Eastern England's biggest free gaming week is back. The Norwich Games Festival runs from Saturday 23 May to Saturday 30 May at The Forum in Norwich, and the 2026 edition leans more heavily into tabletop content than ever, with eight days of drop-in board game sessions, talks, traders and one extremely large communal map-making game.
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 freePresented by The Forum in partnership with Norwich University of the Arts, the festival sits neatly across the May half term, which makes it a sensible option if you need to entertain a household full of children without taking out a second mortgage on Lego sets. Most of the programme is free, with ticketed extras like the WiFi Wars interactive comedy show at Norwich Theatre Playhouse on 28 May.
The tabletop side is the part to circle. The Board Game and Puzzle Lounge sees volunteer hosts teach new and traditional games to walk-ins, the Trader and Collector Day on Monday 25 May brings independent tabletop traders into The Arena from 10am to 4pm, and there are two standout talks: Plastic Invasion: How Warhammer Conquered the World on Games Workshop's rise, and the deceptively wholesome It All Flows Somewhere, a giant cooperative tabletop where attendees build a shared fictional neighbourhood through map tiles.
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See how it worksThere is also an Actual Reality Arcade outside The Forum on most days of the festival, recreating retro video game ideas as physical challenges. It is the kind of thing you cannot really pre-plan a group around, which is half the fun.
If you run a local board game group, this is an easy week to plug into. List a meetup for after the trader day, run a learn-to-play night on the back of the Warhammer talk, or just organise a group trip from your community. Create a free event on Backseat Gamer and let people RSVP in one place.
Sources: Norwich Games Festival | The Forum Norwich | Festival Events
