The amazing, grassroots cultural and music organisation Tinderbox Collective has announced PlayAway 2026, a one-day conference and exhibition taking place in Edinburgh this autumn.
Scheduled for Saturday 24 October 2026 at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Leith, the gathering is designed to explore the intersections between game design, creative technology, the arts, education, and community work.
Bridging Tech, Arts, Games and Public Life
PlayAway is built to dismantle traditional sector boundaries, asking fundamental questions about who gets to shape the technologies entering classrooms, cultural institutions, and public life. Rather than framing technology purely around commercial software products, the event focuses on how artists, educators, and game designers can build interactive work that is playful, practical, thoughtful, and directly serves communities.
For the Scottish games sector, the gathering aligns closely with the More Than Games agenda. It provides a direct forum to demonstrate how interactive design methodologies, real-time media, and play mechanics are actively applied across education, community organising, and artistic practice.
What to Expect on the Day
PlayAway 2026 runs from 10:00 to 16:45 and focuses on open discussion, accessible knowledge sharing, and peer networking over formal tech jargon. Attendees do not need a background in game design or software development to participate.
The programme includes:
- Talks and Panel Discussions: Critical conversations featuring artists, educators, community organisers, and game makers.
- Interactive Exhibition: Practical demos and showcase spaces highlighting grassroots creative tech and interactive projects.
- Networking and Social: Shared food and drinks throughout the day, followed by an informal evening get-together at the nearby Victoria Bar in Leith.
PlayAway 2026 Details & Tickets
To ensure accessibility across the community, the exhibition space is open to the public free of charge, with an accessible ticket price set for the conference programme.
- Date: Saturday 24 October 2026
- Time: 10:00 – 16:45 BST
- Venue: Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh
- Evening Social: Victoria Bar, Leith
- Pricing: Exhibition is free to attend; Conference tickets (talks and panels) are £10
- Tickets & Information: Available here.