklet even once. It explains so much about the game, and if every MtG player had one of these, I bet we wouldn't have half the confused beginner questions we get. I've heard from several sources that M:tG intro decks used to come with basic rulebooks, but that's no longer the case.
Instead, the only physical rules printing I've ever seen are these little fold-outs that come in the intro packs and fat packs, which are good enough to get you started but skip many vital details:
(photo credit: youtube)
I live in Australia, I started shortly after M14 was released, and at various points I've opened booster boxes, fat packs, intro decks, and duel decks and been to pre-release events and the M:tG booth at a couple of Penny Arcade Australia Expos. All of that, and I've never seen even one of the Quick Start Guide booklets.
So: Where and how do the Basic Rules booklets actually get distributed, if at all? Where would I expect to find or see one in real life?