The Cannes Festival and Congress Palace will once again present itself this year as a massive game board. 30,000 m² are entirely dedicated to the world of games where children, families, enthusiasts, champions, and professionals are invited to discover new items for free or indulge in their favorite classics.
For twenty-three years, the Festival has become a real showcase of playful creativity. From a child’s first steps, and then throughout a lifetime, games are a true companion and remain intergenerational.
Games can sometimes be games of chance, and the Festival, taking advantage of the calendar’s luck with a Friday the 13th, is organizing a large lottery. Around this theme, an exhibition “At the Mercy of Games” will take festival-goers on a journey through times and continents.
For the first time, the Festival and the Partouche group are organizing a Poker tournament with Texas Holdem Poker from February 13 to 15 at the Palm Beach Casino.
Video games have gradually become a part of the Festival, fitting into a logic of openness towards all gaming worlds and competitions. Product launches, previews, tournaments, and animations on consoles and PC, musical video games are on the program and freely accessible to all.
For the past four years, fans of Manga and Jap’anime have met at the Festival and have explored this universe in all its facets, including autographs, cosplay, screenings, and shows.
Initiations, demonstrations, and tournaments are also offered in the major classic disciplines: Chess, Bridge, Scrabble®, Draughts, Go Game, Belote, Shogi, Mah-Jong, Rummy, Tarot, Skat, Carrom, Awalé, Othello®, Role-Playing Games, Historical and Fantastic Wargames, Collectible Card Games, and more.
All audiences are invited to Cannes to mutually enrich each other through meetings and real moments of exchange.
Key premieres and major events of the Festival:
– L’As d’Or – Game of the Year 2009 will be awarded on February 12 from a list of 10 nominated games published within the year.
– Official launch of the international charitable operation “Don’t Lose Your Cards”, aimed at raising funds for fundamental research on Alzheimer’s disease.
* The first edition of the World Carrom Tour, by Carrom Production, features the first spectacular meeting of the great Indian Billiards players and the filming of 7 shows exclusively by Eurosport 2 during the Festival!
– As part of the manga animation, a free concert with the Japanese group YANEKA, a duo composed of Chiyako and Yuichiro, who develop a musical style called Japanese Bohemian Rock, a fusion of sounds from traditional Japanese music and influences taken from modern European music, between North European folk and Brit-pop.
– The 4th Stage of the “Europe Chess Hopes Circuit” On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Europe Chess magazine, a confrontation of 4 young Chess players, future grandmasters.
– Each year, the Festival is an opportunity to discover previews presented by their authors and publishers: Monopoly Deal (Hasbro), Small World (Days of Wonder), Bombay (Ystari), Nonoss Party (Winning Moves)… and many others exclusively in Cannes.
Practical information:
Free entry
Opening hours:
from 1:30 PM to 8:00 PM from Wednesday to Friday
from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday
All the festival’s news at: [www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com](https://www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com)
