Since it’s my job to attend nearly every show (being the Convention Manager has its perks), I get to interact with and field questions from the players and people of the community more than most folks here at Privateer Press. One of the questions I get asked most often is, “What does a day in the life of a Privateer look like?” So here is a snapshot of a normal November work day, just after the convention season has wrapped up for the year.

6:30 a.m. – Arrive at work. Give Brent grief over his performance on the livestream at WARMACHINE Weekend, then ask him when he will appear on the next one. Shick hasn’t listened to the broadcast yet, so he is currently unaware of how much trash Dallas and Brent heaped upon him. I’m waiting for a very Flintstones-esque “BRENT!” as he hears them compare him to a cup of coffee.

7:03 a.m. – Email the awesome people at Frontline Gaming about the upcoming Las Vegas Open. Even though it’s November, planning for February started a month ago for me. Last year was an absolute blast, between watching James and Hungerford get in some epic games and scoping out the beautiful armies people had on display. This coming year promises to be an even bigger event, with new surprises, a couple games of Grind, and the show debut of our newest studio painter, Brendan Roy.

8:41 a.m. – Begin writing this Insider. Get distracted by a phone call from England confirming the dates our crew will be in the U.K. for SmogCon. Talk a bit about the schedule (more to come soon), since we are adding some hangouts to the lineup. Geek out over the plans for the short video reveal of the new HORDES Faction, then talk for a bit about a narrative event that Goetz is handling, which features models from the new Faction. Discuss the finer points of putting Hungerford in a freight box and shipping him, but ultimately decide to book him a ticket to avoid chaos in the cargo hold. Talk to Dallas about what he will be bringing to show off and paint up.

10:02 a.m. – Coffee break. Wander across the road to the Starbucks with the rest of the marketing team and argue who the better boss was, Captain Murphy of Sealab 2021 or Phil Ken Sebben of Harvey Birdman. The argument is derailed when Jackson declares Malory from Archer to be the best, and we all start speaking only in Archer quotes for the rest of the walk.

11:17 a.m. – Meet with the various managers here in the office. Topics range from upcoming projects to the last-minute needs of the design and production teams. Talk to our project management team about updating the banners for Lock & Load Gamefest 2017 (more info below), planning out the new Gen Con exclusive model, and what needs to happen to get all of our event forms printed.

12:00 p.m. – High noon! Venture out with Shick in search of lunch. Mondays are for bear fighting. Some days you eat the bear, and some days you ride the bear back to the office and declare yourself bear king. Occasionally the bear wins and assumes your job.

1:22 p.m. – Marketing meeting. Yes, it’s my second meeting of the day, but one of the most important of the week. Jackson brings up AdeptiCon 2017 and what we have planned there. Grind, Iron Gauntlet, and the all-new Hungerford Games (players show up with an unpainted, but assembled, army and take the first day to paint and base it entirely, then play a tournament with it the second day) are some of the highlights, with a note to make sure we take pictures of the armies on parade. We talk about the holiday bundles and some sweet new entries in No Quarter, and then map out what we plan to unveil over the next month.

2:10 p.m. – Spend an hour in one of our warehouses organizing convention supplies and consolidating some of our older banners. Although I have a desk, I end up in the warehouse a fair amount (along with Convention Coordinator Brian) packing up the various shows and getting them ready to ship out. My job requires a bunch of organization and coordination with various groups, though Mondays are mostly spent taking care of stuff in the office.

3:15 p.m. – Talk with Matt Wilson about Lock & Load 2017. We decide that tickets will go on sale January 11th since the show will be July 14th through the 16th. We’re still hammering out the schedule (so make sure to let me know what your favorite moments of Lock & Load Gamefest 2016 were in the forums so I can try to bring them back). Follow up with project management and design to start the process of making signs, pins, and exclusives. Although the show is in July, some items need long lead times to make sure they are exactly what we want.

4:00 p.m. – Shut down computer, pack up, and head for the door. In the hall talk with Doug Seacat and Matt Goetz about skorne underwear for far longer than they were ready for and finally exit the building. Turns out skorne wear underwear made of shark skin, but they turn the skin inside out for maximum discomfort.

Another day in the books, and the first three shows of the year are shaping up to be big; more info on those to come, along with a heap more about Lock & Load Gamefest 2017. Have some specific questions for me? Simply fight a bear, then go to the forums and send up the JR signal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear some growling and it is time once more for lunch.