As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.
A day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.
If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.
―Winnie the Pooh
What
Children at preschool enter the land of make believe with their stuffed animal companions. This is a physical play experience, where players literally enact childsplay and wind through the rambling-dream logic of stories children tell. How does the child’s inner life come through make-believe play with their stuffie? When hardship comes and fears threaten to overwhelm, who supports who and how? Leave this game feeling a little more grown-up and a little more connected to childlike parts of yourself.
Written and Organized by Jon Cole
Admin Support by Olivia Montoya, Katherine Shane
This event is a playtest.Batting Heart isn’t totally finished, though it will be a complete play experience. There might be some missing pieces or rough patches in play. If this game sounds interesting to you even though it is not in its final form, we will be very glad to have you join us!
It’s 1925 and some experienced grifters—hustlers, sharps, and general crooks—gather to teach a group of younger, less-experienced con artists the tricks of the trade. Of course everyone brings their own bag full of secrets, and sometimes the best con is the one you don’t even know you are running…
Professors teach their signature cons, honed over years of practice, to promising new comers.
Students can gain experience, insight, and possibly a mentor as they learn various cons.
And as anywhere old and young gather, stories will be shared, grudges aired, and feelings bared.
What
Charm School is a game about being low-down dirty-rotten crooks who exchange tips, stories, and grudges. Sometimes the best con is the one you don’t even know you are running.
Run Time: 3 hours, including 90 minutes active play time
Players: 6–10
Facilitators: 2, who play as well
Tone: Self-serious characters played in a light-hearted way
You might enjoy this game if you are a fan of such films as: The Sting, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Now You See Me, Catch Me If You Can, The Brothers Bloom, or the Ocean’s Eleven franchise.
Written by Jason Morningstar
Organized by Kevin McIntrye and Kelley Vanda
With admin support from Katherine Shane and Jon Cole
This event is a playtest. Charm School isn’t totally finished, though it will be a complete play experience. There might be some missing pieces or rough patches in play. If this game sounds interesting to you even though it is not in its final form, we will be very glad to have you join us!
A rural village craftspeople prepare for the annual Harvest Festival. At the festival each craftsperson will present their proudest works to other members of the community as a symbol of gratitude, forgiveness, or apology.
During the day, you sit with an elder perfecting your craft and seeking advice from your peers about your personal life. At night, wander the cozy streets of the hamlet to visit with other villagers to put that advice into practice (for better or for worse). After the third day, we will celebrate the Harvest Festival and give away the things we created.
What
The Harvest Festival is a pastoral game about interpersonal conflict and support networks. Inspired by Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, join us to live out a hygge cottagecore fantasy for one afternoon.
Written by Marshall Bradshaw
Organized by Jon Cole
In the old, old, half forgotten times, magical beings spin helplessly through realms of music and magic. Tragic are they! These wizards, fae, humans, and magical animals do not see that they already possess the power to change themselves. To take control of their vulnerable situation, each group dominates the minds of the others in turn, each more wickedly than the last. Mind control scars both the leader and the follower, but each has a chance to heal. In the end, only True Love can redeem them and break their bonds. When they have the chance to escape, will they want to?
What
Glamourous Night is an immersive game about hurting others, and having a chance to redeem yourself for 8 to 30 players. It is an abstract, mostly non-verbal game that is played to music. Players use two movement techniques to resolve their characters’ conflicts, either mutual spell casting or mind control. Players will be on their feet and moving during most of the three hour workshop and the two hour game.
The setting is a fantastical medieval Europe where all the folk tales are true. The characters are powerful magical beings who go on an accidental journey between dimensions. They are tempted to mind control each other before escaping, scarred. Only True Love can break mind control bonds and redeem their actions. Finally, each character decides which of the three dimensions they will make their new home.
Written by Jon Cole
Organized by Steve Stolpman and Jon Cole
Wizards, humans, magical animals, and faeries attend a mundane community’s summer solstice festival. Magic is in the air, voices are stilled, and dreams can come true at a cost. Tonight a journey between realms will grant attendees terrifying mystical power to pursue their desires. How far will you go to get what you want? When you are all-powerful, what is actually important to you?
What
Glamourous Night is a larp about faerie magic and wizards’ hubris for 15 to 25 players. It is an abstract and musical experience exploring the themes of mind control and healing from trauma. This event is a playtest for a larp designed by Jon Cole.
In Glamourous Night, players use two movement techniques to perform ensorcelling magic as their characters. Characters will experience joyful exploration and tempting darkness as they share, subjugate, and are subjugated.
When
Saturday January 11th, 2019, from 1 to 6 pm
Background
This is one of the final playtests of Glamourous Night, a nearly finished larp that should deliver a fairly polished experience. The organizer would like to gather your feedback after play for about 30 minutes.
Details on the larp
Setting and Situation
This larp is set in a medieval European world where magic and myth is reality. On the summer solstice a mundane community holds their annual celebration. This year, a mysterious covenant of wizards invited the community invited the villagers to celebrate in a mystically significant river valley. Elders say that the valley has strange auras that shift between magical and faerie. This solstice, human emotion and excitement have drawn faeries through the ancient mists, seeking playmates and playthings.
