Friday 11th until Sunday 13th September 2009 @ Watershed and other venues, Bristol

With seemingly 101 festivals launched every single weekend in the South West, you have to be pretty remarkable to stand out from the humdrum. Down in the harbourside amphitheatre with inflated prices and warm beer, even the very best of Bristol events can get a little boring the third time you are sat in the very same spot listening to the same old Bristol artists being rolled out. Fantastic then that IgFest is anything but humdrum; it’s exciting, eccentric, bizarre and as mad as a bag of frogs! There is nothing else quite like this festival and that’s why it’s stolen our hearts.

This is only the second ever Interesting Games Festival and essentially, it’s a weekend of street games, outdoor spectacles and mass social interaction. During the festival 30 games were played out with over 1000 players, held throughout Bristol in car parks, shopping centres, parks and every unusual building the city has to offer, reclaiming public urban spaces for play and adventure. Some games have significance, stranger interaction, unique connections and teamwork whilst others are just entirely random - mould an animal out of clay with your hands tied behind your back anyone (60 Second Zoo)? Just be content that they are all inventive, cutting-edge and brand new but best of all, it’s entirely free to take part!

Now we didn’t get to participate in all the games at IgFest this year, most are fully booked before the weekend begins (note to self, be more organised! Note to organisers, be more clear about this beforehand!!), but I still got to watch and play several. Definite highlights included: a giant, nerve-racking game of Snakes and Ladders in a multi-story car park (Sneaks and Blaggers); the fantastic, mind-bending chase game played out from secret locations on Friday night (La Noches De Los Muertos); dragging and hiding giant inflatables through town (Elephant); and a truly crazy game of football with a giant ball where everyone just seems to make up the rules as they go along! Sound random? Yes it is, and bloody great fun!!

www.igfest.org

Katy Jones
Photos by Andy Molyneux