Picture a long weekend of board games played in the shade of a marquee, social deduction round a campfire, and a tent already pitched for you when you arrive. That is the offer from Strange Games Campout, back at Bushy Wood Activity Centre in Hailsham, East Sussex from 10 to 13 July 2026.
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See how it worksThe Campout is billed as the cosier sibling of the main event, catering for 200-plus campers with a vast board game library, organised RPG meets and dedicated space for social deduction. The bigger Strange Games Festival follows on 28-31 August at the same site for 500-plus players, adding mini-megagames, archery, quizzes and immersive mobile games to the mix. Both run on camping, food vans, a bar and a lot of happy gamers.
Here is the part worth shouting about: it is run by Strange Games CIC, a community interest company, and because tickets are sold fee-free through Zeffy, 100% of your ticket goes to its mission. This is gaming as community infrastructure, not a profit machine, and it shows in the relaxed, bring-your-own-or-borrow-ours approach to the library.
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 freeYou do not need a field and a marquee to capture what makes this work, though. The magic is a fixed weekend, a shared pile of games and zero pressure to be good at any of them. That is something any group can recreate, whether it is a one-day garden meet-up, a hall hire with a potluck, or a regular pub session that anyone can drop into.
If a weekend in a Sussex field is too far, build your own version closer to home. Spin up a community on Backseat Gamer, put a casual games day on the calendar, and list it as an event so newcomers can find a seat. The hardest part of any games day is just knowing it exists. Make yours easy to find.
Sources: Strange Games Festival | Strange Games Campout (Zeffy) | Strange Games Festival (Zeffy)
