Are you ready for yet another cool Belgian gaming event? From March 6 until March 8 the magnificent Municipal Theater in Bruges will morph into a truly unique game space during Playtime 20.20 (link in Dutch). All weekend long, the culture temple will be the stage for a broad range of activities that show games are for everyone.

Marrying cultural grandeur with digital bravery, the free event will highlight the best games have to offer. One of the main draws of the festival are the arcade cabinets. Hand crafted by Devillé Arcade and set against the classic backdrop of a classic city theatre, this arcade hall is like nothing you’ve seen before.

The creative brothers are also showcasing two pieces of the Player Input expo. Next to a huge wooden whale that’s used to play a game of Wobble Garden, they’re also debuting Game Paint where you use physical crayons and paper in order to return colour to a digital world. Not to be missed!

Head over to the Indie Hall if you want to try out some of the newest Belgian games and have a chat with the developers. You’ll be able to go hands on with Rise of Humanity, Please Touch The Artwork, the suite of colour themed puzzle games by Bart Bonte, and Mission Zigloton. In addition to these Belgian creations, newcomers can experience some of the finest game experiences ever crafted with indie classics like Journey, Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch, and GRIS.

In the Retro Hall newbies are zapped back in time to learn about the rich history of video games and witness how far games have come since the 8 bit days. Give these interactive time capsules a try and find out if your muscle memory is as good as you thought it was.

These expos are all open on Saturday March 7 from 14.00-20.00 and on Sunday March 8 from 10.00-18.00.

On Sunday morning at 11.00 there’s an interesting panel talk on the trends and future of video games. Moderated by our very own David Verbruggen, the panel consists of The Almost Gone writer Joost Vandecasteele, game developer Hannes Devillé, games enthusiast William Boeva and games journalist Ben Allossery. Following the talk, you’ll be able to prove your salt as a gamer by challenging game giant Willam Boeva. An excellent way to kick off the second festival day!

Had enough yet? What about a cool chiptune party, a movie about Mortal Kombat, a session on screen time, and workshops to create singing bananas or even your own VR game? Yeah, Playtime 20.20 really has got something for everyone, so don’t you miss it!