A Family At Larp

Earlier on this year we took a family to a larp. The family concerned were the Pitts. We took them to Curious Pastimes – Renewal. It was the first time they’d been to a festival larp as a family.

We’ve already published a brief overview and a photograph gallery of their adventiures.

During the event we filmed their progress and also talked to them about how they felt about the event. You’ll find those videos collated in this post. First though a few thoughts

A Family Larp is…

I thought it might be an idea before we go further to define what a family larp is. It will help us figure things out later. In particular based on the family’s feelings did Curious Pastimes measure up as a family larp.

For me a family larp needs to

  • Be suitable for both children and adults to attend.
  • Have content for children and adults.

Family content – The Difficulty

Here’s where things get tricky. Writing a book, film, TV show, play etc that both children and adults can get something from is not easy. That said it is easier to do than writing a family larp.

In larp writing we have to consider physicality. The size and strength of our players.

We need to consider the psychological impact on something that is happening to them.

Adults and children are different in how a larp affects them,

Also children of different ages have different reactions. A 6 year old is very different from a 12 year old.

Why am I making these points

When you watch the videos or look at the photos it’s clear that Curious Pastimes is a family larp. It also doesn’t fully please our sample family.

Which means that there are opinions here to help writers of family larps. I also know that Curious Pastimes are looking at ways to offer a fuller family experience in the future.

Also that although making a family game is  a great aim. It shouldn’t be the only target. Something for everyone is generally not possible. As larpers we also need to understand and respect that.

I hope that means a future of larps for an increasing range of age and ineterst groups. While places that that cater for wider tastes or families also do well.

I am also sure that if we did this experiment again in the future we’d get a different result.

Why don’t I post a solution

Simply there’s not enough space in one post to do this. We have though been making childrens and family larp a quest for larpbook and I think you will see a future post where we take our findings and come up with more ideas.

For the moment, we have these tips.

The Videos

The Children’s LARP

Family Larp Interviews

YouTube player

 

YouTube player

 

YouTube player

 

Interview (the other one)

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