I’ve been doing some modelling on Wellington larp economics at various venues, game sizes, and price points to try and work out what’s viable and what’s not, and I thought it was worth sharing. The following table has the minimum number of players, low and high profit range for various venues:
Assumptions: 5-hour hire (for a three hour game), $100 for snacks and props for games of 20 players and under, increasing by $50 for each column on the table.
As can be seen, the minimum game size has gone up, and small games are no longer as profitable as they once were. Petone shifting to all hourly rates (and no longer offering a $50 day hire for community groups) means smaller games are very marginal. You can just get a 6 player game in at Petone if you use a 4 hour hire (most of these games are short) and tightly control prop / snack budgets (which is not unreasonable), but the old double-feature style we used to do with 12 - 16 player spots on a 7 hour hire isn’t really profitable anymore. Games of this size are probably better at cons.
I’ve included this, as well as modelling for a $15/$25 price point, in my small larp budgeting sheet. If you want to use it to plan your larp, just make a copy and go wild: