Mantic Games

{{Short description|Tabletop game company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Mantic Entertainment Ltd

| logo = File:Logo_of_Mantic_Games.png

| type = Private Limited Company

| industry = Miniature wargaming

| foundation = 2008, Nottingham, England

| location_city = Bulwell, Nottingham

| location_country = UK

| key_people = Ronnie Renton, Matt Gilbert

| products = Kings Of War, Deadzone, Firefight

| homepage = [http://www.manticgames.com Mantic Games]

| footnotes =

}}

Mantic Games is a British miniatures and board game publisher, based in Bulwell, Nottingham, UK.

History

Mantic Entertainment Ltd (trading as Mantic Games) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. It was founded in 2008 by former Games Workshop Managing Director Ronnie Renton and two other investors, with a range of fantasy miniatures that were compatible with other popular wargames, including Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Mantic began trading in 2009 and is one of numerous miniature and wargaming companies in Nottingham's so-called Lead Belt. In 2015 Mantic relocated to its current headquarters in Bulwell, Nottingham.

Early plastic models made by Mantic were sculpted by Bob Naismith and tooled by production company Renedra{{Cite web |title=Wargames Minatures - Generic Scenery - Generic Bases |url=https://www.renedra.co.uk/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Renedra Ltd |language=en-GB}} in the UK. Other models were all cast in metal in-house. For the first few years, all models were done traditionally by hand-sculpting, but this eventually moved to an all-digital process. Original art direction and some early photography was the responsibility of ex-Games Workshop painter Mike McVey.

It soon began publishing its own board games and miniature games. Notable early titles included Kings of War, Dwarf King's Hold, Dungeon Saga, DreadBall, Deadzone, Project Pandora, Warpath and Loka (published for River Horse Games). It has also produced licensed games such as Mars Attacks, The Walking Dead: All Out War, Hellboy: The Board Game, Worms: The Board Game and most recently Halo: Flashpoint.

Mantic has made use of crowd funding to develop and bring games to market, starting with the first for Kings of War, on the Kickstarter platform in 2012.

Having previously contributed to a number of Mantic products and games, Matt Gilbert joined the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2016.

Mantic started making in-house resin models in 2018 and in 2020 significantly increased production due to the release of its Armada fantasy naval game. Traditional metal model casting has slowly been replaced by resin in the Mantic model catalogue since this date. Only a few metal lines are now cast in-house as of 2024.

By the end of 2021, Ronnie Renton had sole ownership of Mantic.

In 2023, Mantic released its digital Companion and Vault free and subscription offerings, supporting its games systems with army list builders and other tools, and files for 3D printing of models.

Mantic acquired the assets of River Horse Games (founded by Alessio Cavatore) in 2024.

Game development

Mantic has a small internal studio team and makes extensive use of the gaming industry talent in the local Nottingham area and beyond for all its games; from games designers, authors, to artists and sculptors.

Mantic is very community and gamer focused and opens up the maintenance and ongoing development of games through the creation of Rules Committees which are small groups of fans who offer feedback and guidance to the company based on community feedback and opinions. Members of the Rules Committees apply to Mantic and are usually asked to submit a fan written narrative scenario based on the story of the game and to demonstrate their experience with the game.{{Cite web |last=Burman |first=Rob |date=2016-09-25 |title=Would you like to join the Dungeon Saga Rules Committee? |url=https://www.manticgames.com/news/join-dungeon-saga-rules-committee/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Mantic Games |language=en}} The Rules Committees serve as a bridge between the company and the fan base and members are often seen as representatives for the fans.{{Cite web |website=Daedleh |date=2017-01-28 |title=The Rules Committee |url=https://daedle.net/2017/01/28/the-rules-committee/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |author=Nick Williams |language=en}} They often play a large role in developing the rules for further editions of games.

