What to expect at RFTB 2026

Get ready for the amazing 5th non-consecutive year of Run For The Border! If you've never been to one of these, here's what's on the menu:

Who else is going?

You'll be glad to hear that Run For The Border has nothing to do with Running but plenty to do with Border. The event was created to get the North and South working together, trading talent and skills, and maybe even partnering up to mooch off each other's screen funding. 2025 brought in 200+ attendees from Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Derry and everywhere in between.

Where is it?

We're back in Ballyconnell! Ballyconnell is located about halfway between Enniskillen and Cavan, and pretty much equidistant from Belfast, Dublin, Galway and Derry. It's a 2.5 hour journey, but trust me it's totally worth it.

How will I get there?

More than a meet-up; it's like a school trip! RFTB provides hub-to-pub courtesy coach transport from Ireland's major gamedev centres, graciously sponsored by funding organisations from both sides of the border. Of course, you can also drive yourself. (If you do, make sure you let others know if you've got a few spare seats.)

Important note! These are courtesy coaches. Tickets to RFTB are the same price whether you take the coach or drive yourself.

Also Important! Don't spend the coach ride sleeping or doing word searches. RFTB starts when you board the coach; Use the journey to meet your local industry, so that by the time you get to Ballyconnell you can meet all the that-siders.

What's the venue like?

We're back to Lizzie Buggie's! Reviews were overwhelmingly positive last year. Key features:

• Indoor bar, outdoor courtyard, plenty of breakaway areas for big and small groups

• Large dedicated car park / coach drop off area, easy access

• Central stage with audio-visual facilities (mic, screen, HDMI)

• 4 x toilets (of which some will be dedicated gender neutral for the event)

• Mostly flat and spacious for access (one area has three stairs but otherwise flat)

By special request: No live music this year! We tried something, it didn't work, you asked, we listened!

What will I learn?

Last year featured 8 fantastic Lightning Talks, covering a range of subjects like Embracing Limitations, The 5 W's of UI/UX Design, A Musical Journey From Demo to Orchestra, Ten TTRPGs in Ten Minutes, and Things Games Can Learn From TV and Film.

This year, we're gonna need at least 8 more.

What is a Lightning Talk? Our talks are time-limited to 10 minutes. We're not looking for deep dives or dissertations. We want your talk to be long enough to cover the basics, short enough to keep everyone interested, and just enough to spark a conversation in the courtyard later if you want to know more.

Do you want to do a Lightning Talk? We'll send out a form soon.

Open Mic

If you don't have 10 minutes to offer, maybe 1 minute will do you instead? Open Mic allows anyone in the room a hard 60 seconds on stage to say whatever they like. Ask for a job, announce a game launch, pitch your idea, pitch someone else's idea, show a trailer, freestyle a diss track, whatever. The floor is yours.

Why should I go?

As always, the focus of Run For The Border is about meeting people. The atmosphere is relaxed, the schedule is malleable, the script is improvised, and the craic is ninety.

Organisers & Hosts Kevin and Dave do their best to eliminate stranger-danger, pulling down barriers for networking through casual icebreakers, event minigames, coach quizzes, spot prizes and other fun stuff.

Bottom line: If you spend the whole event talking to people from your own city - or worse, your own company - you're doing RFTB wrong. And we'll set you right.

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BTW: Thank you to everyone who can be bothered to fill out the feedback form each year. RFTB continues to evolve, and we like to think that each year we bring new surprises to the table, and every year is a little bigger and better than the last.