ELDEN RING: The Board Game’s Kickstarter goes live today at 18:00 GMT! Follow the campaign now so you don’t miss out.

On Monday, a whole host of influencers, content creators, and press descended on the stunning Manchester Monastery.

No, they hadn’t all decided to give up their lives to become Franciscan monks. It was the venue for the ELDEN RING board game press event!

For background: ELDEN RING itself was undoubtedly one of the biggest video game releases this year, if not the biggest. And, in case you hadn’t heard, we’re adapting it into a board game.

We wanted to give content creators and press the chance to get some hands-on experience with the ELDEN RING board game, and ask any questions, before the upcoming Kickstarter campaign (launching today at 18:00 GMT).

As attendees The Brothers Murph said in their Tweet, board games don’t usually get press events.

But why not? With millions of fans across the globe. It’s time we challenged some assumptions about what the tabletop industry can be.

Anyway, here’s the lowdown on the ELDEN RING board game press event.

What Went On?

At 6pm once everyone had arrived, CEO and Co-Founder Rich Loxam kicked things off by welcoming attendees, before handing over the reins to CCO and Co-Founder Mat Hart and Lead Designer Sherwin Matthews for the keynote speech.

They talked in great detail about a great many fascinating things… All of which you can hear and read about in the many articles and videos that have been released since

There are some bits we can share with you, though. Read all about the pledge levels for the Kickstarter here. Or, if you’re interested in ELDEN RING: The Board Game’s mechanics, check out Sherwin’s Designer Diaries, starting with Part 1.

Anyway, after their fascinating presentation, Mat and Sherwin went on to give an exclusive live demonstration of the gameplay.

Then attendees had a chance to question Mat and Sherwin on topics ranging from the miniatures to how the ELDEN RING board game differs from the DARK SOULS adaptation we made a few years ago. (And, as Dicebreaker mentioned in their preview, it’s fair to say they’re both very, very different.)

Where was it?

Given how often churches – albeit ruined ones – pop up in the DARK SOULS and ELDEN RING series, a monastery seemed a highly appropriate place to host the event. And it was gorgeous!

If you haven’t visited or heard of it, Manchester Monastery was built in the Victorian era as a Franciscan Order place of worship. It became derelict in the ‘90s, but was taken over by volunteers and painstakingly restored with help from donations.

Here’s some pictures from the night to feast your eyes on:

What else was there to see?

There was plenty to do outside of listening to the main presentation.

We set up some display tables to show off prototypes of ELDEN RING: The Board Game’s stunning miniatures.

(Bear in mind, the final miniatures will look quite different to these 3D printed ones.)

We also got a chance to display our exclusive ELDEN RING sword, one of a very limited number gifted by Bandai Namco.

There were also some of ELDEN RING: The Board Game’s prototype cards on display, showing attendees just how good quality the game’s components will be, and to give the attendees a preview of the gameplay they could experience later that night.

Once the Q&A took place, everyone enjoyed fish and chips and themed drinks, and attendees got the chance to speak to the Steamforged Games team about the upcoming Kickstarter.

The developers also ran exclusive, hands-on demos of the board game for anyone interested. And trust us, there was a lot of interest!

Well, that just about sums it up!

Thanks to everyone who attended. Some people even flew in from the US and other countries to be there!

Don’t forget to follow the Kickstarter now to be there when the journey later today at 18:00 GMT