Champions, amateurs, or casual players will gather in Cannes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the International Festival of Games. This unique event is dedicated to all realms of gaming and all its participants: authors, publishers, illustrators, distributors, and of course, players. There is one rule over five days: to play.
The events of the 20th anniversary…
The 20th Anniversary Game: Deluxe Camping by Vincent Everaert
Faithful to its commitment to recognize their work and the richness of their creations, in 2005, the City of Cannes and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès honored game authors by inviting them to participate in a model competition that would result in the edition of the game for the 20th anniversary of the International Festival of Games. Vincent Everaert and his “Deluxe Camping” will be published. Festival-goers will discover this friendly game in a preview where they must be insightful to ensure a dream vacation doesn’t turn into a nightmare…
20th Anniversary Evening presented by Patrice Laffont, joined by Plastic Bertrand and impersonator Michel Villano
Friday, February 17 – Grand Auditorium – 20:30
On the stage of the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals, Patrice Laffont, surrounded by Plastic Bertrand and the impersonator Michel Villano, will help the audience play the game Time’s Up!, Gold Ace – Game of the Year 2006. The goal of this communication game offered by Asmodée Editions is simple: to discover or make the other players discover as many personalities as possible through a sequence of words, mimes, or sounds… But it’s not so simple… Laughter and good spirits are guaranteed!
The Exhibition: 20 Years of the Festival, games in celebration!
From February 15 to 19 – Palais des Festivals – Toscan du Plantier Space (level 1)
Designed and staged by the association “Les Jeux sont Fêtes,” this exhibition will relive the history of games through a magnificent initiatory journey. It will build a bridge between the great classic games that are centuries or millennia old, which are the soul of the Festival as well as the games awarded the Gold Ace – Game of the Year and the new products, reflecting our society.
The Game Olympics by Teams – Nice-Matin Challenge
Those who do not limit playing to a single discipline can come and defend the colors of their company, their association, their circle of friends, or their family. A simple principle: form a team of at least 4 players and participate in a tournament in 4 disciplines during the Festival. Participants will be rewarded with stays in Rome for the winners and many other gifts. Featured games include Chess, Scrabble, Backgammon, Checkers, Carrom, and Bridge.
Fan Festival: all the universe of Jap’anime and video games
From February 17 to 19 – Exhibition Area – Video Games Space
After the success of Japanese musical games (stars of previous editions), the universe of manga and Japanese culture makes a strong entrance at the festival with cosplay (costume competitions), dubbing contests and demonstrations, drawing classes, body paint, martial arts demos, fanzines, animated drawings and movie projections, and giant karaoke.
Continuous entertainment… with the world’s fastest scrabble players who will compete on the stage of the Grand Auditorium on Wednesday, February 15, at 17:30, Chess players of the European Blitz Championship who will face off in 5 minutes per round, as well as the world’s greatest checkers players who will come to defend the colors of European clubs for the Confederation Cup and the best players of the French championship of… Indian billiards. The Festival is also the largest backgammon tournament in Europe for the winter season held at the Palm Beach Casino Cannes thanks to the support of the Partouche Group which guarantees a high level of prizes, with €7,500 for the winner of the Championship.
As the Winter Olympics open in Turin, Cannes also hosts its own Olympiad: that of the mind. In all gaming realms, many surprises will complement this festive program! The 2006 edition will be an opportunity to highlight the values of play: creativity, imagination, discovery, conviviality… also dear to the city of Cannes and which give the festival its legitimacy.
For more information: [https://www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com/](https://www.festivaldesjeux-cannes.com/)
