Le Sens du Jeu Festival

Le Sens du Jeu: The Gaming Festival That Yonne Was Missing

Sens, a city of art and history at the gateway to Burgundy, has long been known for its Gothic cathedral, its medieval treasure, and its SaYONNE'ara Manga Days. Since November 2025, it can now boast of hosting its own festival dedicated to gaming: Le Sens du Jeu, driven by the Sens Ludique association with the support of the City of Sens, the local media library, and the gaming associations of the Sens region.

Founded in October 2019 by Ludivine Guillet and Simon Fournel—one a former game store manager, the other a former animator at the MJC of Sens—Sens Ludique animates the gaming life of the region throughout the year: monthly game nights in several towns in the Sens area, participation in Christmas markets and local festivals, game rentals, and organization of the legendary 24h du Jeu in Saint-Clément. The Le Sens du Jeu festival represents the natural culmination of this dynamic: bringing together the entire gaming community of Yonne and beyond in one place for a November weekend.

A Weekend, a Thousand Ways to Play

Located in the Salle des Fêtes, 58 rue René Binet in Sens, the festival offers a dense and varied program, designed for all types of players—from the curious novice to the passionate expert, from the 6-year-old toddler to the retired grandparent.

The heart of the festival consists of board game tables continuously run by a team of enthusiastic volunteers. Hundreds of titles are available: great classics, recent hits, and rarities found nowhere else. The facilitators guide visitors in their discoveries, explain the rules, and organize spontaneous games.

The ProtoZone is one of the most anticipated highlights: game authors and creators come in person to let players test their unpublished prototypes, gather feedback, and refine their creations. It's a rare opportunity to be among the first to discover a future hit and to interact directly with those who designed the game mechanics.

Spaces for All Gaming Universes

Beyond classic board games, the festival opens its doors wide to the entire gaming culture:

• Role-playing and miniature games: the association L'Odyssée de l'Imaginaire runs sessions accessible to beginners and experienced role-players alike, in fantasy, science fiction, or historical universes.
• Escape games: students from the Lycée Sainte Colombe in Sens offer original escape rooms, combining ingenuity and fun.
• Children's area: a dedicated space, under parental supervision, allows younger children (from 3-4 years old) to discover board games at their own pace, with titles suited to their age.
• Tournaments: a competition area hosts tournaments for popular games, with prizes awarded to the best players.
• Trading Card Games (TCG) area: organized by La Crique aux Jeux, it brings together fans of Magic: The Gathering, Lorcana, Pokémon, Riftbound, and other collectible card games, with tournaments and trading.
• Game sale: a second-hand game market allows you to sell or buy games at reduced prices, ideal for refreshing your game library without breaking the bank.

Exhibitors, Authors, and Surprises Every Three Hours

Several exhibitors and game merchants are present on-site: La Crique aux Jeux, Ludipassion, the Librairie Le XIII, and independent creators like Loïc Podogorska offer their catalogs, with the option to buy the latest releases or find a gem recommended by a passionate seller.

The publisher IELLO, one of the most recognized gaming publishing houses in France, is among the festival's partners, a sign of the institutional recognition the event quickly gained from its very first edition. On average, every three hours, a raffle with games to be won punctuates the weekend and maintains the general good mood.

A Festival Rooted in the City of Sens

Sens is ideally located to host such an event: easily accessible from Paris (less than an hour by A6 or Transilien train), well-connected to Auxerre, Troyes, and Fontainebleau, it benefits from an active associative fabric and a young, family-oriented population. The Salle des Fêtes, spacious and central, offers a warm setting for an event that aims to become the essential gaming rendezvous for Yonne and the wider Parisian region.

Catering is provided on-site (sandwiches, hot dogs, drinks), and the friendly atmosphere that prevails throughout the weekend is universally praised by attendees. Volunteering is the backbone of the organization: each edition mobilizes numerous volunteers, recruited through the association's networks, who contribute to making this festival a warm and well-run event from its beginnings.