MCR.TEST: Under the Bonnet: What's Really Going On?

We’re back on the road.

Another meetup. Another chance to get hands-on.

This time, we’re heading to Autotrader for an evening of testing, challenges and a few things we’re keeping under wraps for now.

We’re not giving too much away just yet… but expect something a little different from your usual meetup.

PLEASE BRING LAPTOPS!!

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📅 Thursday 8th October 2026
⏰ 5:30PM till late
🗺️ Autotrader Offices, Manchester Oxford Road

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As usual with MCR.TEST evenings, this won’t be a slide-heavy session.

We’re building the night around interactive, hands-on challenges designed to get everyone involved.

Expect teamwork, problem solving, some competitive thinking and, as always, a bit of chaos.

There’ll also be plenty of time to grab some FOOD and catch up with the community 👀👀👀

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THE EVENING

• Part 1:

🚗 Under the Hood: What’s Really Going On?
We’re kicking things off with two car-themed challenges that will put your prompt engineering, problem-solving and token-optimising skills to the test.

🏁 Guardrail Grand Prix
A rapid-fire warm-up where you’ll face a series of edge-case prompts.
Your job? Predict whether the prompt will make it through the system instructions or get stopped by the guardrails.

🗺️ The Token Rally
A 3-level pixel-map challenge where efficiency is everything.
You’ll write prompts to navigate a vehicle through a custom grid — dodging road hazards, collecting keys to unlock barriers, grabbing bonus coins and solving a final riddle to make it to the exit.

The catch?

The driver who uses the fewest tokens takes the chequered flag.

🏆 Leaderboards & Prizes

Both games will feature live, real-time leaderboards throughout the evening.
And for those who make it onto the podium, there’ll be some seriously good prizes up for grabs. 👀

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🌭 Pit Stop

After the challenges, we’ll park up for some food, drinks and a chance to catch up with the community.

We’ll then get into the rest of the evening — but we’re keeping that under wraps for now…

🤖 Part 2:

AI coding assistants are great at sounding right.

Not always at being right.

We’ve all had one confidently declare “fixed it!” while the bug just sits there laughing.

For Part 2, we’re calling that bluff with Shelby — our own custom-built MCR.TEST coding agent.

This one is properly hands-on.

You’ll get to swap between different AI providers and see how their personalities change with the exact same tools in their hands.

You’ll throw Shelby at a codebase it’s never seen before and see whether it nails it… or spectacularly wings it.

And you’ll even get to teach it a new skill on the spot — then find out whether it actually listens.

💻 This bit is hands-on for real, so PLEASE BRING LAPTOPS!!

Fair warning: things may go very right.

They may also go very wrong.

That’s kind of the point.

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Because testing isn’t about sitting back and watching.

It’s about getting involved, trying things, breaking things and figuring out what happens next.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

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A quick note on attendance

MCR.TEST is community-driven and free to attend. If you sign up, please make every effort to join us or update your RSVP if plans change.

Your support helps us keep these events running throughout the year.