Lichtenberg Festival 2022: The Essence of Video Games Through Gamerz Voice

In the heart of Bas-Rhin, the Château de Lichtenberg transformed on Sunday, July 17, 2022, into a true playful sanctuary gathering enthusiasts, curious visitors, and key players of video game culture. This unique gathering, named the Festival du Lichtenberg, successfully magnified the essence of play by offering an immersive experience through a variety of activities, ranging from video games to role-playing games, including escape games and live-action games. Organized in collaboration with the dynamic association Gamerz Voice, the event highlighted the vitality and richness of the gaming event scene in a region where the gaming community continues to grow and innovate.

With the participation of eight local associations including flagships such as Fumble Corp, Les ForgeMondes, Medieval Studio, and Bardes et Dragons, this day offered a comprehensive overview of local creativity and engagement. Visitors of all ages immersed themselves in a universe where tactics, immersion, and collaboration blended harmoniously, reminding that video games and related games remain powerful vectors of social connection and cultural expression. From the adrenaline of escape games to the intrigues of the live-action Cluedo, the Festival du Lichtenberg became in 2022 a strong symbol of what the Alsatian video game and playful scene can offer its audiences.

Behind the scenes of the Festival du Lichtenberg: a celebration of local video game culture

The Festival du Lichtenberg is not just a simple festive gathering: it is a genuine collective project aimed at promoting video game culture in all its diversity. In 2022, the event brought together several local associations and collectives committed to developing playful experiences accessible to the widest audience. The very essence of this event lies in its collaborative approach, where every participant, whether organizer, facilitator, or visitor, plays a crucial role in creating a friendly and stimulating atmosphere.

Since its creation, Gamerz Voice, the main coordinator, has stood out by offering a flexible structure fostering innovation around video games and role-playing games. This commitment is expressed through initiatives such as interactive role-playing game tables and sessions for discovering little-known playful mechanics. The 2022 edition notably combined traditional activities with new forms of experience, thus marking a progressive evolution to meet the expectations of an ever more passionate and diverse gamer community.

Another key aspect of this day was the enhancement of human interactions behind the screens. While video games can sometimes be perceived as solitary leisure, the Festival du Lichtenberg reminded that video game practice is also built around direct exchanges, collaborative strategies, and genuine collective excitement. This gathering can be seen as a micro-society where every participant contributes to the relational economy of video game innovation.

Furthermore, the setting within the historic Château de Lichtenberg gave an even more immersive and unique dimension to the event, blending heritage, imagination, and entertainment. This subtle marriage between past and future illustrates the richness of the festival, which does not hesitate to draw from different universes to enrich the playful experience. The castle thus transformed into a living space where the interaction between tradition and modernity unfolds.

Escape Games and Immersive Challenges: Fumble Corp’s Unique Experience at the Festival du Lichtenberg

Among the highlights of the Festival, the involvement of the association Fumble Corp in organizing an escape game reserved for those over 14 captivated a large audience. The simple yet effective principle: escape from the castle tower in less than 30 minutes by solving a series of carefully designed puzzles to stimulate participants’ thinking and cooperation skills.

This immersive activity perfectly illustrated the growing enthusiasm for escape games, which combine storytelling and problem-solving in real environments. Teams, composed of visitors met for the occasion, took up this challenge every half hour, demonstrating impressive collective energy. The timed aspect added palpable tension, enhancing both the sense of stakes and the pleasure of playing.

Beyond mere entertainment, this type of experience helps develop specific skills such as logic, observation, but also stress management in a playful context. Fumble Corp made good use of the castle’s historic setting to integrate elements of architecture and local history into their scenario, thus offering an additional level of immersion that delights both amateur and seasoned players.

More generally, the escape game demonstrated how video games and analog forms of play coexist and mutually enrich each other. Visitors thus discovered that play is not limited to the screen but can occupy all spaces, recreating new social dynamics and strengthening the community fabric around entertainment.

Role-playing Games and Community Engagement: Tables Animated by D’roles de Jeux and Gamerz Voice

In a warm atmosphere, the associations D’roles de Jeux and Gamerz Voice offered role-playing game sessions at the Festival du Lichtenberg. These initiation and in-depth practice moments allowed everyone, child or adult, to immerse themselves in rich and complex universes where strategy, imagination, and cooperation are the key words.

Role-playing games are today at the heart of the modern essence of play, offering a unique narrative experience where each participant becomes the actor of their own story. During this gathering, the tables hosted a variety of games, some resembling tactical duels evoking the complexity of a Yu-Gi-Oh! Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck but adapted to the capacities of younger players, thus ensuring access for the widest audience.

This offering illustrated the richness and diversity of playful mechanisms within the local video game community. Role-playing games make possible not only the exploration of new worlds but also the creation of a strong social bond based on listening, negotiation, and collective work. Enthusiastic feedback from participants underlined the quality of supervision and the importance of a safe and caring environment to support the inclusion of novices.

Gamerz Voice thus positions itself as a true platform that promotes accessibility and the transmission of playful knowledge, contributing to broadening the horizons of the gaming festival. This educational approach through play opens new perspectives for Alsatian video game culture, combining pleasure and learning within a united community.

Live-Action Games and Immersive Quests with Bardes et Dragons at Château de Lichtenberg

The Festival du Lichtenberg also honored live-action games (LARP), notably with the contribution of the association Bardes et Dragons. Their treasure hunt, designed for a wide audience, transformed the entire castle into an intensely playful playground where young and old alike could take part in a collective adventure.

