Next week, the Steam Digital Tabletop Fest (opens in new tab) is mashing together videogames and the ones we used to get together to play in-person once upon a time. The five-day event features interviews, panels, play sessions, and streaming activities "that explore the fusion between physical and digital games."
Of course, the convergence of video and tabletop gaming is nothing new. Early RPGs were often direct translations of Dungeons & Dragons games, for instance, and a game literally called Tabletop Simulator has been available on Steam since 2015. (It's actually quite good (opens in new tab), too.)
But the Tabletop Fest looks set to go deeper than the obvious examples that leap to mind, with "main stage events" like a livestream with Elizabeth Hargrave, the designer of the physical edition of Wingspan (opens in new tab), an interview with Doom designer Sandy Petersen (opens in new tab) (who's also designed a number of board games in his career), an Armello (opens in new tab) play session with developer League of Geeks, and a Vermintide 2 (opens in new tab) session featuring members of Fatshark and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay designer Graeme Davis.
The full schedule of events in the Digital Tabletop Fest, and an option to set up a multitude of reminders, are available on Steam. And because I know you're curious, yes, there will also be a Digital Tabletop Sale, with deals and demos on "hundreds of card, board, and tabletop-adjacent titles on Steam." It's not live yet, but when it is you'll be able to find the sale page here (opens in new tab).
