The details:
On Friday, I ran Best of the Wurst, a silly larp inspired by the classic British comedy 'Allo 'Allo. As might be expected from the title, it was a total sausage-fest, with the players producing a string of innuendo before lining up to present their sausages for judging. The Germans shouted, the French resisted, there was much ado in the cellars and constant “prayer” in the chapel, and it ended with a perfect 'Allo 'Allo-style ending. I have a few thoughts on extra things I can do, and based on feedback have offered this for Phoenix 2019 in August.
On Saturday morning I played as not-Gordon Ramsay in @RobotPie’s reality TV-chef larp, Another One Bites The Crust. Despite being television’s sweariest chef, I felt like the straight man in the room, especially compared to @joker’s children’s chef and @Dragnew’s amazing Swedish chef. People’s efforts to actually cook with the provided sugary substances provided another level of crazy. It was good silly fun, and I recommend playing it if it re-runs in future.
On Saturday afternoon I played in @Dragnew’s The Most Magical Time of the Year, about the office christmas party of a local government occult agency (local government apparently being a lot weirder than people think it is). Unfortunately my energy levels were flagging (as were a lot of people’s), but I ploughed through, found some inspiration for my primary plotline, and discovered that dragons like NeoLiberalism (because dragons are arseholes). The game ran short, so I got to have a nice nap before dinner.
On Saturday evening I played in @Auroran’s Lazarus Bar & Grill. This was a pitch-perfect 80’s cyberpunk larp (you know, where people have overt cyberware, there’s constant drizzle, and governments fight dirty wars in small, far-off countries in pointless resource squabbles, while the megacorps who really run things make out like bandits. A far more optimistic scenario than the Zuckerberg / climate crisis / script kiddies hack your fridge timeline we’ve actually got. OTOH, in 80’s cyberpunk, livestreamed murder would be a full-on commercial channel). I was an android chef, so I spent my evening delivering deadpan humour while trying to manage a combined kitchen / operating theatre space. The big challenges were customers, the GM’s excellent 80’s soundtrack (androids don’t sing), and having to find something to say at the scheduled memorial service which wouldn’t break my delivery (androids don’t cry). Fortunately @tog42 saved me from the latter. This is an excellent larp, and if you get the chance to play it, you should.
Sunday morning was Property & Propriety, the sequel to last year’s Longmuir Hall. Many players returned to reprise their roles, and while the game needed more time, it seemed to go well. While I wasn’t able to keep track of everything that was going on (there is only so much the servants can eavesdrop on), kudos to @Lady_Prema for her wonderfully scandalous Lady Frances, @tigger for Sir George, and @hannah for her portrayal of Aunt Lavinia. based on what happened in this game, I will almost certainly be writing a third episode, about The Wedding (or weddings), but I’ve also had a request for a rerun to allow the players who missed it to reprise their roles. Maybe in September as a double with Stephanie’s Jolly Good and Really Excellent Larp That Will Go Splendidly?
Sunday afternoon was The Sky Like Glass, a sci-fi horror game which ran like a classic Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. Which isn’t really my preferred style of SF, but the game was fairly solid for what it was. I can’t talk much about it because of spoilers though.
I played in good games every round. And every round I also had regret over the games I wasn’t able to play in. And I’m really interested in seeing what great stuff will be on offer next year…