Strange Games Festival

PlayCulture
2024-08-24 13:00 - 23:00 (Europe/London) | Willows3 Campfire
PlayCulture create exciting, tactical, sneaky outdoor games that make you feel like a kid again!
PlayCulture games are app-supported and take place physically in the real world. Here’s a taste of what will be on offer:
Seektag is like competitive hide and seek! In Indie mode you get points for spotting other players without getting seen, and in Gauntlet mode you have to evade guards to tag zones like a ninja team!
Zombies is a large-scale app-supported infectious outdoor tag game! Evade zombies, pick up health packs, become the final survivor! If you’re caught, you turn into a zombie and join the hunt!
PirateGold is a dastardly treacherous outdoor team game! Marooned on an island that conceals a bounty of treasures, the aim of the game is to set sail with as much plunder as possible. Assemble a rich crew, beg, steal, borrow, or do whatever it takes!
There will be rolling games during this window; please see the PlayCulture board in the Village Square for game times and further details
Under 18s should be accompanied by a responsible adult
The PlayCulture app can be downloaded here: playculture.com/app

Hear more about this event on our Strange Games Festival Radio YouTube Podcast

Girl By Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars.
2024-08-24 13:00 - 17:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
High-stakes drama about humanity facing extinction, strange landscapes, massive aliens, and fortified cities.
Uses the forged in the dark system.

[4 spaces available]
RPG Glade Table Number: 6

Beginners' Social Deduction - Mafia
2024-08-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Cub Glade/SD Glade
Mafia is a very popular social deduction game played through rounds of conversations. Through these rounds you will interact with other players to determine their secrets, while keeping your own secret information protected, to work out who is on your team and/or work towards your team’s goal. This could involving lying on your part.
These beginner Mafia sessions are run by our friendly Festival volunteers and are intended to introduce new players to the wonderful world of social deduction gaming.
If you are a regular player, please sign up instead to one of the other games that will be running throughout the Festival or visit the Social Deduction Glade and chat to our friendly glade host there.
[10 spaces available]

Beginners' Social Deduction - Werewolf
2024-08-24 13:00 - 15:00, 2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Cub Glade/SD Glade
Werewolf is a very popular social deduction game played through rounds of conversations. Through these rounds you will interact with other players to determine their secrets, while keeping your own secret information protected, to work out who is on your team and/or work towards your team’s goal. This could involving lying on your part.
These beginner Werewolf sessions are run by our friendly Festival volunteers and are intended to introduce new players to the wonderful world of social deduction gaming.
If you are a regular player, please sign up instead to one of the other games that will be running throughout the Festival or visit the Social Deduction Glade and chat to our friendly glade host there.
[12 spaces available]

Beginners' Social Deduction - Blood on the Clocktower
2024-08-24 13:00 - 15:00, 2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Cub Glade/SD Glade
Blood on the Clocktower is a very popular social deduction game played through rounds of conversations. Through these rounds you will interact with other players to determine their secrets, while keeping your own secret information protected, to work out who is on your team and/or work towards your team’s goal. This could involving lying on your part.
These beginner Blood on the Clocktower sessions are run by our friendly Festival volunteers and are intended to introduce new players to the wonderful world of social deduction gaming.
If you are a regular player, please sign up instead to one of the other games that will be running throughout the Festival or visit the Social Deduction Glade and chat to our friendly glade host there.
[12 spaces available]

FILTHY PEASANTS! - D&D 5e - A 'Funnel' game
2024-08-24 12:00 - 17:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
The road into Steyside crosses a bridge over a slow-moving river that’s more like a thick, muddy ditch than an actual waterway. A narrow crack in the riverbank opens into caves that local children explore from time to time. Recently, travelers have complained of a foul smell wafting up from the opening and strange tracks in the mud. Now a merchant caravan has vanished, and one word sits heavy on the lips of the townsfolk—trolls. The villagers drew lots, and your motley crew has been selected to head into the caves and save anybody they can. It’s time to do what all good villagers do in a crisis—grab pitchforks, form a mob, and put the monsters to the blade.
In a funnel game, players will each control 3 or 4 Level Zero characters. During the course of the adventure some of the characters WILL die. Those that survive will no doubt go on to become legendary heroes – but this is the bit before that 🙂
We will spend a little time generating the mob of filthy peasants before sending them off on their first adventure. Dice, Tokens, a map and all character sheets will be provided.
PG13
[5 spaces available]
RPG Glade Table Number: 5

