Mindgames Arcade at The Green

Presented as part of SICK! Festival 2022, Mindgames Arcade is an interactive gaming gallery housed in three open-side shipping containers. You’ll find this hands-on and unique videogame arcade on The Green, close to North City Library on the corner of Moston Lane and Hemsley Street in North Manchester.

An interactive gaming gallery housed in three open-side shipping containers.

With a focus on wellbeing and happiness, the installation explores the connection between computer games and our mental health. Do computer games offer a way of better understanding our mental health? Does gaming make us feel better? Many gamers would also argue that playing video games offers new ways of connecting with others, a platform to build friendships and a way to share experiences.

All of the games on show at Mindgames Arcade embrace the theme of mental health and wellbeing. You can play an array of award-winning games including a brand-new game – Never, Forever, Always – which has been created by young people and game designers from North Manchester and Finland especially for SICK! Festival 2022.

All of the games on show at Mindgames Arcade embrace the theme of mental health and wellbeing.

The new game, Never, Forever, Always has been in development since December 2021 and all of the young people involved in its creation have been directly affected by mental health challenges, either their own or those close to them. At the start of the project, the youngsters were taught basic skills relating to game development before starting work on their own game. The idea is that the new video game reflects the lived experiences of people who are navigating mental health-related challenges.

Mindgames Arcade is all about enjoyment and mental wellness, there are no competitions or tournaments – just pop down and have fun. Best of all, the interactive gaming arcade is free and open to everyone.