​AMain Hobbies is one of the top online retailers and distributors of RC hobby products with two distribution centers in the U.S. (Chico, CA and Charlotte, NC) and two cycling retail stores in Chico, CA. The agreement to acquire HobbyTown includes purchasing their Lincoln, Nebraska distribution center and headquarters. HobbyTown is a retail chain that consists of 106 franchises across 35 U.S. states, which carry radio control car, airplanes, models, toys, puzzles, games, and STEM toys.  
“With almost 40 years under their belt, HobbyTown has been the go-to place for countless enthusiasts, like myself, to fuel their passion for radio-controlled cars, airplanes, specialty toys, and games, as well as STEM toys," said AMain Hobbies CEO Kendall Bennett. "Thom Walla and Bob Wilke have developed a proven successful retail model, and we're stoked to bring our expertise in eCommerce, customer service, and fulfillment to the table. Our mission is clear – we want to buck the current trend and expand the retail scene across the US.”
The deal gives AMain Hobbies a centralized distribution center in the middle of the United States. This acquisition is also undoubtedly AMain Hobbies major expansion into the hobby retail space as a franchiser. Despite being known as an online retailer, Amain has supported brick-and-mortar retailers through its distribution programs and sponsorship of RC races and events in the past.

Asmodee and Atomic Mass Games today announced Star Wars: Shatterpoint, a new miniatures skirmish game that will join its existing catalog of Star Wars miniature games. The Shatterpoint game is set to release in June 2023.
The Star Wars: Shatterpoint game empowers players to alter the fate of the galaxy, from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim. Players build and command a strike team composed of iconic Star Wars characters and pit them against each other in exciting battles.


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Star Wars: Shatterpoint Key Features
●      Customize: Create a Star Wars squad that is truly unique with beautifully sculpted and dynamic miniatures of identifiable Star Wars characters that are ideal for dedicated hobbyists and new painters alike.
●      Strategize: The Shatterpoint game’s fun and flexible squad-building experience invites players to create custom strike teams optimized to complete the various mission objectives. Players can choose thematic squads straight from the Star Wars galaxy, like Ahsoka TanoTM and Bo-Katan KryzeTM, Lord MaulTM and his loyalist super commandos, or mix and match their favorite characters to form the custom squads they want to play.
●      Battle: In the Shatterpoint game, players use their characters' special abilities and diverse combat skills to control the flow of battle as they race against each other to complete dynamically evolving mission objectives.
“The design and development of the Star Wars: Shatterpoint miniatures game is really our love letter to the excitement and energy of being a kid on Saturday mornings,” said Will Shick, director of product development at AMG. “We wanted to take all the great things about Star Wars—the action, the adventure, and the iconic characters—to create a Star Wars miniatures game experience that felt like it had come straight out of the animated lineups of the ’80s and ’90s. To say it was a dream come true to work with such a talented group of artists, sculptors, and our awesome team at Lucasfilm to create new versions of the iconic Star Wars cast in this style would be a complete understatement.”
The Star Wars: Shatterpoint game is developed by Atomic Mass Games in collaboration with Lucasfilm and published by Asmodee.
Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, Star Wars and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

The Toolset
The Mantic Companion is made by – and designed for – wargamers, and provides all the tools necessary to quickly and easily get playing.

As many of you know (and lots of you already subscribe) we have been working for a while with Greg at Easy Army to provide Army lists support. However, as we keep adding more games, and more armies (and more functionality) we realised it was unfair and impossible to develop this out of house.

Hence the Mantic Companion was born…. and it will allow us to provide much better support to all the Mantic Games systems.

And to give everyone a chance to see just how cool the Companion is we are offering totally free access to THE WHOLE APP until 31st January 2023 – so that’s up to 3 months free!!! WOW – so sign up next week and get until the end of January totally Free of charge!

Oh,…and if you have any unused months on Easy Army we will be honouring those – and adding them to your Mantic subscription – because that is just the Mantic way 🙂

Phase 1 sees the Companion kick off with all the features you’d expect from an army builder – and a few new ones too…

These include:

• The Official Mantic Army List Builder
• Math Hammer
• A Tournament Companion
• A living rulebook
• Events and Rankings
• Community Resources

Throughout this week we will have a deep dive on each subject – but to kick off the week – here is a quick overview of what you can expect from the companion…

Official Mantic Army List Builders
The official Mantic Army List Builders have been created, tested and improved to make list building a pleasure.  We are launching the app with a entry level free tier which will allow you to build TWO full lists per Mantic game.

