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Who wouldn’t love geeking out over their favorite video or board game?  If you have what it takes to be the next champion, then a trip to the next five game festivals will be quite the experience.  From world-class Scrabble competitions to video games galore, there’s no better escape from reality than indulging in a passionate game, where you might just be crowned the victor. There’s no better souvenir than gaming glory.

Brazil: Brasil Game Show

The Brasil Game Show is whatever video gamer dreams of; a hodgepodge of the newest game releases and devices hitting the country in true gaming fashion.  When this festival first made its way to Rio de Janeiro in 2009, some 4,000 visitors were in attendance.  Now it takes place in Sao Paulo and that number has more than tripled with every year, increasingly becoming better than the last as big-name companies like Play Station, XBOX and WB Games are thrown into the mix. 

Any sense of reality is replaced by computerized aliens, fight-to-the-death matches of Mortal Kombat X and the sounds of rounds of bullets famously heard in Call of Duty.  With exciting games consuming the entire festival, the Brazil Game Show is designed to be the gamer’s playground. 

United States: National Scrabble Championships

Hey Scrabble players, there is a tournament that has your name written all over it (just kidding – proper nouns aren’t allowed in Scrabble). The National Scrabble Championships makes its way from state-to-state with eager players following the festival’s every movement hoping to trip their components up with words like trooz, one of the quirky heavy-hitters that made it on the board during this year’s competition.

In order to compete in this board game spelling bee, contestants are required to be a member of NASPA and have already played in an authorized match; and that’s in the U.S. and Canada alone. But that is not nearly as intense as seeing competitors pull their hair and wipe beads of sweat from their faces as they contemplate their next word.

New Zealand: Chimera

The world of fanaticism rules during Chimera, a convention that is annually visited by role-playing larpers.  For an entire weekend, celebrators of all ages dressed as quirky pirates, wizards, angels and other mythical creatures appear out of thin air for this interactive game every August, making a trip to the theater pretty mundane in comparison.

And with stories live “Secret of the Deep” providing an in-depth look of survival after the destruction of Atlantis, Chimera is guaranteed to be rated E for everyone.  Move over “Game of Thrones” because at this festival spectators can not only watch but encouraged to join in on its medieval fun.

United States: Classic Tetris World Championship

It is quite easy to become addicted to the popular game of Tetris and now there is a festival where addicts annual come together.  The Classic Tetris World Championship is swamped by players hoping to become undefeated champions by scoring the hard-to-reach 999,999 score. 

The game was created by Alexey Pajitnov, the classic puzzle game has infuriated generations as the classic four-block shapes continue to fall at increasingly rapid speeds, refusing to give you a straight piece no matter how much you curse out the Nintendo.  Yet, Tetris fans refuse to let the vibrant colors of the game deter them from displaying their block-crushing skills.

Germany: Internationale Spieltage Spiel

Oktoberfest isn’t the only holiday that draws a sea of people to Germany; so does the Internationale Spieltage Spiel, a celebration of board games with a German twist.  Just about every game can be found here which makes an exciting event for children as well as adults.  And for an entire four days, each game causes a stir as visitors aim to get their hands on a dice or a card that indicates it is their turn to play. 

International Spieltage Spiel is happy to comply with every gamer’s wish with nonstop action that occurs here every October.  Besides, what better way to rub shoulders with locals and learn new tricks then by indulging in a little friendly competition?