THE BGS
The Board Game Studies colloquia
In 1990 Irving Finkel, curator and archaeologist for The British Museum, hosted a symposium on the Studies of Board Games.
This encouraged the regular gathering of minds, mainly thanks to Alex De Voogt, starting in 1995, first on a biennial basis, and since 2001, every year. Today this meeting is known as the Board Game Studies Colloquium.
2021 will see its 23rd edition, 11 years after it was first held in Paris and following the cancellation of the 2020 edition. Over the years, it has been hosted at various venues throughout the world. It is that the only recurring event devoted solely to the study of non-digital games. The Colloquium gathers a wide range of multidisciplinar scholars, curators, inventors, collectors and enthusiasts from all around. They present and discuss new research in the growing field of game studies.
The focus has traditionally been on historical board, card, and dice games. The scope has widened in the past years, reflecting the impact from the current explosion in non-digital gaming.
Previous BGS colloquia
2021 - Re-scheduled 2020 Paris event - online edition 2020 - Paris, France - Cancelled due to COVID-19 sanitary crisis 2019 - Bologna, Italy 2018 - Athens, Greece 2017 - Copenhagen, Denmark 2016 - Nürnberg, Germany 2015 - La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland 2014 - Ipswich, Suffolk 2013 - Ponta Delgaa, Portugal 2012 - Munich, Germany 2011 - Bruges, Belgium 2010 - Paris, France 2009 - Jerusalem, Israel 2008 - Lisbon, Portugal 2007 - St Pölten, Austria 2006 - Ouro Preto, Brazil 2005 - Oxford, UK 2004 - Philadelphia, PA, USA 2003 - Marburg, Germany 2002 - Barcelona, Spain 2001 - Fribourg, Switzerland 1999 - Florence, Italy 1997 - Leiden, The Netherlands 1995 - Leiden, The Netherlands