Having fun playing pranks together: how the Igrocon-2025 festival was held in Moscow
Igrocon-2025, the largest games and hobbies festival in the CIS, came to an end in Moscow on March 9. The event was held at the Crocus Expo International Exhibition Center, and one of its most important trends was the emphasis on socially significant and socially useful entertainment for the whole family. In particular, the board games "Ivan the Terrible: The First Tsar", "Gzhel", "Mezen", "Artline: Tretyakov Gallery", and the computer game about Slavic culture "Black Book" became the focus of public attention. For more information, see the Izvestia report.
What is Igrocon?
Igrocon Festival has been held annually in Russia since 2013 and has received the status of the largest event in the CIS for fans of board games and other cooperative activities. The last time it was held was in 2019, after which it was put on pause due to coronavirus restrictions.
The organizers have prepared for the return of the festival in the most serious way — instead of the Sokolniki Exhibition Center, as in previous years, they rented the Crocus Expo site. In addition, not only board games were brought there, but also comics, books, computer games and star guests, including theater and film actor Dmitry Chebotarev, participants of the Improvisators show Anton Shastun, Dmitry Pozov, Arseniy Popov and Sergey Matvienko, as well as the Utopia Show.
The key trend of the revived Igrocon has become the strongest support for domestic games that focus on socially significant topics such as Russian history, culture and education. Thus, the festival focused on the tabletops "Ivan the Terrible: The First Tsar", "Gzhel", "Mezen" and "Artline: Tretyakov Gallery". And one of the largest stands of the festival was a full-fledged school bus dedicated to the computer game BUS: Bro U Survived. This is the first Russian project to receive investments from the Indie Go Fund, a cooperative action film about survival in a zombie apocalypse.
The guests were particularly interested in the Black Book game about Slavic culture, which Izvestia had already discussed in January of this year. Its author Ivan Lashin confirmed that Russians have become more interested in board games about Russian culture and history.
— My team and I noticed this when such projects as "Industry", "Russian Munchkin", "Mezen" and "Ivan the Terrible: The First Tsar" were released. These board games contain a cultural code and carry the joy of recognition. After all, you get more involved when you're in the context and can understand the reference. Russian board game authors share the same values with the players, which creates a special bond," he noted.
The author notes that interest in Slavic folklore is growing all over the world.
— After getting acquainted with the RPG "Black Book", we decided to make its desktop version. As a result, the adaptation was released with a CrowdRepublic crowd campaign and was a great success. In addition, domestic games are translated into foreign languages and introduce foreign board players to Russian culture," the expert added.
One of the most notable stands was at the Russian society Znanie, a thematic interactive pavilion of the All—Russian competition Native Toy, dedicated to the richness of Russian gaming culture over the past hundred years. What were the first board games like, when they appeared, and why educational quizzes are extremely important for children — the main topics of the site. In addition, on the occasion of March 8, visitors were shown women in various professions in the form of dolls from the Vesna factory.
— Znanie was very pleased to become a part of Igrocon, which brought together a large number of people who are passionate about games and creativity. Our country has a rich gaming culture that has developed over the centuries, and it is very important to preserve and enhance existing traditions. I hope that at the next festival we will see games and toys that will win in our thematic project "Native Toy," said Maxim Dreval, General Director of Znanie.
What did the organizers of Igrokon focus on?
Igrocon has also become a business platform for discussing topical industry issues. According to Vitaly Kazunov, editor-in-chief of the iXBT Games portal, enthusiasts need a place where they can gather to play their favorite games and get to know their authors. Communicating with gamers, he says, will help developers make their products better.
The expert also noted a certain lack of advertising for games and considered that the popularization of such entertainment should be effective. As an example, he cited the category of board games on the Twitch streaming platform, when bloggers talk about games in simple language to a wide audience. He would like to see this more often in Russia and Belarus, where Vitaly is from.
Mikhail Akulov, CEO of Hobby World publishing holding and General partner of Igrocon, noted the social significance of such festivals.
— Different types of hobbies are represented on Igrocon: board games, modeling, books and comics, video games, oriental culture and much more. Both children and parents will be able to better understand each other through getting to know their favorite hobbies. In addition, the festival is a place where people can make new friends and feel like part of a large community of like—minded people. Together, these moments create a unique cultural environment," he said.
Within the framework of the festival, there was a large—scale zone with the opportunity to play for free both novelties such as the author's board game "Inside Out" from Hobby World, and time-tested Russian bestsellers, including "Tundra", "Industry: Duel", "Aquarium: Moscow", "Zoo". They are united by their love of national culture and traditions. The central pavilion also houses the stand of the game "Squad 22: ZOV" — in fact, the first interactive project in the history of the Russian Federation created by veterans of the SVO.
— It was interesting to show the game to a young audience, of which there are many at Igrocon. Considering that our game in the genre of "tactical strategy" is about an emotionally difficult topic, I wanted to collect feedback from the most apolitical youth. And there is a feeling that the test was a 100% success. We are pleased that people have a strong interest, and we see our target audience among them," said Alexander Tolkach, head of the Squad 22: ZOV project.
Two bright novelties from ESDigital Games publishing house — atmospheric stealth action Steel Seed and a dynamic top-down shooter Memory Lost from the Russian Magic Hazard team — were brought by Buka.
— We are glad that we had the opportunity to show these games to the general public, chat with the players and see their live reactions. The main value of Igrocon is to support the domestic gaming industry and create a space for communication between developers and players. Such events help not only to present projects, but also to form a community around them, which is incredibly important for the further development of the games," said Artem Studenikin, the company's PR manager.
Igrocon results
Danila Ermakov, producer of the game "Heart of Altai", noted among the advantages of the festival the presence of a paying audience ready to buy indie games right on the spot, a large number of enthusiastic teenagers, as well as bright cosplayers. The producer attributed the lack of necessary amenities for players with limited mobility to the disadvantages of the event. According to the speaker, quite a lot of such people came, and for many the high stands were inconvenient.
Blogger, streamer and event presenter Roman Dorogavtsev believes that Igrocon has not realized its full potential and there could have been more video game content. At the same time, he noted the stand with retro games, designed in the format of a computer club from the 90s, where the public was presented with both Soviet games like "Sea Battle" and more modern ones like Max Payne.
— I would like to see more performances by famous bloggers and guests in the future, as well as more areas for photo shoots and other activities, — said the expert.
At the same time, experts agreed that the revival of the festival indicates the need for young people to socialize through simple and understandable entertainment — board games for the whole family.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