Play Style
Glamourous Night represents magical interactions with two movement techniques, so that magic in this world is a full body experience. Instead of a flick of wand and saying a Latin word, magic in this larp involves improvising body movement under specific constraints. The two techniques are simple to learn and the ‘rules’ of how to move make it easy to use and improvise spells. The workshop will be about 2 hours.
This game uses music to inspire the story and there will be a soundtrack for each scene and act of the game. Movement is the most important way to communicate in this larp. Characters can talk to one another but they cannot resolve their conflict by speech alone. Play will be about 2 hours.
You might like this larp if:
You want to play with temptation, power, and revenge.
You like having unique, unusual experiences that you can tell your friends about later.
You have personal interest in fairy tales, rituals, mind control, or the power of music.
Paid street parking nearby, or free if you’re willing to walk a couple of blocks.
Metro Transit Blue Line, 7, & 21 stops nearby.
Tickets
Get a ticket by filling out the Glamourous Night registration form. Unlike some of our other events, these tickets are first come first served. Once you have a ticket you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play!
A British-led intelligence operation close to the border of Pakistan is using an American drone for overwatch. Players are military, legal and political decision makers for either the British or American team. The optional 7th player is an unexpected observer from the Pakistan embassy. How will they all cope when the mission changes and their rules of engagement are no longer clear?
The premise
The larp is an exploration of the morality and effectiveness of using drones as a weapon of war. Different characters will have different ethical concerns about when and how to use drone weapons, and those will be tested as events unfold.
The leaders of a joint British-American intelligence operation are sitting in a room in a secure location in England, remotely directing the operation by issuing orders to British agents on the ground, local military units, or the American drone on overwatch.
Eye in the Sky will premiere at The Smoke 2020. This North American sneak preview is only at Larp House!
A larp for 6-7 players, 4 hours long (including debrief)
Designed by Malcolm Campbell
Organized by Malcolm Campbell, Josh Krehbiel, and Jon Cole
When & where
7 pm to 11 pm, Friday October 4th 2019
Hosted in private home near 78th and Dell Rd in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. (Exact address will be shared with ticket-holders.)
Plentiful free parking on site. We’ll be organizing a ride share to help get people out there.
Wizards, humans, magical creatures, and faeries attend a mundane community’s summer solstice festival. Magic is in the air, voices are stilled, and dreams can come true at a cost. Tonight shifting auras will grant attendees terrifying mystical power to pursue their desires. How far will you go to get what you want? When you are all-powerful, what is actually important to you?
What
Glamourous Night is a larp about faerie magic and wizards’ hubris for 15-25 players. It is an abstract and musical experience exploring the themes of temptation and choice. This event is a playtest for an unfinished larp designed by Jon Cole.
In Glamourous Night, players use two movement techniques to perform ensorcelling magic as their characters. Characters will experience joyful exploration and tempting darkness as they share, subjugate, and are subjugated.
When
Sunday September 1st, 2019, from 1:30 to 6 pm
Background
This is an alpha playtest of a larp. Glamourous Night isn’t finished, and this will be one of the first times it is played. There might be big holes missing or rough patches in play. If this larp sounds interesting to you even though it may not be a coherent start to finish narrative experience, we will be very glad to have you join us! Continue reading “Salon du Larp House: Glamourous Night playtest”
Update: Sorry to burst your balloon, but this event has been cancelled.
The warm hum of a CRT monitor is drowned out by the scream of a dial-up modem. As Internet access becomes ubiquitous, people with obscure sexual interests are beginning to find one another in anonymous forums. A cursor floats over a hyperlink to looner-landing private forums 18+ only.
On one bulletin board service, a group of people connect over their common sexual interest in balloons. Who are the people behind the keyboard? What nascent community do they form, and how does it change when they meet in person for the first time?
What
POP! is a live-action game about online communities, for 8 to 12 players.
Specifically, it’s about an online community of people who love and fetishize latex balloons.
Players will immerse into the warm, soothing atmosphere of a nostalgic Internet via private messenger, forum posts, and chat rooms. At the end of play, the characters will meet for for the first time at an in-person meet-up event, which might be a joyful revelation or an awkward trainwreck. While this game is about a very specific community, the themes of finding belonging are universal.
Designed by Alex Roberts
Organized by Jon Cole and Tom S. Tea
When
Saturday, 25 May 2019, from 2 to 5 pm
Where
POP! will take place at SpringBOX, located at 262 University Ave W in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Parking is available on site. METRO Green Line and bus lines stop nearby.
Get a “ticket” by filling out our POP! registration form before 11:59 pm on Sunday, 19 May. Unlike some of our other events, these tickets are first-come first-serve. Once you have a ticket, you don’t need to do anything else besides show up to play. In the unlikely event that too many people sign up, we will solicit volunteers to drop out of the event in exchange for a “golden ticket” of instant admittance to their next event with us.
SpringBOX is a space for community events and programming, operated by Springboard for the Arts. We are requesting a pay-what-you-want donation ($5-10 suggested) to support the work of SpringBOX in appreciation for the use of their space. No one will be turned away if they are unable to make a donation.