Hear more about this event on our Strange Games Festival Radio YouTube Podcast

Questiny Demo: New Dungeon crawling adventure- Meet the creator and play!
2024-08-24 12:00 - 14:00 | Village Square
Co-operative, dungeon crawling adventure for 1-4 players
All has been well in Labyrinthia, a beautiful and peaceful land, protected by the Wizard Council – guardians of the sacred artefact….. SOUND THE ALARMS, RING THE BELLS, THE ARTEFACT HAS BEEN STOLEN! Alokor the Dark Mystic has surrendered to the cruel Goblin Queen’s will and stolen it, without it life in Labyrinth could be plunged into eternal darkness… forever!
SO BEGINS our epic quest! Our heroes must travel to the Shadow Tower in the deep dark mountains of Labyrinthia. Will they manage to navigate the twisting, turning Labyrinth, gather potions, outwit faeries, find legendary weapons, avoid the swinging axes and battle the Goblin Queen’s armies to reclaim the sacred artefact and restore peace to the realm?!… Keep your wits sharp and your weapons sharper, there are rumours of something far worse than goblins brooding in the dungeons of the Shadow Tower..
Message from the creator: “Questiny is my love-letter to 80s fantasy adventures and so is a highly thematic, co-operative dungeon crawler for 2-4 players, which is super easy to learn! With it’s unfolding narratives, enemy movement mechanics and modular board there is plenty of adventure to feast upon and no two quests will ever be the same.. come and join us to find out if you can conquer your Questiny!
See photos and videos of the game in action on Instagram @questinyboardgame and join the mailing list at www.questinyboardgame.com
[4 spaces available]

D&D Adventurers League: Ice Road Trackers (Cold Welcome and Warm Bodies)
2024-08-24 12:00 - 14:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
The D&D Adventurers League is the official organized play system of D&D. It allows your character to travel from one game table to another–across the world and even through digital play–all while keeping your character’s progress and loot intact.
This is the Adventurers League module DDAL10-00c&d:
A trek toward Icewind Dale turns deadly when an avalanche blocks the heroes’ passage through the Spine of the World. Rescued by a menagerie of strange creatures, the heroes are asked to return the favor in exchange for answers about what’s happening in the cold and frozen North.
This is the best starting point for playing Adventurers League at the festival as this adventure is designed for level 1 & 2 characters. Characters outside of this level range can’t participate in this adventure. You can pick up a character at the festival or if you would like to make your own, all characters created for Adventurers League must follow specific guidelines, which can be found in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide.

[5 spaces available]
Beginner-friendly, 14+
Content warning: mild horror & combat
RPG Glade Table Number: 1

D&D Adventurers League: Ice Road Trackers (Cold Welcome and Warm Bodies)
2024-08-24 12:00 - 14:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
The D&D Adventurers League is the official organized play system of D&D. It allows your character to travel from one game table to another–across the world and even through digital play–all while keeping your character’s progress and loot intact.
This is the Adventurers League module DDAL10-00c&d:
A trek toward Icewind Dale turns deadly when an avalanche blocks the heroes’ passage through the Spine of the World. Rescued by a menagerie of strange creatures, the heroes are asked to return the favor in exchange for answers about what’s happening in the cold and frozen North.
This is the best starting point for playing Adventurers League at the festival as this adventure is designed for level 1 & 2 characters. Characters outside of this level range can’t participate in this adventure. You can pick up a character at the festival or if you would like to make your own, all characters created for Adventurers League must follow specific guidelines, which can be found in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide.

