A MAZE. / Berlin 2026

Limited number of Player Tickets available (See below for more info)

Despite all your rage, you are still just a rat in a cage. Luckily, you're also a rat who's been outfitted with a neural implant that allows you to communicate telepathically with the other rats in your cage. Maybe that'll help.

labRats is a digitally native interactive performance by the award-winning duo cirqueSaw. Pulling equally from classic games, silent films, and a generous helping of Lewis Carroll, the piece seeks to blur the line between reality and unreality, between wonder and horror. Audiences play as lab rats in an experiment beyond their control, who have to work together to take control of their lives. Whether they choose to escape, take over the lab, or deconstruct the fabric of the reality of their experience itself is entirely up to them.

There are two ways of experiencing this performance:
- As a player: please get your Player Ticket (limited amount) from the ticket shop (only with valid festival ticket or pass): https://weeztix.shop/gteqvq9r
- As a viewer: just come to the Kuppelhalle!

Note: that Player Tickets are limited, so please only take one when you are dedicated to join, including bringing your own laptop or tablet with keyboard

There are two labRats performance dates:
Thursday 14 May: 20:00-21:30
Saturday 16 May: 12:00-13:30

A farming-roguelite game about slavic folklore, friendship and magic. Funded in part by the Film und Medienstiftung NRW.

CHILDREN OF SATURN blends first person narrative adventure gameplay with real video recordings to tell an authentic slice of life story about growing up under the effects of climate change. Through the lens of a VHS camera, experience some of the most significant moments in the lives of a group of friends during a time of absolute hopelessness.  Features: Suburban exploration (aka trespassing), Home parties, Teen angst, Skating, Loitering with friends, Listening to mixtapes, Wasting your youth (again), Vandalism, Theft, Mundanity  Try to find hope under an orange sky.

Deep Fog Signals is a horror puzzle mystery game with retro-futuristic hand-drawn gadgets, turn-based mechanics and a dark story. Stuck in an outpost in a sea of toxic fog, your crew has been decimated, you're cut off from the outside world and oxygen is running out. Use limited bandwidth to coordinate unstable crewmates, conduct esoteric research that could change the world and interpret strange signals from the deep.

You find an old briefcase. It moves. Alive and hungry for clothes. This alt-control experience uses tilt, opening, and physical rhythm as its language. The more it eats, the harder it becomes to handle. You’re not controlling the creature, you’re negotiating with it.

The main exhibition features the nominees and the honorable mentions of the 14th International A MAZE. Award including some extra gems which we showcase out of competition.

Nominees and Honorable Mentions
Extra Gems: (to be discovered)

Artistic and experimental games are often off the mainstream and allow for different experiences with forward-thinking and playful views, often not for entertainment only. Technology is used as playground for artistic expression and innovative interaction with audiences interested in critical reflection and meaningful interaction. Discover different experiences, local multiplayer games, interactive installations and many more of this versatile art-form.

For Festival Pass holders, One Night at A MAZE. Ticket holders 

The A MAZE. / Village is the part of the exhibition where you can play new, and unpublished games presented by indie game studios, universities, institutions, and collectives.

This year we have the pleasure of showcasing games from:

• Bad Juice Games
• Three More Years
• HYPER REAL
• Ludisto
• Findling Games
• Indiepocalypse
• Basil Bytes Interactive
• Multimedia|VR-Design, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle
• Polish Institute
• Not Here Not There
•  BIMM University
• Bauhaus Gamesfabrik / Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Saftladen
• ARTE                                                                                                                                                                      

Open Screens are back!
Following the success of previous years, our goal remains the same: to provide a convenient platform for developers to showcase their creations to the press and their peers. These exhibits will be on display at the physical A MAZE. venue.

See for the full line up: https://2026.amaze-berlin.de/openscreens/
Individual Times exhibited projects Open Screens

SAMPLES is the new interactive music installation by My name is Fuzzy. It transforms the exhibition space into a giant music creation software. The project explores a form of “analog” augmented reality, meaning without a visible digital interface. The installation consists of about ten large-format, brightly colored canvases, each representing a sound sample that activates and modulates according to the movements of people in the space. Beyond offering an immersive and collective experience, the installation questions the influence the public exerts on an artist's work: here, the artwork is only revealed through the presence of visitors, and it constantly evolves according to their interaction. After gaining recognition for his unique style and playful installations in numerous art venues and festivals in Switzerland and Europe, Bastien Bron continues his artistic approach with SAMPLES: offering pop and electronic music in innovative, hybrid, and singular forms.

https://www.mynameisfuzzy.ch/samples/

The AMAZING X-MARKET is a place where people sell unqiue self-produced geeky stuff from 3d-printed characters, plushies, home-brewed experimental video games, usb sticks with coolest content on it, selfmade synths, to services (like pixelart, lofi mocap, 3D scanning), boardgames, alternative controllers, digital toys, robots, OSTs, all kinds of wearables, postcards from VR, fanzines, illustrations, paintings, books, clothes and also merch.

