Board gaming in Brussels

As the summer days were coming to an end, there was one more European open air festival to visit. One that I have never been to before and only heard about in the year proceeding. The Brussels Game Festival, that took place on the 24/25 of August in the Cinquantenaire Park in the capital of Belgium.

A section of the park was taken up by this free event, as joggers jogged by and mothers took their children and dogs for walks, gamers were gaming. Tents were set up in lines, publishers installed their games and the smell of fried chips filled the air. The weekend was a warm, yet windy one. A little sprinkling of rain made people duck in the cover of stand. But apart from that, a wonderfully calm vibe filled the tree covered area.
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I was there on a purely observant level, not to play but to chat with publishers and friends about the festival and newness coming from their companies. So I'd thought I would document the event by walking around the stands and showing you a glimpse of what it was like. In the video below, you may see some Kickstarter projects that are coming, new games you never heard of, old games that have different publishers (as not all American games reach these shores) and you may see some beer too. Beer is an important part of the gaming culture in Belgium. It may be 10am, but you can crush your thrust with a fresh fruity flavoured beer...or a strong coffee.

There were lots of interesting things to see, although not as many new game release announced. With Essen just around the corner, editors were saving those releases for then. But there were a handful of stands demoing upcoming KS projects that were starting in October. From Badass Force, Zombie Social Club and After The End. Games to look out for.

​This is an event that I will be attending next year. Not as busy as Paris est Ludique, but calm and dream like. Especially as I got to have a sweet weekend with my wife and taste a little bit of a different culture. Now I have wet my feet, that next time will have more news from me.