Changing the recipe… but is it still the same dish?
What if playing was not only about following rules, but also about transforming them, bending them, reinventing them?
Re-creative games invite players to take ownership of the rules: inventing new ways to play, guessing the hidden rule, or letting it evolve as the game unfolds. No cheating, no breaking the system: it’s about exploring the boundaries of play, injecting creativity, and sometimes even a touch of subversion.
From Robert Abbott (Eleusis, 1956) to Fluxx (1997) or Fou fou fou ! (2019), through the influence of OuLiPo, game jams and serious games, a whole line of designers has paved the way for this form of playful freedom. These creations show that a game can be a space of experimentation, where new mechanics emerge and the dormant game designer inside each of us awakens.
These particular games question our relationship with rules: how far can we play with them without losing the spirit of the game? They open up an experimental space that blurs the boundaries between player and creator, turning each game into a collective work.
The re-creative games presented in the exhibition will also be available at the BGthèque, where everyone can test them and experience them firsthand.
The exhibition retraces this little-known history and highlights contemporary tools such as Ludovortex, designed to stimulate game design, adaptation and analysis.
👉 To be discovered at the Brussels Games Festival, throughout the entire event!