Now Play This 2025 | Saturday

Book tickets

Sat 12 Apr 2025

10.00 - 13.30

14.00 - 17.45

£10 / £9

Child (12 and Under) Free

New Wing

https://nowplaythis.net/2025-festival

Join us on Saturday for our family friendly day of making and live play. You’ll need a Saturday Morning or Saturday Afternoon ticket.

Tickets

Book Morning Tickets

Book Afternoon Tickets

Both tickets grant access Now Play This’ Boardgames & Books Nook, plus a three-hour open creation space where you can alternate between three different workshops. The morning session ends with 30 minutes of Folk Games.

How to play – some workshops are drop-in and some are timed. Most of them have a maximum capacity of 20 at a time on a first come, first served basis. There will be a second opportunity later in the session if you don’t get a spot at the start of the session. Arrive 10 minutes before the start time to allow for arrival and ticket checks.

Whether you have a ticket or not you are also invited to join our outdoor play proposals! Become part of one of ARCADE’s participatory dance games, follow the Tiny Games path around Somerset Houses’ corridors and grounds, and engage with the Strand Avian Society site-specific outdoor game.

Workshops

Saturday Morning

Adventures in The Merging Worlds | Claire Morwood

In groups, players will use dice rolls, coloured pencils and their imaginations to create and explore a collectively generated world. Each group will design and draw characters and locations based on random prompts, then create a story of their character’s adventures and challenges along the way.

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Saturday Morning

Making it Up as We Go Along | Niall Moody

Interested in making and/or playing board games? making it up as we go along is a tabletop game that is created by its players, all about changing the rules and inventing new ones.

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Saturday Morning

Odd Inputs: Alternative Controllers | Alex Johansson

A playful workshop where participants fashion strange and approachable games controllers from cardboard, tinfoil and other craft materials.

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Saturday Morning

Folk Game Play Session | Emily Koonce

Join us for 30min of folk games.

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Saturday Afternoon

Chiptune 8-Bit Music & Nostalgic Video Game Sounds | Nahuel Berneri

This 8-Bit Music Workshop, led by Nahuel Berneri, invites you to explore the fascinating world of Chiptune music, recreating the nostalgic sounds of early video games.

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Saturday Afternoon

Make Your Own Solo Role-Playing Game | Anna Blackwell

Playing with friends is fun, but playing on your own can be just as rewarding! Anna Blackwell has built a career in the growing world of solo Role-playing Games (RPGs). In this 90-minute workshop Anna will guide you through the process of crafting your own game.

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Saturday Afternoon

Folk Game Game Jam! | Emily Koonce

The Folk Game Game Jam is an open, relaxed and playful game jam. Participants will play folk games, learn new folk games, and make their own folk games.

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Saturday Afternoon

Choose Your Own Caper: An Audience-led Choose Your Own Adventure Game Imbroglios, Saturday Afternoon

Join us for an unforgettable adventure as we turn the Lancaster Room into an interactive playground with Choose Your Own Chaos (CYOC)! Step into the role of co-director in a live, audience-driven Choose Your Own Adventure game projected on the big screen.

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Saturday Morning & Afternoon - timed sessions

ARCADE Casson & Friends

ARCADE is an interactive performance with dance ‘games’, that animate public spaces – encouraging playful participation to connect people of all ages with the childlike joy of play – and each other.

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Saturday | 18.00 - 19.00

Dreaming the Future of Experimental & Art-Games Events

This is a closed door session aimed at people currently involved in the field or intending to join it. If you want to attend email hello@nowplaythis.net.

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