Games day 2003 turned out to be pretty spectacular. I was there to promote the upcoming online auction of the Gamling piece painted by Bruce, and having relatively little knowledge of table top gaming, let’s just say it was sensory overload in the best way. I was invited by Flinch of Gaming Havens for the Onering.net to sit in their booth. Throughout the day I was able to meet a whole new world of people - the inhabitants of the gaming world!! Flinch was gracious enough to take me around and introduce me to the key players within this industry. It was nice putting Games Workshop faces to names. I also got to spend time with Ali who ended up taking care of Bruce during the Two Towers party. She told me all about the Barlimans community within the Onering.net.

As Sideshow Toy’s booth was directly across from our booth, I got to stare all day at the amazing busts of the LOTR characters. The Watcher in the Water was fantastic!! Heath Hammond, Senior Product Designer for SideShow Toys even donated an Uruk-Hai bust for the Onering to give away. Games Workshop had several of the LOTR table games set up throughout the convention center. The Helm’s Deep and March of the Ents table were breathtaking.

I was also invited to sit up on the Onering.net panel which included Flinch, Ali, Quickbeam, myself, Ed Del Castillo, President of Liquid Entertainment and Creative Director on The War of the Ring and Jude from Liquid. We each spoke in turn about our respective roles with the website. Quickbeam gave a wonderful speech about the communal feeling of ‘Ringers’ a term he said would be the title of the documentary the Onering is working on. The audience was treated to several slide shows; among them the slideshow of Bruce painting the figure.

Flinch no doubt is working on his own account of Games Day with photos, so keep checking the Onering.net for updates on the auction and how you can get this original painted Gamling piece not only painted, but signed by Bruce. All proceeds from the auction will go to Bruce’s favorite charity, The Kevin Smith Trust Fund. Many thanks to Beki Anderson, Flinch and everyone at the Onering.net for introducing me to the world that is Games Workshop!