This route, designed to stimulate observation skills and team spirit, invited participants to find chocolate treasures while discovering the architectural and historical riches of the site. The playful aspect thus merged with pedagogy, offering a dual experience where fun combines with cultural discovery.

The treasure hunt is part of a growing trend valuing LARP, which arouses ever greater enthusiasm in France. Fully utilizing the castle’s space and authentic settings, the activity encouraged direct interactions, with participants strongly engaged as they embodied specific roles throughout their quest.

This success testifies to a renewal of forms of playfulness, where the physical dimension is inseparable from the narrative aspect. Bardes et Dragons thus reinforced the festival’s local identity by offering an immersive experience that unites and raises awareness, particularly among new audiences familiar with digital environments but less so with outdoor practices.

Makeup and Artistic Transformations: Visual Creativity Serving Immersion

Beyond the games, the aesthetic dimension played a central role during this playful day, thanks to the active presence of the teams from ForgeMondes, Sbires de la Création, and Mad Knacks. These groups put their expertise at the service of visitors by offering themed makeups, intended to enhance immersion in the different presented universes.

Makeup, often underestimated in gaming-related events, nevertheless plays a fundamental role in creating atmosphere. It allows to physically visualize the link between the player and their character, offering a bodily extension of playfulness. Between classic makeup and bold transformations such as the look inspired by Thales from Dragon Ball Z, participants benefited from a wide range of artistic expressions.

More than a simple attraction, this aesthetic work fits perfectly into the philosophy of the Festival du Lichtenberg, where every detail contributes to the richness of the overall experience. This visual dimension also favored informal meetings, encouraged spontaneous creativity, and allowed to capture the collective energy of the local gaming community on the fly.

The Great Cluedo by ForgeMondes: a Giant Investigation Engaging All Participants

One of the major activities that paced the Festival’s program was the life-size Cluedo organized by Les ForgeMondes. Designed as an immersive investigation where players embody characters from various eras, this game mobilized all participants’ attention, offering an intense and collective experience.

By combining role-playing, investigation, and staging, this initiative created a space where social aspects matter as much as strategy. Each participant had to work to identify the culprit among many suspects, mixing logic and intuition, while immersing themselves in a carefully written storyline. This dynamic mixture won over both novices and regulars, creating a unifying moment at the heart of the Festival.

Collective intelligence and the diversity of players’ profiles were thus key to the success of this playful production. This type of activity perfectly illustrates how the Festival du Lichtenberg manages to renew the video game experience by confronting it with real environments, thereby reinforcing the appeal of emerging forms of interactive entertainment.

Impact and Outcomes of the Festival du Lichtenberg: a Growing Regional Dynamic

Beyond mere event success, the Festival du Lichtenberg attested to real evolutions within the Alsace video game and playful scene. By bringing together various associations and large audiences, it illustrated local actors’ capacity to innovate while respecting gaming traditions.

This gathering also expresses a strong trend toward the emergence of a true regional gamer community sharing values of mutual aid, conviviality, and collective creation. Positive feedback from participants, highlighting the originality and quality of the activities, encouraged organizers to consider more ambitious projects for upcoming years.

Economically, promoting leisure activities through this type of initiative helps enhance the visibility of the Alsatian territory in the entertainment sector, favorable to the growth of a local industry rich in innovation and creativity. By embedding itself in a sustainable dynamic, this festival becomes an important vector for the recognition of video game culture and games in all their forms.

Aspect	Observed Impacts	Perspectives for 2025
Community Engagement	Strong participation and collaboration between associations	Development of a permanent regional platform
Playful Innovation	Combination of traditional and immersive activities	Integration of immersive technologies and augmented reality
Cultural Promotion	Highlighting local heritage associated with play	Multiplication of hybrid events blending heritage and gaming
Local Economy	Strengthening of touristic and playful attractiveness	Creation of jobs linked to the gaming and leisure sector

Future Perspectives: the Evolution of Gaming Events and Gamerz Voice’s Growing Role

In light of the success achieved by the Festival du Lichtenberg, it is clear that the trajectory of video game culture in Alsace is resolutely upward. The experiences offered this year demonstrate a strong will to integrate varied playful forms, highlighting both tradition and innovation. This dynamic enables satisfying a broad audience, from enthusiasts to families, by guaranteeing open access while maintaining high-quality facilitation.

Gamerz Voice, a pillar of the movement, plays a decisive role in this evolution. Its commitment is expressed through professional structuring of events, increased support for local actors, and constant animation of the associative fabric. In 2025, this association aims to broaden its projects by including closer collaborations with innovative companies in video games and playful experiences, notably exploring virtual and augmented reality.

The increased use of digital technologies in gaming events should open new doors, notably enabling hybrid formats combining in-person and remote participation. This technical evolution will undoubtedly be accompanied by diversification of audiences and practices, fostering continuous cultural enrichment around the local video game scene. Thus, the Festival du Lichtenberg can be seen as a significant milestone in building a promising future for the entire Alsatian community.

• Strengthening ties between regional and national playful communities
• Enhancing programs with technological and artistic innovations
• Promoting heritage through immersive playful experiences
• Developing workshops and training around role-playing and live-action games
• Increasing inclusion of youth in creative and collaborative activities