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FAQs

GENERAL

Where is PLAY23 taking place?


What is the PLAYvalley?

What are your opening hours?

Where can I find the festival counter and office?

Is there an age restriction for PLAY23?

Will any kind of recordings be made during the festival?



TICKETS & PARTICIPATION

How much does the ticket to the festival cost?

How can I attend and participate in the festival?

Why do I have to register for some program points if the festival is free of charge?




DURING THE FESTIVAL

What rules do I have to follow if I want to visit PLAY23 at Jupiter?

Is the Festival accessible for people with disabilities?

Is there a code of conduct at the festival?



PRESS

I am a journalist and would like to get accredited for the festival.



SOCIAL MEDIA

On which channels can I find PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival?

What is the name of the PLAY Community Discord server?

How can I relate my experiences and stories on Facebook, Twitter/X etc. to PLAY23? What is the hashtag?



My question is not listed. What can I do?

GENERAL

Where is PLAY23 taking place?

This year's festival edition of PLAY will take place in hybrid form, mainly on-site in Hamburg, but also online as a live stream and in our virtual festival location PLAYvalley.

Our festival is located at the 2nd floor of the JUPITER (Mönckebergstraße 2-4, right next to Hamburg Central Station).

You can visit and follow the program on-site, our Twitch channel and in our virtual festival location, the PLAYvalley.

What is the PLAYvalley?

The PLAYvalley is our proven virtual festival location. It is a world on the platform Topia. The PLAYvalley is an interactive, digital space that can be used by many festival visitors at the same time. Among other things, visitors can follow the stream, take part in guided tours of the exhibition, or take the chance to meet the artists behind the works in the exhibition.

You can find the PLAYvalley via our homepage on the PLAY website and open it in your browser. No download is required to visit PLAYvalley, but a free account is necessary, and it is not available on mobile devices. More information about the technical requirements can be found here.

The following venues can be found in the PLAYvalley:

The Shrouded Stage
Our festival stage for the streams.

The Lost Lab
Where tools and results of the workshops can be found.

The Endless Plains
Here visitors will find our interactive exhibition.

Lookout Mountain
This is where the machinima cinema is located.

The Ruins of Restless Souls
Music plays here.

Shelter 21
This is the place where visitors arrive when entering PLAYvalley.

The Well of Wisdom
Our virtual festival headquarters, where visitors can ask their questions. This is also where virtual tours of PLAYvalley begin, which we provide upon request.

The Forest of Memories
Here you will find music by the video game jazz band "Endgegner" and information about the theme "Soap Opera".

The Hidden Beach
Our beach where visitors can not only relax, but also take on secret level-up challenges.

The Lush Gardens
Our wild gardens in PLAYvalley offer many corners for public and private interaction.

What are your opening hours?

The festival location at JUPITER can be visited at the following times:

Tuesday, 31.10. - Friday, 3.11.: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday, 4.11.: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sunday, 5.11.: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

In PLAYvalley and on the Discord server, visitors can exchange ideas with other participants around the clock. In the Twitch chat, the audience can comment on live streams, ask questions and participate.

The festival headquarters in PLAYvalley (The Well of Wisdom) as well as in JUPITER on the 2nd floor (right next to the escalators) can be reached during the above-mentioned opening hours via text and voice channel or in person.

Where can I find the festival counter and office?

The festival headquarters is located in JUPITER on the 2nd floor, right next to the escalators and in PLAYvalley (The Well of Wisdom) and can also be reached by mail via welcome[at]playfestival.de or Discord (#help-please).

Is there an age restriction for PLAY23?

The PLAY - Creative Gaming Festival is aimed at people aged 12 and older.

Some of our online activities require the use of Discord. For this chat service an age requirement of 16 years and older applies. Teenagers between 13 and 15 can therefore only use the service with the permission or accompaniment of a legal guardian.
For our virtual festival location, the PLAYvalley, we can not provide a general age rating. We therefore recommend that parents (or legal guardians) only explore the online content together with their children. If you have any questions, please contact the festival headquarters.

Will any kind of recordings be made during the festival?

We will make recordings of some festival events. Screenshots or stills will also be taken, which will be used for our documentation and online presence as well as press work for the organizer jaf – Verein für medienpädagogische Praxis Hamburg e. V. and Initiative Creative Gaming e. V. If you take part in our online events with a webcam or microphone, please keep in mind that you can be seen or heard by other participants.

