This summer, Brussels plays!

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A new edition of the Brussels Games Festival is coming up, during the last weekend of August.

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A new edition of the Brussels Games Festival is coming up, during the last weekend of August. Two days of craziness during which people of all ages will be able to share fun with each other. With hundreds of games that are free to play, but also various publishers, designers, specialized shops, game libraries, game clubs, indoor and outdoor animation, a game fair, tournaments, a whole night of gaming, and many more surprises.


The Brussels Games Festival is the first summer festival in Brussels dedicated to games. Itโ€™s open to everyone: families, players that are new to the hobby, established gamers, those who are curious, but also to professionals: social workers, educators, pedagogues, speech therapists, teachers.

The festival will be opened non stop for 32 hours, with an โ€˜ONโ€™-program during the day and an โ€˜OFFโ€™-progam at night. Modern board games are very diverse, and with us youโ€™ll find every kind of game : party games, family games, strategic games, card games, miniature wargames, role-playing games, LARP, games from all around the world, adapted games… There will be something for everyone, and for all age groups.

This year, the festival celebrates its fourth birthday. It will take place in a wonderful green environment: the Cinquantenaire park will be magically transformed into a giant playing board for the duration of one weekend. At the base of the triumphal arch, the park will be covered in tables, chairs and gazebos in a relaxed summer atmosphere. The grounds have been especially adjusted to host the mรถlkky tournament: a Finnish variant to bowling which is very tactical, and suited for beginners and people of all ages. Above all, the game is very addictive! For the indoor activities, we have about 3000 mยฒ of space at our disposal, in the Bordieau Hall and the Royal Army Museum. We will host tournaments with lots of prizes there, but youโ€™ll also find a prototype zone which introduces you to the games of tomorrow, a โ€˜Games & Societyโ€™ zone, meetings and debates, a market for second hand games, and the nocturne.

The theme: accessibility to games and through games

The heart of our project was created by the Department of Culture, which proposed the theme of โ€˜Games & Societyโ€™: they want to make games accessible to everyone, whatever their descent, social background, age, or gender might be, and also to people with disabilities. The broad public, but also the professionals can get informed, have new experiences, and discover novelties and alternative projects, through the help of our brochure, animations, discussion forums and interactive exhibitions.

Playing with a disability

The Brussels Games Festival team has made a lot of effort in order to grant access to people with disabilities as much as possible. We will do our best to take care of people with reduced mobility, so that they too can enjoy the festival, just like everyone else. There will be adapted games and playful activities, organized by expert animators. These games will be presented by the gaming libraries and various associations we cooperate with.

The Brussels Games Festival is a popular, cozy and above all free event that highlights the cultural, educational, social, human and relational values of board games.

About the author

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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