If you are in the North West and fancy a full weekend of gaming, the Manchester Board Game Festival is back over the August bank holiday, running from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August 2026 at the Manchester Conference Centre inside the Pendulum Hotel on Sackville Street.
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See how it worksIt is one of the friendlier fixtures on the UK calendar, built around simply turning up and playing. The organisers stock a library of more than 700 games and expect over 500 gamers across the weekend, so there is always a table to join and someone happy to teach you the rules. Doors open Friday afternoon and run late, with Saturday going from 10am right through to midnight for anyone who likes their meeples after dark.
Beyond open play there is a Geek Fayre of traders, a bring-and-buy for shifting the games gathering dust on your shelf, bookable RPG sessions, and a game arranger service that pairs you with other players if you have come along solo. It is a recurring event too, with further weekends in October for a Halloween special and December for a festive edition that hands out the MBGF Awards, so August is far from your last chance this year.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeHeading along and want to bring your regular group, or find a few new faces to fill a heavier game? You can set up a community or organise a meetup on Backseat Gamer and sort your table before you even arrive. Conventions like this are how a lot of local groups first meet, and a shared game of something big is a very good excuse to swap details.
Sources: Manchester Board Game Festival
