Montreal’s gaming festival is nearly here

The video and board gaming festival organized by our local libraries is back for a second year. It will be happening from Feb. 22–March 9, with 338 activities planned at 44 libraries around the city, along with a few other spots.

Although the full line-up has yet to be divulged, organizers say this year’s sophomore edition will be bigger than the first, which attracted over 5,000 Montrealers to the 200 or so activities.

The hottest (free) ticket, once again, promises to be the game studio open houses. Ubisoft Montreal, Gameloft, WB Games Montreal and Ludia will be opening their doors at select times from March 3–7, but spots are extremely limited, so visit the festival’s eventbrite page ASAP if you’re interested in checking them out. Library card holders (and what kind of monster doesn’t have a working library card?) have an exclusive window to sign up for the open houses, but only until Feb. 7.

Other cool events already announced include two info sessions on the ins and outs of 3D animation at the NAD Centre (of Mount Royal baby-snatching eagle video fame) on March 7, and a zombie assault on the Frontenac library for LARPers aged 12–17.

Concordia University’s TAG centre will also be opening the 11th floor of the EV building to the public from March 6–8, for workshops on how to make your own game using Construct 2.

And don’t forget, it’s possible to borrow video games from your local libraries throughout the year. Organizers say the city’s collection is up to 9,250.

For sign-up info and more, head here.