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6th KASTELLORIZO PUZZLE FESTIVAL
SCIENCE GAMES
HELLENIC LOS ANGELES MEDIA NETWORK
In Kastellorizo, in October, puzzles have… a scientific solution.
The Puzzle Festival returns for the sixth consecutive year, transforming the remote island of Kastellorizo into a large laboratory of ideas, science and discovery.
There are islands that invite you to relax. And there are islands that make you think. In Kastellorizo, from October 16 to 18, 2026, both will happen.
The Puzzle Festival – Science Games is co-organized by Pantazis Houlis, founder of the Meduseum Puzzle Museum, and Eleni Grammatikopoulou, who has a long-standing contribution to science communication. The two organizers were inspired by the project and have been developing this ambitious and daring initiative since 2021.
The Puzzle as a Starting Point
At the Festival, a puzzle is not simply a game that asks for the correct answer. It is a different way of approaching the world.
To observe more closely. To question what we take for granted. To test a hypothesis. To fail and try again.
With this philosophy, this year's program spans a wide range of fields, from Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotics to DNA, Health, the Environment, the Ocean, Astronomy, Education, Art and Culture.
Scientists, educators, creators and puzzle enthusiasts come together in a program designed to demonstrate that scientific thinking can be accessible, exciting and – why not? – fun.
A Program That Doesn’t Easily Fit into a Single Room
The program includes a distinguished group of academics, scientists, educators and creators, among them:
- Theodosis Tasios, academic and NTUA professor
- Georgios Chrousos, academic and Professor of Paediatrics and Endocrinology at the University of Athens
- Giorgos Chalkiadakis, Professor at the Technical University of Crete
- Steven Boyages, Medical Doctor and Endocrinologist at the University of Sydney and a distinguished member of the Kastellorizian diaspora
- Yavuz Dermihan, internationally acclaimed puzzle designer
- Scientists from important research institutions across Greece
Puzzle workshops and exhibitions, hands-on experiments, STEM activities, robotics and drones, escape rooms, geography quizzes, stand-up science, events on AI, misinformation and fake news, online safety, the art of cinema, solar and astronomical observation, and activities dedicated to the ocean are just some of the elements that make up this year's program.
“Because here, science is not hidden behind a showcase. It comes out onto the street. It joins the game. It asks for our participation.”
From “Puzzle Flowers” to DNA
Kastellorizo is not simply the setting of the Festival. It is part of the very story behind it.
The nature of the island, its geography, history and unique identity become the starting point for new puzzles and new stories.
This year, the “puzzle flowers” make their appearance, a new artistic symbol of the Festival and a new puzzle by Pantazis Houlis, inspired by the unique flora of Kastellorizo.
Small local plants with a distinctive presence, such as Campanula kastellorizana, become an opportunity to remind us that nature itself is full of complex problems, surprises and solutions waiting to be discovered.
Where Education Meets Adventure
Educational activities specially designed for the students of Kastellorizo have already become an established part of the Festival. They take place before the main event, during the morning school program.
Through experiments, creative activities and experiential learning, students are encouraged to cultivate their curiosity and come into direct contact with science.
From the secrets of the ocean and Linear B to art, technology and electrical safety, knowledge is not presented as something that simply needs to be memorized.
A Small Island, a Big Idea. A Puzzle That Travels.
The Festival no longer remains within the limits of Megisti. The event has already travelled from Athens and Patras to Xanthi and Vamvakou in Parnon, gradually expanding the network of people and organizations participating in this unique celebration of science.
And perhaps that is the most interesting paradox of the Festival:
How does a small, remote island become a meeting place for scientists, educators, artists, students and people who share a curiosity about the world?
Perhaps the answer is the puzzle itself.
Because puzzles have no borders. Science has no borders. And curiosity certainly doesn't.
Not just to find the answers.
But to discover
what the right questions are.
16–18 October 2026 • Kastellorizo
The entire organization is carried out by EN.I.G.MA. (Union of Ideas, Puzzles, Mathematics), with the Puzzle Museum as its main activity.
The Festival is organized in cooperation with the South Aegean Region and with the support of the Municipality of Megisti.
It is held under the auspices and support of the Hellenic Parliament and several ministries and is mainly funded by private sponsors.
