Pull Up a Chair! Everything You Need to Know About the Festival of New Games

If you've ever stood in front of the shelves wondering what a game is like before you commit to a box, or watched a table of Warhammer players and wanted to know where you'd even start? Is there a weekend for you coming soon to Vault Games! On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October this year, both Vault Games stores are running the Festival of New Games, a full weekend of free learn-to-play sessions from 10am to 6pm, with a range of games to try out, Australian designers teaching their own games at the table, promos, lucky door prizes and a $250 voucher giveaway at each store.

This post walks you through what's on at each store, how the sessions work, which designers you can meet and when, and how to book your spot on Aftergame.app.

How It Works

The whole festival is free to attend. Sessions are booked through Aftergame, with a separate event for Brisbane City and Clayfield. Each game has its own table in store and runs short sessions back to back all day, so you can book one game, show up to fill an empty seat, or line up a few and spend the whole day hopping between tables. Sessions are small, with two or four seats each, which means someone is teaching you directly the whole time and you're never stuck watching from the back.

Learn a Trading Card Game

The card game stations run 30-minute sessions with four seats, starting every half hour from 10am through to the last session at 5:30pm, on both days at both stores.

You can learn Magic: The Gathering, Disney Lorcana, Riftbound: The League of Legends Trading Card Game and Star Wars: Unlimited at either store. Volunteers will take you through the basics with a welcome or starter deck, so you don't need to bring any cards of your own. The Clayfield store also has the Gundam Card Game available to learn, so if you've been curious about that one, head north for the weekend.

Start Your First Warhammer Game

The miniatures stations run 45-minute sessions with two seats each, starting at quarter past every hour from 10:15am until the last session at 5:15pm, on both days at both stores. With only two players at the table, you get a proper one-on-one introduction to the game.

You can choose between Warhammer: 40,000, Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and Blood Bowl if you'd rather take your battles to the fantasy football pitch.

Pick Up a Brush

If painting is the part of the hobby you've been putting off, the Learn to Paint tables are open all day, 10am to 6pm, on both days at both stores. Paint, brushes and a basic miniature are all provided, and if you've got a model sitting at home half-finished (or still on the sprue), you're welcome to bring it in and work on that instead.

Meet the Designers

Four Australian design teams are coming in to teach their games. Quokka Games is at Brisbane City all weekend, and the other three are swapping stores between Saturday and Sunday, so you can catch each of them at whichever store is closer to you on the right day.

Isle of Feathers

Isle of Feathers is a tile placement game from Daniel Galbraith and Juno Schaaffhausen Te'o, where you stack chunky wooden tiles to build an island for 52 species of very strange birds. Mountains, forests and cliffs grow out of everyone's placements as you play, and you'll often find yourself building off a spot someone else set up for their own birds. It plays 1 to 4 in 40 to 60 minutes, with a dedicated solo mode too.

Clayfield: Saturday 24 October, 10am to 6pm
Brisbane City: Sunday 25 October, 10am to 6pm

One Thousand Rats: Curses & Covens

Curses & Covens comes from Samara Jethwa and David Walsh of One Thousand Rats. One of you plays the witch hunter trying to capture five witches, and everyone else plays the towns trying to sneak three witches of the same suit into one hand to form a coven. The towns can only talk openly at the start of each round, with the witch hunter listening to every plan, so after that you're passing cards in secret and hoping your neighbours work out what you need. It plays 4 to 6.

Brisbane City: Saturday 24 October, 10am to 6pm
Clayfield: Sunday 25 October, 10am to 6pm

DoughBros Games: Swordplay

Swordplay is the first retail game from brothers Kyle Dougherty (design) and Joel Dougherty (art). It's a two-player fencing duel where you both reveal a card at the same time, and the attacks, blocks and evades on the cards decide who lands a hit. Three hits wins. Your deck runs out quickly, and the Refresh card resets it and adds a special move, but leaves you wide open while you play it, so a lot of the duel comes down to guessing when your opponent will take that risk.

Clayfield: Saturday 24 October, 10am to 4pm

Quokka Games

Quokka Games is a pair of Brisbane-based brothers making small, pocket-sized card games about food. Yum Cha is the one that started it, a dim sum set collection game where you're racing to build three sets of dishes and a pair of tea, and the player with the most points earns the honour of paying the bill. It won the tabletop prize at the PAX Australia 2022 Indie Showcase, and the menu has since grown to include Hot Pot, and Boba Master. They're quick to teach, which makes them easy to squeeze in between your other sessions. They'll be showing off their newest release, Hong Kong Bakery.

Brisbane City: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, 10am to 6pm

Or Just Play Something

The Board Game Library is open for free play at both stores from 10am to 10pm on both days, so you can fill the gaps between sessions, or bring a group and settle in with something from the shelf. You can also use the library listing on Aftergame to organise a game with other people coming along. If you'd like to see what's on the shelves before you arrive, you can browse the Brisbane City library here and the Clayfield library here.

Prizes, Promos and a $250 Voucher

You'll find plenty of promos and lucky door prizes at both stores across the weekend, so it's worth keeping your eyes open between sessions. [DETAIL: what's on offer.]

Each store also has an achievement sheet you can fill out as you make your way around the festival. Every achievement you complete earns you entries into a giveaway for a $250 Vault Games voucher, and there's a voucher up for grabs at Brisbane City and another at Clayfield, so the more of the weekend you join in on, the better your chances! [DETAIL: where to pick up a sheet, a couple of example achievements, and when the draw happens.]

Event Information

Brisbane City: Lower Ground, 62 Queen St, Brisbane City QLD 4000
Dates: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026
Learn-to-play sessions: 10am to 6pm
Board Game Library freeplay: 10am to 10pm
Designers: Quokka Games both days, Curses & Covens on Saturday, Isle of Feathers on Sunday
Book your spot: Brisbane City store on Aftergame

Clayfield: Shop 4, 730 Sandgate Rd, Clayfield QLD 4011
Dates: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026
Learn-to-play sessions: 10am to 6pm
Board Game Library freeplay: 10am to 10pm
Designers: Isle of Feathers and Swordplay on Saturday, Curses & Covens on Sunday
Extra on the line-up: Gundam Card Game
Book your spot: Clayfield store on Aftergame

Cost: Free
Giveaway: A $250 Vault Games voucher at each store, with entries earned through the achievement sheet.

Common Questions

How much does it cost?
Nothing. Every session and the library freeplay are free, you just need to book your learn-to-play spots on Aftergame to guarantee your seat.

Do I need to know how to play anything already?
No. Every session is a learn-to-play, so you can sit down having never seen the game before.

Can I book more than one session?
Yes. Each session is its own listing on Aftergame, so you can book a few across the day and move between stations.

Do I need to bring cards, models or paint?
No. The stations have everything you need to play, and the Learn to Paint tables provide paint, brushes and a model. You're welcome to bring your own miniature to paint if you'd like.

Which store should I go to?
Both stores run the card game, Warhammer and painting stations on both days. Pick the day that suits you, then check the designer schedule above for who's at that store. For Quokka Games, head to Brisbane City. If you want to try the Gundam Card Game or Swordplay, head to Clayfield (and for Swordplay, make sure it's Saturday).

How do I enter the voucher giveaway?
Pick up an achievement sheet at the store and complete achievements over the weekend to earn entries. Hand it in by 5pm 

What if a session I want is full?
Another one starts 30 or 45 minutes later, and the Board Game Library is open in the meantime, along with our coffee machine in case you want to try out one of our delicious Board Game Brews.