[5 spaces available]
Beginner-friendly, 14+
Content warning: mild horror & combat
RPG Glade Table Number: 2

UK Starship Bridge Simulator
2024-08-24 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-08-24 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-08-24 10:00 - 11:00 | The Lodge (AV Lodge)
A fully functional Starship Bridge Simulator LARP/Computer game

[6 available spaces]
Children must be accompanied. Note: under 11s will need their accompanying adult to assist them at their station rather than signing up separately

Deep Woods Adventure - Beginner Games
2024-08-24 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-08-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Activity Centre
A group of travellers, lost in the forest, search for clues to find a way to safety… Deep Woods Adventure is a Strange Games special – a home-brewed, ‘lifesize’ version of the push-your-luck game ‘Deep Sea Adventure’, played in the woods.
Want to play? The game will be set up and available all weekend, including instructions. Find it on the footpath that is near the old lake, at the far end of Willows 4 past the campfire (look for a line with brightly-coloured rags attached).
Three ‘beginners’ games will also be run at the start of the Festival:
6pm Friday – please arrive at the Activity Centre by 5.55pm
10am Saturday – please arrive at the Activity Ccentre by 9.55am
11am Saturday – please arrive at the Activity Centre by 10.55am
Please turn up promptly as we will leave the Activity Centre at the advertised time or before if we have enough players
Come along to the ‘new friends’ meeting point in the Activity Centre just before this time if you’d like to play – don’t be late! We need 3-6 players for the game to run.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to take more than this, but there should be others there to play something else if not!

Suitable for: 3-7 players (including a ‘GM’), 45-60 mins. Even better played in the dusk/dark (8pm is a good start time if so), but do bring torches as the path is unlit and uneven in places.
Accessibility: The game involves walking on an unlit woodland footpath, which is across one of the camping fields. It can be a little uneven in places and may be unsuitable for wheelchair users, depending on your mobility. The game also needs the majority of players to tell colours apart and to tie/untie loose knots, however the GM or a volunteer can support with this without impacting the running of the game.
Children: Older children used to playing boardgames can play this game, if their adult is also playing. There are also some suggested variations to the rules that you might find helpful if you want to play a ‘family game’ with children.

[6 spaces available]

Chupito
2024-08-24 10:00 - 22:00 | TBC, Meet at Village Square
We’ll be playing Chupito! – The Original Six-Shooter Challenge Game. Players will draw from a range of physical and mental challenge cards and wager bullets against one another to see who comes out on top. Can you sing the highest note? Or name the most varieties of cheese? Do you have the most keys on your keyring or unread emails in your inbox? Can you stand on one leg the longest, with your eyes closed? Find your hidden talents, have a laugh and try not get shot!
Games last 30-45 minutes for 3-12 players.
Rolling games of Chupito will be available during this time window. Please visit the Chupito table in the Village Square for more details

Hear more about this event on our Strange Games Festival Radio YouTube Podcast

Archery and Climbing Sessions
2024-08-24 10:00 - 17:00 | Site Shop
Archery and Climbing sessions will be run by the site during this time window (extra archery may be added on Sunday, depending on demand)

You can buy tickets and get more information at the site shop (the shop is open 9am-8pm daily):
One activity – £8/Adult, £4/Child
Two activities – £14/Adult, £7/Child

Mini-MegaGame: The Last Final Conference
2024-08-24 10:00 - 13:00 | Arena Marquee
The galaxy is on the verge of destruction, and this peace conference is the last hope for bringing about peace amongst the four dominant empires – Karimen, Vashuto, Barin, and Sojuk. However, achieving peace is not a simple task as each empire has its own interests, ambitions, and fears.
The negotiations will be fierce, and the outcome uncertain. Will it be peace, a truce, surrender, or war?
The destiny of the galaxy is in your hands.

