Play Matters is Cluj’s community for meaningful play. We bring people to the same table — board games, workshops, a festival — and we back what the table does to people: connection, learning, wellbeing.
Where we start from
Play Matters was born in 2026 in Cluj-Napoca, out of people who believe play deserves to be taken seriously. Our conviction is simple:
Play is not a break from life. It’s how we grow.
The city already has tables, games and curious people; we’re building the place that brings them together: open game nights, a festival of meaningful play, and a Romanian-language shelf of properly sourced knowledge about why play works.
We’re at the very beginning of the road — and we rather like beginnings: everything is still to build, and there’s a seat at the table for anyone who wants to build it with us.
Our own drawing of what we’re actually building: different people, one table. Photographs from our own events take its place as we make them.
What we believe
- Play is learning. Not a break from learning — learning itself, with dice on the table.
- Mistakes are part of the game. The courage to try, lose, laugh and start again is how we grow.
- We grow through curiosity. We learn best when we laugh, collaborate and connect — at any age.
- Safe spaces for ideas. Places where ideas can be tested like moves in a game, without fear of judgement.
- The same table for everyone. Age, background or means never decide who gets a seat.
Now · In preparation
Now
Building the community and its website; preparing the first game nights; writing the Science of Play shelf — sourced synthesis, in Romanian and English.
In preparation
Play Matters Fest — first edition, planned at Zbor Hub Cluj, with funding from Cluj County Council (5,000 lei, decision HCJ 90/2026).
Play Matters Academy — workshops for young people (18–26), funded through HCJ 92/2026 (4,000 lei).
Who we are
We’re players, table hosts, facilitators and organisers — a small team from Cluj that believes the city deserves more tables with laughter around them. The best place to meet us is exactly where we belong: at a table. Come to the first event and we’ll introduce ourselves.
Alongside us
- Zbor Hub Cluj — the partner venue where we’re planning our events.
- Cluj County Council — funder of our two 2026 projects (HCJ 90/2026 and HCJ 92/2026).
Identity
PLAY MATTERS Association · National NGO Register no. 368/A/2026 · Cluj-Napoca, Romania