Pac-Man t-shirt on the back, Marco, 39, thumbs up on his controller, confronts Elias, his 6-year-old son. Released in the 80s, “Street Fighter” dates back to the prehistory of video games that have become cult. The game is fierce but in the end, it is the smallest who wins… In a neighboring space, Astou, 12, with a virtual reality helmet on his head, smashes cubes with a lightsaber. Without being mistaken about the colors. “You need concentration and speed,” she says, all smiles, when handing over the baton to another child. The young girl is participating in her first Library Night, this year on the theme of video games.

Beyond the large city-center structures, the event also brings together neighborhood facilities such as the Jean-de-La-Ville-de-Mirmont library, located on the Saint-Augustin church square, in Bordeaux. “Usually I come here on Wednesdays to borrow novels. About fifteen that I bring back the following Saturday. Yes, I read a lot, ”says Astou, with disarming naturalness.

Old games with Replay Museum

Saturday October 2, the library deployed a program provided: coding workshop on Scratch, readings, Switch tournament on “Mario Kart” or “Overcooked”, games on vintage consoles… Not to mention a quiz on the music of video games from the years 80 to the present day animated by Sound ricochet. The retrogaming component benefited from the support of the association Replay Museum. “The idea was to offer an entertaining format for a family audience,” says Charlotte Bruneau, responsible for neighborhood libraries in the southern territory. A hundred inhabitants made their Saturday night outing. Like Michel, 78, who tried his hand at the console with his 6-year-old grandson. At the request of the library, ECV Bordeaux visual communication school is the place to present its game curriculum to the younger generations, as well as the games made by students.