This post is also available in: 日本語 (Japanese)

So—on April 25, 2026, I headed over to Kawagoe in Saitama for an indie game and board game event called Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG.

If I can give you even a rough sense of the vibe, I’ll call that a win.

Alright then—let’s get into it.


What even is Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG?

It’s an event spread across three different locations in Kawagoe town, featuring indie games, board games, and even game development workshops.

And get this—admission is free!!!
You can just casually drop by.

Depending on the venue, there were outdoor demo spaces, lots of families, and even elderly folks who seemed to just wander in while out for a stroll.

Honestly? It felt a lot like a summer festival.

There were food stalls along the routes connecting the venues—yakitori, rolled omelets, ice cream—you could snack your way from one place to another. That alone made it fun.

Also, maybe because of the season, there were little carp streamers fluttering everywhere, which gave the whole place a soft nostalgic vibe.

Alright—let’s walk through the day.


I tried heading to the venue… and immediately got lost

After killing some time near Kawagoe Station, I figured I’d start walking at a “good” time.

Despite the sunny weather, the air still had a bit of a chill, so I bundled up and set off.

First destination: the Koetoko venue, where I planned to greet the creator I’d previously interviewed for Pre-Release Spotlight.

It’s about 1.5 km from the station—so yeah, not a short walk.

I braced myself and started marching.

………

………………

Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG

There’s no one around.

Like, the more I walk, the more it turns into residential houses and farmland.

Also, the slopes are brutal. My game-softened legs were not ready for this.

At this point I got suspicious, checked my route again…

…and realized I’d spent 30 minutes walking in the exact opposite direction.

Recalculating the route:
another hour from here.

Including hills.

And just like that, my harsh day began.


Kawagoe matcha at the Koetoko venue

After a total of 1.5 hours of walking, I finally stumbled into the venue, half-dead.

Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG

It had already been an hour since the event started.

This is bad.
Less time to try demos.

I was panicking.

There was no way I was going to let this turn into
“an event report about getting destroyed by hills.”

But yeah, I was thirsty.

Perfect timing—a food truck at the entrance.

Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG

I grabbed an iced Kawagoe matcha for 300 yen.

I don’t know much about tea, but it had that rich, mellow matcha flavor.

I was so dehydrated I chugged it instantly.

Could’ve savored it more… but biology wins.

Also ditched my jacket. It wasn’t surviving the rest of this battle.

Alright—time to hunt for games.


Retro shooting game by MAGICBOX

First up, a retro-style shooter from MAGICBOX.

Burari Kawagoe GAME DIGG,MAGICBOX

Simple controls: dodge with the D-pad, shoot enemies and obstacles.

But wow—it’s hard.

Enemy bullets delay slightly, then cut off your escape routes.
And right where you’d dodge? Obstacles.

Simple, but the placement design was really clever.

The booth staff said with a big grin:

“People always complain our games are too hard.”

Yeah… I can see that.
This is pure retro gamer bloodline energy.


Greeting the creator… or so I thought

Next mission:
unlock the achievement of greeting a creator at a real event.

Plan:
Play the demo first → naturally introduce myself → smooth and cool.

Perfect.

I walked up confidently, asked if I could play.

Nice. Not suspicious at all.

After playing, I’d go:
“Actually, I’m…”

Heh heh…

…or so I thought.

Suddenly:

“Are you KaburanaiNamae?”

…wait what?

Apparently, people who walk straight up to booths are usually mutuals on social media, so they can kind of guess who’s coming.

I was the one surprised.

Completely thrown off, I fumbled through the interaction like a full-blown introvert.

Still, during the demo, I got to hear about changes from the demo version and the reasoning behind them—which was great.

I covered that in my Dungeon Bomber article, so check that if you’re curious.

Also bought some goodies and extra content—feeling pretty happy.

Burari Kawagoe GAME ,Dungeon Bomber

Side note:
While I was playing, someone behind me said:

“Wait, are you that creator from the browser game site!?”

Yeah… definitely a well-known figure.

That relaxed, community vibe?
You only get that at events.


“Don’t kill” puzzle action — Mujintou

Next up: a puzzle action game called Mujintou.

Burari Kawagoe GAME,Mujintou

Core mechanic:

  • Attacking enemies builds a madness gauge
  • If you attack at max madness… you kill them
  • Killing = game over

So the goal is: don’t kill enemies.

Then why attack?

To stun them—and use them as platforms.

Yep—you can stand on stunned enemies and use positioning to progress.

It’s basically a puzzle game disguised as an action game.

I cleared stage 1, got stuck on stage 2, panicked…

…and accidentally killed something.

Burari Kawagoe GAME,Mujintou

Game over.

But wow—that was a fresh experience.


Food break at Resona Coedo Terrace

There were more booths I wanted to see, but time was tight.

Next stop: Resona Coedo Terrace.

Target:

Also maybe greet the creators.

I ignored the food stalls and pushed ahead.

But by the time I arrived:

  • Legs: destroyed
  • Stomach: empty
  • Energy: gone

So I gave in and went to the cafeteria.

Burari Kawagoe GAME

It was… stylish.

Too stylish.

As someone who lives on supermarket side dishes like hijiki and fried eggplant, this was blinding.

Still, I refueled:

  • Chicken & leek pizza (crispy, not chewy—still great)
  • Salad
  • Orange juice

Fat + exhaustion = happiness.


PvP in G-Braver Burst

Back to demos.

G-Braver Burst is a mind-game battle system:

  • Pick a higher number than your opponent to succeed in attack/defense
  • Add robot & pilot customization

After the tutorial, I ended up playing against a kid next to me.

I built a counter-focused setup:

Counter → punish → big damage.

…and won.

But… should I have let the kid win?

Yeah, maybe that was a bit much.

Sorry, kid.
War is cruel.


…and I forgot to say hello

After finishing, I realized:

I didn’t greet the creator.

Completely backwards.

But there were already new players, and interrupting felt awkward…

So yeah, I missed the timing again.

Santa, please—
give me communication skills.


Animaroid Girl & meeting Roema-san

Animaroid Girl booth was packed—couldn’t play demo.

I grabbed some merch instead.

Worldbuilding-heavy games?
Their goods hit different.

Burari Kawagoe GAME, Animaroid Girl

Then, while taking notes, someone spoke to me.

Cue introvert panic (third time today).

Talking a bit, I felt something off…

Wait—this person might also be a creator?

I showed my site…

Turns out:

It was Roema-san.

Burari Kawagoe GAME, Roema-San

An indie game VTuber & writer, known for their “Raftaview” interview series.

Actually, my own interview series was inspired by that.

So yeah… I couldn’t lift my head.

Maybe I should make business cards too…


Everyone should go to events

Man—that was fun.

Events are full of unexpected things, which makes them exhausting—but in a good way.

You really feel like you played hard.

Anyway… maybe I’ll make business cards.

…or maybe not yet.

Still a newbie, after all.

And that’s my Kawagoe GAME DIGG report!!


Closing

Enjoy your gaming life!!
And thanks for reading all the way to the end!

Over on X, I post article updates and yell about whatever game I’m currently playing.

It’s about 1.3 times louder than the blog.
(According to our highly scientific internal estimates.)