DJAM – Les Heures Ludiques, 17th board game festival in Le Mans

For its 17th edition, DJAM (“Des Jeux Au Mans”) – Les Heures Ludiques turns the Quinconces into a giant game room for a weekend. Entry is free and open, and you can come and go as you please: Saturday 10 AM to 11 PM, Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM. Mornings are calmer, handy with young children.

The festival spans several spaces. At the Forum, the main hall for board games: family favorites and new releases presented by publishers, with volunteers on hand to explain the rules. The exhibition hall hosts abstract games and the clubs that introduce newcomers: chess with the Échiquier Club Le Mans, go with Le Mans GO, checkers with the Damier manceau, and bridge with Le Mans Bridge Club. The small theater is reserved for families, with a space for kids ages 3 and up run by the Planet’Jeux game library. In the lobby, the Prétoriens set up their miniatures and history games, and the neighboring Pathé cinema also hosts activities.

On the competitive side, Le Mans GO runs its annual tournament in the theater lobby (sign-ups Saturday at 12 PM, four rounds, awards Sunday at 5 PM), and the Échiquier Club Le Mans holds a blitz tournament in tribute to Jacques Lambert.

The festival is organized by seven Le Mans game nonprofits gathered under DJAM – Les Heures Ludiques, with some 70 volunteers and the support of the City of Le Mans.