How we think about LARP?

The term LARP is an abbreviation of the English term „live action role-playing“. It is a combination of acting improvization, participation theatre ¹ and a social game. In short, it is possible to describe a larp as a form of theatre where actors do not perform for an audience, but for themselves and for other actors.

The larp participants accept a role in which they subsequently act physically, speak and make game decisions. Usually, some simple rules are set up in a larp. These rules define the decisions the player can make in his role. By means of collective improvization the players create interesting situations which help to accomplish their character´s goals and at the same time contribute to the development of a dramatic story.

The larps that we organize are aimed mainly on creation of credible characters with clear goals, desires and disadvantages and on building up a linked story that allows all the players to equally participate in it. The topics of our games often concern up-to-date ethical issues or problems of our society. We usually build a larp up to fulfil the conditions of the M6 Manifesto which defines the larp style we would like to support.

Player Benefits of the Role-Playing

The most frequent reason most players participate in larps is fun and creative leisure time activity. Beside this, although it is not the only goal of these games, larps help to a certain extent to develop each participant´s personality.

The role-playing, based on an improvization, a necessity of fast reaction on external impulses and often on making the right decision in time pressure, helps the players develop mainly in the field of social communication and self-reflection. Some games help to ameliorate the ability of teamwork, other games focus on independent individual determination.

Our approach to larps concentrates on systematic character development, but still we seek to offer to players thinking over a wide range of delicate social issues.

Different Views on Larp

There are several tens of groups that organize larps in the Czech Republic. These groups focus most frequently on action larp forms combining the role-playing with real fighting. Softened wooden weapons or airsoft guns are used for the real fighting situations. The typical setting of these games is the fantasy setting often inspired by books, movies or computer games of the genre.

Different forms of larp (although in the Czech Republic the term larp is rarely used) are used in a common routine in our educational institutions. The larp method is used in classes on the field of alternative pedagogy, dramatic education and experience-pedagogy. Their goal is not the actual game, but they have a pedagogical aim. Abroad, the use of larps in education is quite common. For example, in Denmark there is a high school concentrated directly on larp educational methods. Specific forms of role-playing are also used in modern psychology.
Our endeavour is to build up larps on different principles. We focus more on the role playing, a strong story and rather theatrical than action aspects of larps.

If you are further interested in other forms of larp, have a look at Wikipedia (CZ), where the full description of the Czech larps is available.

¹) Interactive form of theatre where the audience can directly influence the plot and action of the drama.