Awards

  • At the 2010 Origins Awards, Mantic Games was a finalist for their King of War: Elves line of figurines in the category "Best Miniatures Figure or Line of Figures".{{cite web| url = https://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/17163/36th-annual-origins-awards-finalists| title = 36th Annual Origins Awards Finalists| date = 2010-06-28 | website = icv2.com| access-date = 2023-11-08}}
  • At the 2012 Origins Awards, Mantic Games was a finalist for their Forge Father Huscarl figurine in the category "Best Miniatures Figure or Line of Figures".{{cite web| url = https://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/23007/origins-awards-nominees| title = 86th Annual Origins Awards Finalists| date = 2012-06-26 | website = icv2.com| access-date = 2023-11-08}}
  • At the 2013 Origins Awards, Mantic Games was a finalist for their Trontek 29ers Corporation Team line of figurines in the category "Best Miniature Figure Line".{{cite web| url = https://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/25422/origins-nominations-announced| title = Origins Nominations Announced for 2013 Awards| date = 2013-04-04 | website = icv2.com| access-date = 2023-11-08}}
  • At the 2018 Origins Awards, Mantic Games was a finalist for their Walking Dead Miniatures Game in the category "Best Miniatures".{{cite web| last=Griepp | first = Milton |url = https://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/25422/origins-nominations-announced| title = Origins Award Nominations for 2018 Awards| date = 2018-05-13 | website = icv2.com| access-date = 2023-11-08}}
  • At the 2019 Origins Awards, Mantic Games was a finalist for their Kings of War: Vanguard in the category "Best Miniatures".{{cite web| last = Bunge | first = Nicole |url = https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/43096/origins-award-nominees| title = Origins Award Nominees for 2019 Awards| date = 2019-05-01 | website = icv2.com| access-date = 2023-11-08}}
  • Mantic Games' Firefight was "Best Miniature Wargame Of 2022" in the OnTableTop Industry Awards of 2022.{{cite web| url = https://www.beastsofwar.com/featured/ontabletop-industry-awards-2022| title = OnTableTop Industry Awards of 2022| date = 2023-02-11 | website = beastsofwar.comm| access-date = 2023-02-11}}

List of Mantic IP games

This list shows the main game releases, but does not include any supplements or expansions.

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Current games

Name

!Version

!Genre

!Type

!Main designer(s)

Other significant contributorsYear published
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Kings of War

|3.5

|Fantasy

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Kings of War Rules Committee

style="text-align:right;" | 2023
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Vanguard

|1.5

|Fantasy

|Skirmish Game

|Vanguard Rules Committee

| Matt Gilbert

style="text-align:right;" | 2021
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Dungeon Saga Origins

|1

|Fantasy

|Miniatures Board Game

|Ciaran Morris, Matt Gilbert

Dungeon Saga Rules Committeestyle="text-align:right;" | 2023
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Dungeon Saga Origins The Dice Game

|1

|Fantasy

|Card/Dice Game

|Matt Gilbert

|Rob Burman

| style="text-align:right;" | 2023

style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | League of Infamy

|1

|Fantasy

|Miniatures Board Game

|James Hewitt, Sophie Williams (Needy Cat Games)

|

style="text-align:right;" | 2021
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Bar Room Brawl

|1

|Fantasy

|Board Game

|Matt Gilbert

style="text-align:right;" | 2023
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Armada

|1

|Fantasy

|Naval Battle Game

|Matt Gilbert

Gabrio Tolentino (Warlord Games)

| style="text-align:right;" | 2020

style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Firefight

|2.5

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Firefight Rules Committee

style="text-align:right;" | 2023
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Deadzone

|3

|Sci-fi

|Skirmish Game

|Deadzone Rules Committee

style="text-align:right;" | 2021
style="text-align:right; padding-right:8px;" | Deep-space: Pest Control

|1

|Sci-fi

|Board Game

|Matt Gilbert

style="text-align:right;" | 2024
OverDrive

|1

|Sci-fi

|Board Game

|Rob Burman

|

|2021

class="wikitable"

|+Out of print games

!Name

!Version

!Genre

!Type

!Main designer(s)

!Other significant contributors

!Year published

Kings of War

|1

|Fantasy

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Alessio Cavatore

|

|2012

Kings of War

|2

|Fantasy

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Alessio Cavatore

|Kings of War Rules Committee

|2015

Kings of War

|3

|Fantasy

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Kings of War Rules Committee

|Matt Gilbert

|2019

Kings of War Historical

|1

|Fantasy

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Kings of War Rules Committee

