Are you a fan of manga, comics, video games or retro pop? Brussels offers countless pop and geek culture activities: amusement arcades, events… discover our selection of geek culture address in the capital.
Pop and geek culture in Brussels
© Made in Asia - Thomas Geuens
Rediscover the pleasure of video games and pinball machines
Are you a fan of the 1980s? Step back into the past thanks to amusement arcades! At Supercade, in Ixelles, rediscover arcade games from the 1980s and 1990s, and discover recent. Mustafa Al-Darwich, alias Tonton Gaby, gives you access to arcade machines produced by Owen, a handyman who is passionate about video games and has configured them on HD screens. There are no machines from the period or cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, but optimum conditions for running the games and enjoying yourself.
Rediscover pinball at the Brussels Pinball Museum in the Royal Quarter. Do not go by the name, it is not a museum but a games room. You will find pinball machines on which you can play all day if you wish. You can even get your own pinball machine repaired or purchase a new or second-hand one at the repair and sales space.
Rediscover video games and their history at the Pixel Museum, located in the heart of Tour & Taxis. An exhibit displaying vintage consoles, accessories and also related products but also presenting the current video gaming trends through local and regional digital achievements. To find out about the future of video games, try out some new ones, participate in workshops and meeting and also give free reign to your creativity in the co-working space.
© Supercade
Experience virtual reality
At Zero Latency, in Ixelles, experience "free-roam" virtual reality. Explore virtual worlds and immerse your body in the game. Confront zombies as they try to take over your fortified city. Conversely, become a zombie at Virtual Room Bruxelles and fight with your team for the survival of your species. Go to Brussels city centre to give yourself a fright! For more virtual reality adventures, discover our selection of rooms in Brussels.
© Virtual Room Bruxelles
Attempt to get out of an escape room
Having been trapped in an escape room, solve puzzles and complete your mission within the one hour time limit, in order to get out of the room. At Escape Rush in Ixelles, you have o save Tokyo from a deadly virus: infiltrate a clandestine laboratory to neutralise the virus, because otherwise it will escape and infect the entire population of Tokyo. Stay in Japan with Escape Hunt in Saint-Gilles: put yourself in the shoes of a detective and find the artefacts, hidden by the malicious architect, in the Japanese Tower. Would you like more adventures? Discover our selection of escape games in Brussels.
© Escape Rush
Combine fun and food and drink in a games bar
If you like board games, then game bars are for you! The principle? Usually, playing board games while enjoying a beer. A great combination of relaxation and exercising the brain! Kings and Queens Café, in the city centre, gives you access to several hundred games of all difficulty levels. Facilitators advise you and get your game started. In terms of flavours, the bar offers classic and speciality beers, and beer cocktails as well as snacks, including pizzas cooked in a stone oven. Le Bar à Jeux, in Saint-Gilles, also lets you play games and enjoy their beers. It is also a shop where you can order your new games. La Luck is another fun brasserie, in Ixelles, that give you access to its games library of over 1,000 to choose from. Here, you enjoy a cocktail, a mocktail or even an organic cola while "game sommeliers" come to serve you board games. Savour this brasserie's Quebec-inspired food, which is all homemade using local products. If you like beer, discover our selection of Brussels brasseries.
© Kings and Queens Café
Visit specialist shops
Numerous bookshops, “Japanimation” boutiques or shops specialised in video games offer manga and other products relating to Asian and Anglo-American cultures: manga, comics, figurines, funko pop, postcards, DVDs, video games, katanas, fashion items, retro pop items, etc. Head to Super Dragon Toys, Librairie UTOPIA, ICHIBAN, Smartoys / Road Sixty Geek and Candy Pop in the Sainte Catherine-Bourse neighbourhood, and also Super Gaby Games in Ixelles.
© Super Gaby Games
Take part in unmissable events
In Brussels, numerous events devoted to pop culture take place every year. Made in Asia is the festival for fans of manga, but also anime, video games, YouTubers and cosplay. It takes place each year at Brussels Expo, in Heysel. If you are a fan of comics, fantasy, science fiction, board games, retrogaming or Anglo-Saxon pop culture, come to Comic Con Brussels, at Tour & Taxis, and Heroes Comic Con, which takes place at the same time as Made in Asia and is also held at Brussels Expo.
Anima, the Brussels International Animation Film Festival, is devoted to this film genre in all its forms: animated cartoons, puppets, modelling clay and digital, in advertising, clip or feature-length format. The films shown come from all over the world and are aimed at all audiences: children, adults, families, professionals… It is the only event in Belgium devoted to animation film and is one of the biggest in Europe. It is authorised to select nominees for the Oscar for best animated short film. It takes place in the Flagey building, in Ixelles. If you are a fan of fantasy films, the BIFFF, the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, lets you discover films of this genre but also science-fiction, fantasy, thriller, horror and surrealism. Attend screenings in several cinemas, visit exhibitions and discover street theatre, take part the in vampire ball…
GameForce is the video game fair where you can discover new games, the latest consoles, games from independent developers and retro and 100% Belgian games. Test them, try virtual reality, participate in cosplay and esport activities or buy hardware and merchandise.
Bourse ‘O’ Pop is the unmissable event if you’re a collector or lover of Funko Pop. Individuals and professionals offer you all kinds of Pops, from the most popular, to the most rare.
© Made in Asia
