Laog

A new piece of larp or larp-adjacent terminology: LAOG: A live-action online game. Basicly, a larplike game you play over video chat.

In some cases, the video is diagetic (in-game). So for example in Viewscream the characters are all crew on a starship, using the in-ship video system to talk to one another. Chariot, about the crew of a generation ship, seems to have a similar concept. Modern meeting-based games like WINTERHORN can also be done this way (because obviously government agents work from home while planning to destroy peaceful protest groups. Work-life balance FTW!)

In at least one case the video isn’t diagetic. Hellfire & Happiness is a regency larp about the Hellfire Club, the occult, and Lord Byron. The game is set at a party, like a normal larp; it just happens over video chat because that’s the way the writer wanted to do it (OK, so officially the video is meant to represent regency-era prohibitions on physical contact. Or, you could just get a room). Its a small, conversation-based game, and at that scale the difference between larp and light-mechanics tabletop tends to break down anyway (if only because people often end up sitting around a table). But it still seems more larp-adjacent than larp to me.

There’s a manifesto for these sorts of games, covering video etiquette and participant responsibilities, as well as pointing to a few examples. You can read it here: