How do you become a LEGO designer? What goes into turning classic TV shows like Seinfeld into a LEGO set? And what inspired LEGO Art range, the firm’s new line of sets that allow fans to create LEGO pop art masterpieces? All this and more is explored in this interview with Samuel Johnson, Design Manager at The LEGO Group and Creative Lead for LEGO Ideas and LEGO Art.

“The strong results are due to our incredible team,” said The LEGO Group CEO, Niels B. Christiansen.

We caught up with Pete Ridgewell to learn more about what Spectrum can offer inventors and toy firms, as well as how he’s been fuelling his creativity in lockdown.

How important is great artwork in selling toys and games? What’s the key to thriving as a freelance artist in the play space? Why does the romantic idea of ‘the starving artist’ do more harm than good? All this, and more, is covered in this Art of Play panel session.

As Identity Games prepares to launch its latest title – Nightmare Horror Adventures: Welcome to Crafton Manor – we ask, what does it take to create a genuinely scary board game?

Issues of eco-friendly design, manufacturing and social sustainability are in the spotlight at this ‘Sustainability in the Toy Industry’ panel session.

If you could only take one toy, one game and one of your own inventions to a desert island, what would you take and why? That’s the question that WordWhizz Deej Johnson is posing to Phil Sage, Senior Director, Product Development, Design & Inventor Relations at Hasbro, in this Desert Island Picks interview.

Hosted by Word Whizz Deej Johnson, this interview sees Victor Caddy (Chartered Trade Mark Attorney at Wynne-Jones IP) explain what toy and game inventors should be looking to protect once they have an idea, as well as shedding light on the ways in which Brexit will change how toy companies and designers protect their IP.

Can an inventors’ track-record be a key factor in buying decisions? Should there be more knowledge-sharing happening between these two areas of the industry? Are publishers doing enough to shine a light on their inventor items? All these questions, and more, are tackled in this Buyers & Inventors panel session.

This panel, featuring well-known game designers Dan Klitsner of KID Group and Rob Daviau of Restoration Games, and Shail Mehta, CEO and Founder of The Last Gameboard, will discuss how they envision game design finally crossing the physical-digital divide to create enhanced gameplay and new experiences, and help grow a worldwide community of tabletop fans.