Now Play This 2025 | An Interactive Games Fest
London’s annual experimental games festival is returning this April.
And they’re not rolling the dice.
After all, this is going to be their 11th edition, having started out as a somewhat niche games festival, and now taking over the stately surroundings of Somerset House for three days this Spring.
For the duration of Now Play This, the gallery’s New Wing will host a special game-making-focused edition during Easter school holidays. This year’s theme is Folk Games: the stories we play together, which explores community and identity through creativity and play.
Ben Peter Catchpole
And true to the ‘exploratory’ aspect of the festival, there’ll be interactive workshops, talks, live performances, site-specific interventions, and online content, all with the aim of encouraging a spirit of belonging and connection. Festival highlights include a dance performance for gamers of all ages; a game you’ll literally make up as you go along; and a playful interactive ‘architectural mystery’ that’s set along the Strand itself.
Ready player one?
NOTE: Now Play This runs at Somerset House from 11th-13th April 2025. You can find out more and get tickets at the Somerset House website.
Now Play This | Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA
Looking for more inspiration? Check out what’s on in your Monthly Agenda