Spring Open Day 2018: Learning

On Saturday 5^th May, Mantic Games invites you, our friends, to join us for our biannual OPEN DAY. You can choose a single ticket, or the Group ticket - which covers four attendees for the price of three!

Open Day events have been evolving from your feedback and our experiences. Once again we have made certain that the Main Hall is at capacity, and - again - we will be utilising extra rooms to add in more and varied things to do. Our aim as always is to create an aspiring environment that will inspire your own hobby and captivate you for up to 6 hours!

The success of November's Open Day proved the template for the forthcoming Spring Open Day 2018. There are three blogs in this series:

1. Participation and Cool Stuff,
2. Learning,
3. Open Day deals

2. LEARNING

We all love hearing about what's happening in gaming, and many of us enjoy picking up new tips, skills, or insights. With this in mind, we are presenting small seminars alongside our Main Event and Special Guests.

[caption id="attachment_18935" align="aligncenter" width="300"] James M Hewitt, Needy Cat Games[/caption]

Special Guest: James M Hewitt (Hellboy)

We are delighted that James M Hewitt of Needy Cat Games will join us for an interview and Q&A in the morning of the Spring Open Day. James is the games designer behind the epic new Hellboy the Board Game for Mantic Games - and it's terrific fun. (Hellboy is available to try out in the Main Hall.) James is a games designer with an impressive pedigree, including work on DreadBall, and pieces for Games Workshop including Battle of Calth, Gore Chosen, and Warhammer Silver Tower.

Special Guest: Stewart Gibbs (DreadBall, Warpath)

Mantic's Studio Manager Stewart will be in the hot seat early afternoon to share insights into the design process. Stewart is the game designer for Warpath, the lead developer on DreadBall, and all the models and games we make have to pass through his capable hands for approval. We're excited to be able to get into Stew's head and spray the contents around the room!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="343"] Heeere's Ronnie![/caption]

The Main Event: Ronnie Renton, Mr Mantic, The Bard of Mantica

At 2pm Ronnie sits in the hot chair for a dhort interview before we throw him open to questions from the floor. It's what he loves and you expect. Bring something interesting that is not a rules question - he's rubbish at them...

For the rest of the day Ronnie will be around and looking to be stopped and asked questions. He loves meeting our friends, so please do him that honour. We even brought in external catering so that you don't lose him to the grill for an hour!

[caption id="attachment_17821" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Hear how our metal and resin miniatures are made[/caption]

The Seminars

Each seminar fits into a 1-hour slot. By staggering the seminars and repeating them, many of you will be able to attend all four should you wish! There is a timetable presented below and we should have something for everyone here, so what do we have on offer?

1. Model Design: From Idea to Product. Matt Hobday, our Production Manager, will guide you through our process of taking an idea and crafting it into reality.
2. Model Production: Resin & Metal Casting. Our experienced Master Mould-maker, Ricky Dove, will describe the stages of getting a model from the sculptor's workbench to your hand! There will be practical examples of each step on hand as well as lots of photos.

There will be more to be revealed in the companion blogs, so check back! In the meantime, here is the timetable for the day - we did say it would be busy, right? Pick up your ticket now!