[30 spaces available]
Hear more about this event on our Strange Games Festival Radio YouTube Podcast

S.P.I.E.S. (Inspired by Speakeasy)
2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:30 | Rifle Range
S.P.I.E.S.
Inspired by Speakeasy
You find yourself at the International Espionage Society’s yearly convention for the world’s greatest Spies. Time is short, so you need to mingle and get as much Intel from them as possible. Don’t worry, you’re not alone on this mission, you just don’t know who else the agency sent in…Thankfully, due to budget cuts, you’ll likely have the same Pseudonym.
The Secret Pseudonyms of the International Espionage Society is a Mega Social Deduction game for 60 Players.
The main theme surrounding this game is to strike up conversations with fellow Spies, dropping hints to your Pseudonym to work out if you’re in the same Agency. You’ll then work with your Agency to use your Roles and Gadgets to Steal and Gain Intel (Points) from the opposition.
At the end the Agency with the most Intel and Information about the opposing players win…Oh but just be careful of any Moles…
This event is capped at 60 players, if you’re not signed up and want to play you may queue at the door. 10 mins after the event has started, anyone who hasn’t shown up will lose their spot and anyone at the door will get a spot.
Doors will close as soon as rules explanation starts, even if there are still spots you will not be allowed in.
Having a phone is helpful but not essential.
You may play in multiple games throughout the weekend.
[60 spaces available]
Come join the discord to learn more and find out about when/where games are being run:
https://discord.com/invite/zwDJxGWYe5

D&D Adventurers League: Ice Road Trackers (Unsure Footing and Chilled Drinks)
2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
The D&D Adventurers League is the official organized play system of D&D. It allows your character to travel from one game table to another–across the world and even through digital play–all while keeping your character’s progress and loot intact.
This is the Adventurers League module DDAL10-00a&b:
A trek toward Icewind Dale turns deadly when an avalanche blocks the heroes’ passage through the Spine of the World. Rescued by a menagerie of strange creatures, the heroes are asked to return the favor in exchange for answers about what’s happening in the cold and frozen North.
This is the best starting point for playing Adventurers League at the Festival as this adventure is designed for level 1 & 2 characters. Characters outside of this level range can’t participate in this adventure.
You can pick up a character at the Festival or if you would like to make your own, all characters created for Adventurers League must follow specific guidelines, which can be found in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide.

[5 spaces available]
Beginner-friendly, 14+
Content warning: mild horror & combat
RPG Glade Table Number: 2

D&D Adventurers League: Ice Road Trackers (Unsure Footing and Chilled Drinks)
2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Willows3/RPG Glade
The D&D Adventurers League is the official organized play system of D&D. It allows your character to travel from one game table to another–across the world and even through digital play–all while keeping your character’s progress and loot intact.
This is the Adventurers League module DDAL10-00a&b:
A trek toward Icewind Dale turns deadly when an avalanche blocks the heroes’ passage through the Spine of the World. Rescued by a menagerie of strange creatures, the heroes are asked to return the favor in exchange for answers about what’s happening in the cold and frozen North.
This is the best starting point for playing Adventurers League at the Festival as this adventure is designed for level 1 & 2 characters. Characters outside of this level range can’t participate in this adventure.
You can pick up a character at the Festival or if you would like to make your own, all characters created for Adventurers League must follow specific guidelines, which can be found in the D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide.

[5 spaces available]
Beginner-friendly, 14+
Content warning: mild horror & combat
RPG Glade Table Number: 1

Daily Update with Simon
2024-08-24 10:00 - 10:05 | Village Square
Come find out the latest news and what’s on today

Checkout Library & Info Point Open
2024-08-24 09:00 - 23:00
Speak to our friendly info point volunteers and borrow from our large library of boardgames (play for free, return same day)
These are games we think are particularly fancy or heavy; there is also a Games Stash of lots of other games in the Activity Centre

New Friends & New Players Meeting Point
2024-08-24 09:00 - 21:00 | Activity Centre
Whether you’d like to meet new friends to play with (perhaps you’re attending the festival alone?) or you’re brand new to board games and want to learn something new, come to the meeting point in the Activity Centre on the hour during this window and our friendly Board Games Host will assist forming groups and suggesting games

