Salon du Larp House: Velveteen Hearts

A collection of assorted stuffed animals sit of a bed facing the viewer, as if waiting patiently for play to begin.

Join us on June 17, 2023!
|| Click here to register to play! ||

Updated: The title of this work-in-progress larp has changed from “Batting Hearts” to “Velveteen Hearts”

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. Velveteen Hearts 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!

When

Saturday June 17th, 2023, from 1 to 4pm

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Larp House Presents: Sign

illustration of two hands making ASL gesture for Friend

Nicaragua in the 1970s had no form of sign language. In 1977, something happened. Fifty deaf children from across the country were brought together to an experimental school in Managua. Without a shared language to express themselves, the children did the only thing they could — they created one. In Sign, we follow a small piece of their journey.

Sign is based on the true story of a language born in modern times from the hands of children.  In Sign, you’ll play as kids on their first day of school. Together you’ll make new language through play.

What

Sign, a live-action game about communication and being understood, for four to 35 players.

Designed by Kathryn Hymes & Hakan Seyalioglu

Organized by Katherine Shane

SIGN A Game About Being UnderstoodThis game of Sign will have simultaneous runs of one to five tables of four to seven players each, working together to create a new language. Play is entirely silent, without any spoken words or any use of currently existing sign languages. Instead players will use their creativity and their hands and bodies to communicate without words, build bonds of friendship, and create a new shared language.

This game will include a shared meal of traditional Nicaraguan food. (Meal will be vegetarian to ensure broad accessibility. Please indicate in the event sign up if you have any sensitivities or requirements.)

When

1 February 2020, 2 pm to 6 pm

Where

ECMN Community Room at 1101 West Broadway, Minneapolis (Google Maps)

Metro Transit routes 5, 14, 30, and 32 stop nearby. Parking is available.

Registration

If you’d like to play, please fill out the Sign registration form so we have an accurate head count for tables and food. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so don’t delay!

The cost for the game plus meal is a self-determined fee of $5 to $25 (sliding scale) that will be collected at the door.

Hard copies of Sign will be available for sale.

Special! For a flat fee of $60, you may reserve a table for a group of 4 to 7 players. This includes food as well as a single hard copy of Sign by Thorny Games!

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Larp House Presents: POP!

Get Connected!

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.

Directions

Tickets

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.

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Larp House Presents: Uwe Boll’s Christmas Special

Larp House Presents: Uwe Boll's Xmas Special

(Update: The event is on Sunday, 30 December. We apologize for any confusion!)

Meanwhile, it is Christmas Eve in Jersey City. Families gather for dinner. Hope is in the air. But for one family this Christmas will be fraught with danger. Little do they know that their father, Vernor Cedrac, was involved with the Ultra Sechs program. Or that Karma, loving mother and daughter and host of the family’s Christmas feast, is one of the hidden offspring of the alien vampires. What other surprises lie in store for the Cedracs as they uncover family secrets and learn the true meaning of Christmas?*

What

Uwe Boll’s Christmas Special is a holiday-themed live-action comedy game for 8 to 12 players, designed to simulate the delicious chaos of a hypothetical Christmas special directed by controversial German director Dr. Uwe Boll. Players take the role of miscast actors starring in a genre mash-up gone awry. This game is game a tongue-in-cheek homage to Boll’s work: off-color video game adaptations and tasteless shooter flicks that shock, enthrall, bore and occasionally move DVD audiences worldwide.

Designed by Evan Torner and Kat Tobin
Organized by Josh Krehbiel and TLS

When

Sunday, 30 December 2018, from 2 pm to 5 pm

Where

A North Minneapolis nonprofit located near Broadway and Emerson. Players will be given details after they are registered.

Parking on site. Metro Transit lines 5, 14, 30, and 32 stop nearby.

Registration

We are requesting a pay-what-you-want goodwill donation ($5 suggested) to support the work of the nonprofit in appreciation for the use of their space. No one will be turned away if they are unable to make a donation.

If you are interested in participating, fill out our Uwe Boll’s X-mas Special registration form before 11:59 pm on Friday, December 21st. We’ll let you know if you are in the larp by Monday, December 24th.

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Salon du Larp House: Paratopia

PARATOPIA

Fellow Twin Cities larp players, makers, and thinkers,

Please join us for Paratopia: a local larp design nano-festival for those who can’t make it to Metatopia in New Jersey, with 100% less New Jersey!

Many of you beautiful and brilliant people are spilling over with larp ideas, which has resulted in a number of larps in development. At Paratopia you can get the playtesting and feedback you need to bring your project one step closer to completion. And for those of you who aren’t yet developing a larp, let’s talk about that.

The inaugural event in our new series focusing on design and playtesting!

What

Paratopia, a day-long larp development micro-conference

Organized by TLS

When

Saturday, 3 November 2018 from 9am to 6pm

Where

A North Minneapolis nonprofit located near Broadway and Emerson. Players will be given details after they are registered.

Parking on site. Metro Transit lines 5, 14, 30, and 32 stop nearby.

Registration

We are requesting a pay-what-you-want goodwill donation ($10 suggested) to support the work of the nonprofit in appreciation for the use of their space, as well as covering food costs. No one will be turned away if they are unable to make a donation.

If you are interested in participating, fill out our Paratopia registration form before 11:59 pm on Tuesday, October 30th. There is no upper limit for participants, but there is coordination that needs to happen with people who would like to run playtests at the event. Please register ASAP so we can plan accordingly!
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