Featuring:

Want to take part? You have until May 8th.
[[ REGISTER HERE ]]

Ever wanted to make your own board game? In this hands-on crafting session, participants design their very own version of a classic — think Snakes and Ladders or UNO — and make it entirely their own. With paper, pens, and a handful of game pieces, players of all ages invent their rules, draw their boards, and playtest with others on the spot. No experience needed — just curiosity and a love of play. Originally designed for kids and young people, this workshop has also proven irresistible to adults.

Everyone is welcome to drop in, create, and play.

//AUDIENCE:: Kids, young people, and curious adults — all ages welcome, no prior experience needed
//REQUIREMENTS:: Just bring your imagination
//BRING:: All materials provided but if you wanna bring any colors, paper and crafting materials you can do so!

Just like in an open-world game, there is no fixed script in improv theater. The workshop space is the map where anything is possible. Instead of telling a pre-written story, we use mechanics like the "Yes, and..." principle or specific game rules. We treat improv as a system of mechanics that allows for emergent narratives.

Mindset
In our analog sandbox, there is no "Game Over" – no failure, only feedback. If an idea doesn't work, it’s simply reshaped. This removes the pressure, boosts creativity, and clears the mind for new impulses. Your hardware here isn't a CPU or a graphics card; it’s your body, your voice, and your fellow players.

Skill Upgrade
Do you want to present your game but suffer from stage fright? Are you wondering how to dissolve blocks within a team or develop gripping narratives on the fly? Improv theater is an amazing tool for practicing collaborative storytelling, overcoming blocks, and building stage presence for your next game pitch.

About Us and Our Workshops
In this workshop by Improfabrik e.V., a non-profit theater club from Berlin, you will learn the core principles of improvisation as genuine power-ups for your personal, professional, and artistic development. We place great value on an accessible and appreciative environment.Every workshop begins with a short round of introductions, including pronouns and a clarification of „comfort zones“, to ensure everyone feels safe. After a quick warm-up for body, voice, and mind, we dive briefly into the theory.

Our focus is "Theory through Practice": You will learn fundamental principles like "Yes, and..." and apply them immediately in short games for improv-scenes. Whether you’re looking for story inspiration or simply want to train your spontaneity, this is a place to laugh, experiment, and grow together.

Clear the stage and curtain up in 3-2-1-Whoosh!

//AUDIENCE:: Festival participants looking to improve their lateral thinking skills, spontaneity and openness for other people's ideas in the creative process.
//REQUIREMENTS:: A willingness to think and act spontaneously and be creative in the moment.
//BRING:: No special tools required.
//SENSITIVE TOPICS:: The workshop does not directly address any sensitive topics as per the code of conduct. However, spontaneous creativity always holds a small chance that internalized stereotypes or social injustices may be brought to the performance unintentionally. In those cases we will discuss them with all of the workshop participants and show ways in which they can be avoided in the future.
We will strive to foster an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere from the start in which everyone will hopefully have a great time.

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Make your own merchandise: Lino-Stamps and Stickers

• Design and carve your own printing stamps and make prints on paper. You can even design a post card with it.
• Draw your own stickers. We copy them on sticker paper and you can take them home. This is also easy for younger participants.

The workshop is an open drop in-format. For the working station you need up to 1 hour or more if you like. You can come to the workshop in the timeframe from 13-17h.

//WORKSHOP LANGUAGE:: German and English
//AUDIENCE:: Kids, teenagers and adults are welcome, single persons, small groups or families
- 10+ for the lino stamps because of cutting and carving materials
- Everyone who can draw on paper for the stickers
//REQUIREMENTS:: no prior knowledge needed, for beginners

---

[DEUTSCH]
Gestalte deine eigenen Fanartikel: Linolschnitte und Aufkleber

• Entwerfe und schnitze deine eigenen Linoleumstempel und fertige Drucke auf Papier an. Du kannst damit sogar eine Postkarte gestalten.
• Zeichne deine eigenen Aufkleber. Wir kopieren sie auf Aufkleberpapier und du kannst sie mit nach Hause nehmen. Das ist auch für jüngere Teilnehmer ganz einfach.

Der Workshop ist als offenes Drop-in-Format konzipiert. Etwa 1h oder mehr Zeit kannst du an der Station verbringen, wenn genügend Platz ist. Du kannst den Workshop im Zeitfenster von 13 bis 17 Uhr besuchen.

//WORKSHOPSPRACHE:: Deutsch und Englisch, je nach Bedarf
//ZIELGRUPPE:: Kinder, Jugendliche, aber auch Erwachsene sind willkommen, Einzelpersonen, Kleingruppen oder Familien
- 10+ für die Linolstempel wegen der Materialien zum Schneiden und Schnitzen
- Jeder, der für die Aufkleber auf Papier zeichnen kann
//ANFORDERUNGEN:: Kein Vorwissen benötigt, Lust am Gestalten

Psychotic fast-paced FPS

Become the architect of a thriving ant colony in this real-time simulation. Establish and evolve your ant colony, grow specialized worker castes, cultivate fungus, and explore a living world above and below ground where day and night bring shifting challenges and resources.

