Time has passed. Those moments from late February are still around, lingering among other memories from the recent past, vivid but not that sharp anymore. I know they will soon start to slowly drift away towards that place for distant memories, becoming increasingly mixed, and diluted mixed. But even then, trails will remain. Trails to the present of today, and to the present of the future. Fueled by the experiences lived, the images recorded, the readings about the event, and writings such as this one. Memories sustained. Memories under construction.
It all started well before that date, as I had been wishing to attend one of the large boardgame festivals for some time. And things converged into an opportunity window for 2023. Essen, in Germany, or Cannes, in France, would be the most obvious choices in mainland Europe. The huge one, or the big one. Deutsche Spielepreis, or l’As d’Or. More international, or more French-driven. I was already leaning towards Cannes for this first go, and a quick exchange of messages with Orlando Sá helped me making the final decision. Cannes would be.
I would be taking some days off from my regular work to attend all the days of the Festival International des Jeux, except for the very last one, reserved to the return trip. Maximizing the journey was the goal! First task: Filling the forms to obtain the professional accreditation badge (something way beyond the horizon, just a couple of years ago), granting access to the full program, extended schedule, and l’As d’Or. Check. Accreditation confirmed. Check. Plane tickets. Check. Hotel booking. Not far from the train station, and, more important, within walking distance of Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. Check.
One last important item to cross on my list: To find a game publisher in need for some part-time demoing collaboration during the event. That would crank the experience one notch up, living it from the inside! It would also mean a return to that period when French was my main language for gaming, thanks to Jeux&Stratégie , back in the 1980’s. Some online searching in the usual sites, some emails exchanged, and it all came together, a couple of weeks before the event: I would be running demo sessions for the Taiwanese publisher Wonderful World Boardgames!
All set, then, and the countdown to the FIJ 2023 had begun.
(à suivre)
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