The app has been designed for speed of use, legibility and  usefulness during any Mantic game, with advanced features like “View Mode” and “Quick Rules”. With just a phone, you’ll have all the stats needed to play a game.

You’ll also be able to see a repository of “Public” army lists that can be liked and shared, as well as free sample lists for all of our starter boxes.

Math Hammer
When we said the Mantic Companion was built by wargamers, we weren’t kidding. The chief developer, Mantic’s own Elliott Barratt, loves nothing more than to dive into the statistics behind the game, and use that information to build his lists.

To that end, the Math Hammer tools were created; combat simulators giving you the ability to analyse different unit options and combinations in different fighting scenarios.

What’s more, subscribers to the Mantic Companion will gain access to pre-calculated Math Hammer stats inside the list builders for quick reference and comparisons between units!

Tournament Companion

With the tournament scene in full recovery after the pandemic, and growing rapidly for games like Kings of War, Firefight and Deadzone, we’re providing both Tournament Organisers (TO’s) and players the means to run and attend Organised Play events using our official tool.

For TO’s, the Mantic Companion makes it easier than ever to create, run and post tournaments. Who doesn’t like less paper work!?

For players, the Tournament Companion is just that – a tool that will automatically give you all the information you need; from which gaming table you are on, to your opponents list, beautifully laid out clearly for all devices to mean a day of easy, fun gaming – allowing you to concentrate on winning your battles!

Living Rulebooks
For every supported game in the Mantic Companion, you’ll be able to access our Live Rulesets. Yes – you read that right – these are the complete rules, including any and all supplements, bolstered by some really great additional features.

The Live Rules tool includes an “Advanced Search” function, getting you to the exact page and paragraph you want to read in just a few seconds. Where useful, we’re also adding animated and video examples to making learning the game a doddle, or explaining tricky rules (although they obviously do not exist – because these are Mantic games after all!!!).

Speaking of learning our games, every user on the Mantic Companion gets access by default to the free version rules for every game. These curated limited rules gives new players exactly what they need to be able to see exactly how great our games are before investing in their first army box and a Mantic Companion subscription

Events and Rankings
That’s right folks, Mantic are creating and housing our official world-wide rankings for all our games.

The Mantic Companion will be your one stop shop to browse events and tournaments, and catch up on the latest player placings. And as a global hub for player rankings, you’ll be able to filter and search by location, faction played and season.

We know that there are lots of rankings out there already – and this is not trying to replace or impede these – this is our way of knowing which armies are doing well – and giving prizes and kudos to players wherever they are – be they Clash of Kings champions or local gaming heroes! Wednesday is dedicated to a deep dive on how you can score points – and how the Mantic ranking points can run alongside all other points systems too!

We really want to support the fantastic Organised Play that the Mantic community already supports – while opening up a rankings system for all those that aren’t part of an organised, nationwide scene.

Community Resources
But wait…. There’s more! Not only will players be able to find events near them, the Mantic Companion will house a raft of other community support tools like Club and Store / Stockist locators – making finding a store, an event or a pick-up game easier than ever!

The Mantic Companion is launching on the 1st of November! 

Warhammer Day is the global celebration of your favourite hobby and this year it’s extra special, as we commemorate the 35th anniversary of Warhammer 40,000! Take a nostalgic look back to see what’s made the grim darkness of the far future the setting that it is today, and look forward to what’s coming next.
The last 35 years haven’t just been filled with awesome games of Warhammer 40,000 and building and painting incredible miniatures – it’s seen the creation of an entire universe. We’ve loved watching it grow, and we’ve been inspired by the hobby you’ve enjoyed in this shared world.
​Ask about our Special Sale at our retail Store on Oct 8th!

Entitled Bayard’s Revenge, this astounding model features an Emperor’s Champion triumphing over a mighty Ork Nob. It’s an incredible miniature to add to your collection, an amazing painting challenge, or a splendid centrepiece for a Black Templars force. And what’s more, it’s based on an iconic piece of Warhammer 40,000 artwork.
You’ll be able to pre-order this incredible duel from the 8th of October from Gamechefs, or you can pick one up from Gamechefs between the 15th and 23rd.

They will also have a very special Online Preview on the 8th of October, where they reveal loads of awesome new Warhammer 40,000 miniatures. Plus, one very lucky Warhammer fan will win all of the reveals from the Online Preview! We will be hosting a stream of the broadcast on our Twitch Channel and have more news very soon.