In addition, the festival will be documented in pictures and films. Photos and videos will then be used and published for press relations, the website and the documentation of the jaf – Verein für medienpädagogische Praxis Hamburg e.V. and Initiative Creative Gaming e.V.

In case you have any objections, please contact us at the festival headquarters on-site or in the virtual festival location, the PLAYvalley, or via Discord. If you have spotted content that features you, you can also contact info[at]playfestival.de after the festival.

Our privacy policy can be found here.

TICKETS & PARTICIPATION

How much does the ticket to the festival cost?

This year's festival is free of admission, except for the school program (120€ per class). If you would like to support us, we would be happy about a donation.

If you want to secure a seat in our workshops and trainings, email us in advance at welcome[at]playfestival.de or contact us via Discord.

How can I attend and participate in the festival?

Presence:

PLAY23 takes place at JUPITER (2nd floor), directly at Hamburg's main station. Workshops, exhibition, shows and much more will take place here.
Address: Mönckebergstraße 2-4 (20095 Hamburg).

Directly at the escalator, PLAY visitors will find the counter of the festival headquarters, where they can get information about the festival and get an overview. If you are planning a visit with a larger group, please contact us in advance by mail at welcome[at]playfestival.de or via Discord (#help-please), and we will be happy to welcome you personally.

Online:

In the Twitch stream you can watch our stage program online and join the discussion live via chat. During the festival you can also find the stream on our website and in the PLAYvalley.

The PLAYvalley is our virtual festival location. Here you can visit the festival from your couch!

To use the Twitch chat, an internet- and Twitch-enabled device and, if necessary, headphones or speakers as well as a Twitch account are required.
The PLAYvalley is accessible via the browser and a free account must be created.

Why do I have to register for some program points if the festival is free of charge?

Our workshops and trainings are held as on-site events only. We would like to enable the workshop leader and participants to engage with each other. Therefore, these places are limited and can be registered at welcome[at]playfestival.de or via Discord.

Any remaining seats will be allocated on site at short notice. If you are interested, please contact our festival headquarters on site at JUPITER on the 2nd floor or via Discord. Please also make sure to cancel your registration in order to free up your place if you are unable to attend.

DURING THE FESTIVAL

What rules do I have to follow if I want to visit PLAY23 at JUPITER?

Hygiene and protection regulations

The current active state hygiene and protection regulations are applied.

Please stay home if you have symptoms of respiratory illness.

Wash your hands regularly.

Is the Festival accessible for people with disabilities?

Our festival area at JUPITER on the 2nd floor is accessible via escalators and the building also has an elevator.

Various platforms and online tools are in use for our program, so we are bound to the technical configurations of each platform. Some of the platforms are not accessible for some people with disabilities. However, we consider the topic as an important one and will do our best to gather more experience with time. If you are participating or would like to participate in the festival and notice limitations within the online program, we would like to hear from you so that we can assist you and consider it in the future as far as possible.

Is there a code of conduct at the festival?

Yes, we have a code of conduct, which all festival participants should adhere to. Our code of conduct can be found here.

PRESS

I am a journalist and would like to get accredited for the festival.

Please contact our press spokeswoman Helen Peetzen (info@peetzenkommunikation.de).

Social Media

On which channels can I find PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival?

You can find us on at many channels, all of which are listed HERE.

What is the name of the PLAY Community Discord server?

The server is called PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival and can be found via this invitation link.

How can I relate my experiences and stories on Facebook, Twitter/X etc. to PLAY23? What is the hashtag?

You can use the hashtag #PLAY23 or for the Creative Gaming Awards #CGawards in your posts.

My question is not listed. What can I do?

Contact our festival headquarters by mail via welcome@playfestival.de. Of course we will also be happy to answer your questions on our social media channels (via direct message) or at our Discord server.

PLAY23 – Creative Gaming Festival is an event produced by the Initiative Creative Gaming e. V. and jaf – Verein für medienpädagogische Praxis Hamburg e. V.

Funded by Projektfonds Medien und Bildung Hamburg, der BürgerStiftung Hamburg, Gamecity Hamburg, Das Zukunftspaket des Bundesministeriums für Familien, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend and JIZ - Jugendinformationszentrum Hamburg der BSB

Supported by the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, dem Fonds für kreative Zwischennutzung von der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg und der Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft, KUTI-Spiele, Fundus Theatre | Theatre of Research and Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg

Sponsored by siebold/hamburg messebau GmbH, OPAK Entertainment Systems and Fritz Kola

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