Good times and great times are set to continue during the final weekend of the NZ Festival of MindSports this Saturday and Sunday.

Organiser Marlene Perry says the festival's opening bash, which was took place over Queen's Birthday long weekend, was a huge rollicking success and drew a huge crowd to Thames.

Organiser Marlene Perry and helpers during the opening of the NZ Festival of Mindsports. Photo: Russell Mercer/Facebook

'It was a rocking weekend to open the festival,” says Marelen. 'We had a full slate of events that were well attended and this weekend is looking busy as well.

'We received great feedback from people who came along to either play or watch, many stayed overnight and said Thames was a fantastic place to stay and they would definitely be coming back.

'Hats off to our teams of volunteers. Every event has been organised and run by volunteers and the effort and dedication they have put into making MindSports a successful event is inspiring.”

A mindsport is a game of skill where the mental component is more significant than the physical.

Queen's Birthday weekend saw a number of events being staged, including the NICON Wargamming Tournament which drew in 41 gamers from around the north island. The festival also hosted a Dungeons & Dragons tournament which drew in 29 players.

This weekend's events includes the National Backgammon Championships which will bring in players from all over the country.

'For those who want to play backgammon but don't want to compete in the national championships, the $20 MindSports entry fee allows them to play.

'Or, if you just want to watch the action, drop in to the Thames War Memorial Civic Centre on both Saturday and Sunday where the backgammon is being played and watch for no charge.”

The National Backgammon Championship will take centre stage this weekend.

Also taking place this weekend too will be the Chess Championship, checkers (draughts); scrabble, card games like 500 and the continuation of last weekend's popular Dungeons & Dragons sessions.

Other games this weekend include Edo Jidai which was invented by Thames man Richard Morita, Magic the Gathering, Squabbles (like scrabble, but louder) and the ancient Chinese board game Go.

If hitting the pub is more your thing then head down to the Grahamstown Bar and Diner tonight where Auckland band The Heaters will keep you warm with some musical goodness.

The GBD will also be the venue for the Sudoku Championships where you can play online or with pen and paper, plus a good ol' fashion pub quiz on Saturday night.

'Last weekend's quiz at the GBD was really popular and we attracted 13 teams of up to eight players each which was brilliant.

'Some of the quizzers came dressed up as their team, so we had the ‘Cats Pyjamas' dressed up in cats pyjamas, and a Steampunk dressed team too.

'This week it would be lovely if people came dressed up as their team. I reckon everyone should get into it this weekend, 100 people in costumes would be quite a sight wouldn't it?”

For the full calendar of events and registration information visit the NZ Festival of Mindsport's website at: www.mindsportsfestival.co.nz

About 30 young children got in on the fun for the Princes and Princesses Dress-Up Party which was held at Cafe Melbourne.