Try your hand at “Tācn”.
A medieval gaming console powered (or is it cursed by ?) magic, in which you collect tokens to battle and defeat your enemies. Its a turnbased roguelike, played on a grid board.

This is a challenging and fun quiz game of lesser-known facts and notorious quirks of all countries of the world. All questions are handwritten and accompanied by pictures and explanations.

An approach to level design that goes beyond the computer screen.

Using modular 6×6 elements, participants build structures, test layouts, and explore non-standard ways of thinking about level design. We see the workshop as a shared experiment in alternative ways of approaching level design and building levels.

Each session lasts around 20 minutes, and can be done by 2 people. 

The station also works outside workshop hours, simple instructions allow visitors to use it independently.

//AUDIENCE:: Game designers, artists, and anyone interested in spatial thinking, level design, and experimental approaches to game development.
//REQUIREMENTS:: None
//BRING:: Just bring your curiosity and a willingness to experiment :)

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. Just come by. 

Come join us in the hallowed halls of the Car Boot Casino* (*Krimskramskasino). Join us for an afternoon of homebrew card and bluffing games lovingly crafted by leading game designers. Pick a game, test your luck and horde your tickets for a chance to win one of our authentically sourced car boot sale* (*krimskrams) prizes.

Hosted by Marie Foulston

With a.o.:
Cards! 
Holly Gramazio (she/her)            
This is a card game in which participants try to get more points than the other participants in the game get.

The Invisible Casino
c.diffin (he/him)
What appears to be a simple card game has a strange twist: all the cards are completely blank. Players can leave their mark on the deck and perhaps, by working together, figure out how to beat the Dealer.
The Invisible Casino is a live-action arcade machine, featuring this and many other weird and obtuse games. Just walk up and start playing… what have you got to lose?

Gambit 
Finn Carney (they/them)            
Gambit is a minimalist duelling game with an emphasis on Yomi. Two player-controlled game pieces face each other in an arena, with players placing 3 actions per turn which are play out simultaneously. The first player to strike their opponent 3 times wins. Come for epic duels, stay for when you and your opponent perform the same sequence of actions at each other multiple times in a row.

Cave
Ada Null (she/her)            
A multiplayer choose-your-own-adventure game dealt in cards by a veiled figure. Seek the tomb of your House alongside your fellow strangers, or walk alone in hope for a new future.

Sausages Game
V Buckenham (she/her)
A silly game about stealing other people's chips (and sausages) and trying not to starve to death.

More to be announced!

Deck of Memories is a deckbuilding roguelite where you delve into the life of the last lighthouse keeper through immersive card dioramas. Customize your deck with a unique card crafting mechanic, explore fragmented memories, and uncover the secrets of the lighthouse. 

Everything Is Computer is a “game essay” set in the aftermath of a Thielian apocalypse, where a Superintelligence AGI cult has drained humanity’s life force, leaving behind the spectral ruins of startup dreams. The game repurposes texts, tweets, and interviews from Silicon Valley’s techno-libertarian prophets as mythological debris, forming a nonlinear narrative about the collapse of futurist promises.

Paint your city with plants! In this cosy guerilla gardening game, turn harmful areas into gardens that everyone can use.

Corporations have left neglected building projects and unmaintained facilities all over the city. Sure, you don't have the right to use their land...but surely your community shouldn't have to suffer due to corporate mismanagement. And all you're doing is growing some plants to make the space usable again. How controversial can that be?

Trail of Gods: The Cursed Island is a short, brutal adventure where you must fight, die, and learn your way through a beautiful but merciless world that demands everything from this world and beyond.

Explore an open-world 100 Aker Woods while outwitting a twisted Winnie-the-Pooh who wants to eat you. Upgrade yourself and craft elaborate traps to stop him using black honey. 

In an interactive sci-fi role-playing game, the audience’s decisions become the driving force behind the performance. Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, together with two musicians, creates a live story that is guided by the emotions, voices and presence in the room.

The audience as part of a science fiction story: in the world of “It’s Time To Make a Choice”, the weather is controlled by people’s emotions. Guided by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, the audience determines the fictional weather conditions through singing and joint interactions. This playfully creates an evening that is different every time. Together with musicians Lucy Liebe and Waveovspace, a musical and improvised role-playing performance is created, guided by the fears, worries, dreams and ideas of love of the players.

With “It’s Time To Make a Choice,” HAU is represented for the third time at A MAZE. / Berlin, the international festival and platform for independent and arthouse games, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2026. The event is co-curated with the Körber Foundation’s eCommemoration programme.

We invite you to celebrate with us the 15 year's anniversay of A MAZE. / Berlin. 2012 we've started to build a festival completely from scratch and created grassroots an amazing international community of playful artists. 2013 we've moved with our second festival to Urban Spree our main spot until 2018. Now it time to come back to the roots (at least for one night) to feel where the pink positive chaos has its beginning. 

Queer Performance
Clitbait

Music 

Club:
NelesOn (live)
Gewalt (live)
Partic Catani (live)
Tia (dj)

Garden:
Anita Drink (dj)
Bleach (dj)

Games


Fulldome Experiences