|

|2016

Vanguard

|1

|Fantasy

|Skirmish Game

|Matt Gilbert

|

|2018

Dwarf King's Hold

|1

|Fantasy

|Miniatures Board Game

|Jake Thornton

|

|2011

Dungeon Saga

|1

|Fantasy

|Miniatures Board Game

|Jake Thornton

|

|2015

Warpath

|1

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Alessio Cavatore

|

|2011

Warpath

|2

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Alessio Cavatore

|Matt Gilbert, Stewart Gibbs

|2012

Warpath

|3

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Stewart Gibbs

|Matt Gilbert

|2016

Firefight

|1

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Matt Hobday

|

|2016

Firefight

|2

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Andy Sharp

|Firefight Rules Committee

|2022

Deadzone

|1

|Sci-fi

|Skirmish Game

|Jake Thornton

|

|2014

Deadzone

|2

|Sci-fi

|Skirmish Game

|Deadzone Rules Committee

|

|2016

DreadBall

|1

|Sci-fi

|Miniatures Board Game

|Jake Thornton

|James Hewitt

|2012

DreadBall

|2

|Sci-fi

|Miniatures Board Game

|Stewart Gibbs, DreadBall Rules Committee

|

|2017

DreadBall: Xtreme

|1

|Sci-fi

|Miniatures Board Game

|Jake Thornton

|

|2015

Project Pandora

|1

|Sci-fi

|Miniatures Board Game

|Jake Thornton

|

|2012

Star Saga

|1

|Sci-fi

|Miniatures Board Game

|Stewart Gibbs

|

|2017

class="wikitable"

|+Upcoming games

!Name

!Version

!Genre

!Type

!Main designer(s)

!Other significant contributors

!Year of release

Epic Warpath

|1

|Sci-fi

|Mass Battle Wargame

|Matt Gilbert

|Alessio Cavatore

|2025

List of Mantic's licensed games

This list shows the main releases for titles where Mantic have the rights to produce games, but does not include any supplements or expansions.

class="wikitable"

|+Current games

!Name

!Licensor

!Main designer(s)

!Other significant contributors

!Year published

Hellboy: The Board Game

|Dark Horse Comics

|James Hewitt, Sophie Williams (Needy Cat Games)

|

|2018

Hellboy: The RPG

|Dark Horse Comics

|Redscar

|

|2022

Hellboy: The Dice Game

|Dark Horse Comics

|Matt Gilbert

|Rob Burman

|2022

Umbrella Academy: The Board Game

|Dark Horse Comics

|River Horse

|

|2022

Worms: The Board Game

|Team17

|River Horse/ Caesar Inc.

|

|2024

Halo: Flashpoint

|343 Industries

|Ian Davies

|

|2024

The Walking Dead: All out War

|Skybound

|Mark Latham

|The Walking Dead Rules Committee

|2016

The Walking Dead: The Dice Game

|Skybound

|Matt Gilbert

|Rob Burman

|2023

Invincible: The Dice Game

|Skybound

|Matt Gilbert

|Rob Burman

|2023

class="wikitable"

|+Out of print games

!Name

!Licensor

!Main designer(s)

!Other contributors

!Year published

Mars Attacks

|Topps

|Jake Thornton

|Matt Gilbert

|2014

class="wikitable"

|+Upcoming games

!Year

!Licensor

!Main designer(s)

!Other contributors

!Year of release

Labyrinth: The Board Game

|Henson

|River Horse

|

|2025

Kickstarter activity

Mantic has used Kickstarter to fund a number of its games and expansions, making over $10.5 million to date.

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Mantic Games Kickstarter projects

!Total USD

!Project name

!Backers

354,997

|Kings of War

|1,568

728,985

|Dreadball

|2,539

104,172

|Loka (with Alessio Cavatore)

|745

1,216,482

|Deadzone

|4,306

558,076

|Mars Attacks

|2,753

575,755

|Dreadball Xtreme

|2,482

1,057,975

|Dungeon Saga

|5,963

366,547

|Kings of War: Second Edition

|2,747

380,554

|Deadzone: Infection

|2,810

484,917

|Warpath

|3,355

272,409

|Kings of War: Vanguard

|2,231

1,823,571

|Hellboy: The Board Game

|12,716

466,127

|Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game

|6,071

296,147

|TerrainCrate 2: Crate Expectations

|2,666

174,728

|League of Infamy

|1,556

427,654

|Hellboy: The Board Game Expansions and Dice Game

|4,988

106,343

|TerrainCrate 3: Bring The Background To The Foreground

|1,046

504,060

|Dungeon Saga Origins – The Game of Classic Fantasy Adventure

|4,021

673,833

|Worms: The Board Game

|5,849

Other products

Mantic produces an extensive Terrain Crate range of scenery models for various genres, including RPGs and war games. It has also produced small print runs of RPG adventures and miniature packs using Terrain Crate products under the Dungeon Adventures brand.

References

{{Reflist}}