Have you ever wanted to be a pirate, a wizard, or an elf? LARP games are a great way to do that. LARP stands for “live action role play,” and it’s a type of game where people physically act out characters in a make-believe setting. It can be an entire weekend or just an afternoon. Larps often have a specific storyline, but sometimes they don’t—they might be like murder mysteries with clues for players to solve or quests where they fight monsters and collect treasures. Players dress up in costumes that match their characters.
It is a type of game where people physically act out characters in a make-believe setting
LARP games are a type of game that is played in real life. The players act out their characters and the setting in which they find themselves, using props and costumes to help them do so. In some cases, the players may use special equipment like bows and arrows or shields to enhance their experience. LARP games can be played with large groups of people at once, or they can be played alone by an individual player who pretends to be multiple characters at once (often called “multi-role play”).
Larps are games that can be as long or as short as you want them to be. Some larps can be a morning, afternoon, or even just an hour-long romp. Others might take place over multiple days and nights, creating a weekend-long experience that feels like camp for adults.
The length of the game is up to the players—you decide how much time you want to spend in your character’s world! You can play a character again and again if you enjoy it so much that you don’t want the adventure to end yet; this is known as “character longevity.”
Specific storyline
The story is often created by a game master (GM), who can decide on the direction the story takes at any time. There are many different types of LARPs, with some focusing on historical events or real life experiences.
The most popular type of LARP is one based on fantasy worlds such as Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. These games usually involve mythology and magic, which often allow GMs to create entirely new universes with their own rules and possibilities for adventures!
There are also LARPs based on historical periods such as the American Civil War.
Some larps are like murder mysteries, where players are given characters to play and clues to solve the mystery of “who dunnit.” This is a pretty common setup for LARP games: you have a setting that exists outside of your personal character (the world, in this case), and some characters who exist within that setting. These characters have roles and relationships with each other—for example, they might be friends or rivals or enemies—and they interact with each other in ways that feel real.
Some larps do not have an actual plot but rather a goal, such as fighting monsters and collecting treasures. You pretty much just run around in amazing costumes and have fun with likeminded people as you all probably share the same interests.