Site Shop Open
2024-08-24 09:00 - 20:00 | Site Shop
The site shop will be open and sells cold drinks, sweets, chocolate, biscuits, marshmallows (and wooden sticks!), popcorn, milk and logs (as well as various camping essentials)
Phone charging and tickets for Buzz Active activities can also be bought here
Card accepted

Strange Traitors: Series 2
2024-08-24 09:00 - 10:00 | Main Campfire
Last year we had attempted assassinations, clandestine conversations and a faithful win at the final five. For 2024 we’re running another festival long version of The Traitors, but without the £100k prize or Claudia Winkleman.
Designed to happen alongside whatever else you’re doing at the festival. Traitors have infiltrated the Faithful. Can the Faithful work together to identify and banish them before the Traitors murder them in their sleep?
We’ll meet every morning (or ‘mourning’!), where the survivors find out who got murdered in the night. And every evening at the Round Table to decide who to banish.
There’s also daily missions which give the Traitors assassination opportunities, and the Faithful clues to the Traitor’s identities. If you keep your eyes open there might even be ways to earn advantages for round tables. This year the round tables will be able to be watched by any festival attendees and there may be some ‘confessional’ style interviews for Strange Games Radio.
Once signed-up, players must post in the Traitors Public discord channel on the Strange Games discord before 21/08/2024 to get added to the Traitors In Game channel and for other pregame admin reasons. Failure to do this may result in players being replaced.
Adults only
Please do not apply if you played last year as we have limited spaces and high demand.
Hear more about this event on our Strange Games Festival Radio YouTube Podcast

[16 spaces available]
Note: these events are linked in a series so you don’t need to sign up to each individually

Werewolf in the Dark!
2024-08-23 22:00 - 23:30 | Rifle Range
The unforgettable game that combines the classical game of Werewolf with hide-and-go-seek, Werewolf in the Dark!
The social deduction of Werewolf Who among the villagers is the Werewolf? During the daylight phase, vote to eliminate a player you suspect of killing others at night. The childhood intensity of Hide-and-go-Seek? During the night phase, everyone hides in pitch black darkness
Only the Werewolf can double tap you, eliminating you.
A never-ending night only the dead can cure!
Don’t get too cozy in your hiding spot, as a Werewolf can win in a single night.
You must venture out and find a body to end the terrifying night phase.
Dozens of roles with unique abilities
Many different monster types
Many different “villager” roles
No need for a host, everyone plays
Elimination is only the beginning!
Eaten by a monster? Eliminated by vote? No worries. Everyone comes back as one of many different types of “ghosts” to enhance the game.

Note: the meeting point to begin the game will be the Rifle Range but the game will be played in the campsite woodlands
This game is played in the dark over uneven ground – your safety is your own responsibility at all times and under 18s must be accompanied

Campfire Storytelling with Jon
2024-08-23 21:00 - 22:00 | Main Campfire
Ever wondered how the hills were made? Where the sun goes at night? Who built that empty house on the edge of town? Let Jon show you…! Jon is a Brighton-based storyteller known for his captivating delivery and love of roots: folktales and myths that connect our history and our present, our surroundings and ourselves. He performs regularly at festivals, in schools, online, and his shows have appeared in the Brighton Festival Our Place programme and Fringe.
Praise for past gigs:
“You really brought those stories to life… I want to go and visit those places now!” – Guesthouse Storytellers, Newhaven
“our boys became totally engrossed… fantastic” – Into the Trees Festival
“great tales told with obvious love. It was an enthralling evening.” – Audience member, The Mabinogion

Pandemic: Catastrophe
2024-08-23 20:00 - 22:00 | Activity Centre
An unofficial, scaled up version of the classic boardgame Pandemic, with a projected board. 13 players, time limits, chaos.

[13 spaces available]
