Thursday 16th April — 12:45-14:15 | Barcelona beachfront, next to the CCIB
🧺 Bring your own picnic | 🏆 Sandcastle competition open to all | ✍️ No registration needed
Join us for RE:PLAY @ CHI 2026 — a lunchtime escape to the Barcelona beach for picnics, beach games, and the hotly contested RE:PLAY Sandcastle Competition. All welcome. Just show up and play.
Are you a games researcher, play practitioner, designer, or educator? We especially want to meet you. Come say hello, swap ideas, and let’s talk play — we’re building a community and we’d love you to be part of it. happening?
🧺 Bring your own picnic — the beach is a short walk from the CCIB
🎉 Beach games — relaxed, drop-in, no experience required. The point is genuinely just to have a good time
🏆 The RE:PLAY Sandcastle Competition — open to all, judged with full ceremony, and culminating in the awarding of the coveted RE:PLAY Sandcastle Competition Trophy. Go minimalist. Go ambitious. Go completely unhinged with a three-turret interpretation of HCI theory rendered entirely in sand. All entries valid. All entries celebrated.
RE:PLAY is an ESRC-funded research project championing playful learning in higher education. We’re building the evidence base to show not just that playful learning works, but how, for whom, and why. Our research shows that play:
- builds creativity, belonging, and resilience
- increases intrinsic motivation
- normalises failure as a natural part of learning
Which means a sandcastle competition isn’t just a fun way to spend lunch. It’s practically a research activity.
Come and find us
The beach event is a chance to meet the RE:PLAY team, connect with others who care about playful learning, and be part of a community we’re growing well beyond CHI. Whether you’re deep in the research, just play-curious, or simply in need of some sea air — you are welcome to join.
🦋 Bluesky: @re–play.bsky.social
💼 LinkedIn: RE:PLAY on LinkedIn
Come for the fresh air and fun. Stay for the trophy. Leave knowing you’re part of something. See you on the beach. 🌊
Where can I find the photos 🙂
Hey Anna, photos are now up on the blog 🙂
Hi Sorry I missed this.
I’m Barcelona based and ironically was in London on the 16th.
How did it go? And who can I connect with locally re Play research, etc?
Ed Gonsalves
Hey Ed,
It would have been lovely to meet! The event went really well, check out our blog post for the sandcastle photos and a short reflection on the event, feel free to pop me an email and we can see how we can expand more play! (Anna.r.l.carter@northumbria.ac.uk) 🙂