In larps (live-action role-play), players embody characters and navigate fictional scenarios, sometimes grappling with ethical dilemmas, challenging interpersonal dynamics, and facing uncomfortable situations that mirror real-life complexities. As a relatively new playform, larp has evolved into an intricate culture of care, collaboration, and trust.
Written and unwritten norms make larp accessible, creating a safe space for players to take risks and explore different aspects of themselves or others. Nothing stops a spoilsport (Huizinga, 1949) from abusing or breaking the rules. Like most social contracts, they are self-enforced and depend on the community to maintain them. Foul play reveals the relativity and fragility of the play, simultaneously revealing the strength and resilience of the collective make-believe.
Photos by Jost L. Hansen ©
Larp culture is led by written and unwritten norms shaping accessibility and safety, creating spaces where players can take risks and explore different aspects of themselves or others. Like most social contracts, the norms are self-enforced. However, spoilsports (Huizinga, 1949)—those who disregard or abuse these agreements—can expose the fragile nature of play itself. Such breaches also reveal the resilience of collective make-believe, reinforcing the community's ability to adapt and preserve the shared experience.
Social affordances that serve the culture become the culture.
Social affordances are what shape the larp culture. These affordances—rules, mechanics, spatial design, and player interactions—structure the experience, influencing how narratives unfold. Particularly when engaging with themes that can be harmful, triggering or controversial, safety measurements become even more critical before, during, and after the larp. Establishing the players' understanding of the culture is even more crucial when dealing with problematic concepts or situations. Calibration helps players internalise the larp's culture and norms while balancing their perceptions, expectations, and personal boundaries in run-of-play (Nielsen, 2014). Calibration is a way to establish the player's alibi and create play opportunities.
People seek to larp for different reasons; unlike most popular platforms, the purpose of larp is rarely to win. Personal goals are not at the expense of others but in unison with others. Players might decide to consciously or unconsciously help others by taking the focus away from themselves and placing their character or story (playing to lift), or payers can embrace failure as an avenue for richer or more dramatic narratives or to give others the chance of glory (playing to lose) (Losilla, 2024) (Vejdemo, S., 2018). The player can also consciously adjust or change their situation or actions by steering. Here is a curated selection of Markus Montola et al. (2015) extensive list of possible reasons a player might steer during a larp, in their own words:
Physical needs. Food, sleep, warmth, etc.
Physical safety. Not running in the pitch-black forest even when your pursuers do.
Coherence. Preserving the external coherence, even at the expense of your internal coherence.
Game mastering and fateplay. Pushing the game in some direction is required by the larp design.
Theme. Accepting that vampires are real in two minutes.
Boredom. Looking for stuff to do. Picking up fights.
Relevance. Getting closer to the perceived core of the larp or seeking more agency.
Staying in larp. Not leaving the haunted mansion even when two people are dead.
Shame. Not wanting to do or to be seen doing certain things, even as a character.
Overcoming disabling design. Deciding that your character wants to become a revolutionary only after you realise that most characters only talk to revolutionaries.
Inclusiveness. Including characters who have nothing to do at that moment.
One of the most fascinating larp techniques is also the least talked about. Particularly in the Nordic Larp culture, it is common to encounter a particular quiet signal —a non-verbal method of communication that enables large groups to quickly organise themselves in chaotic settings, demonstrating how larp culture relies on trust and shared awareness. I call it the silent wave silence: that moment when, in a chaotic space of hundreds of people, a person raises their hand, and in a matter of 5-10 seconds, in complete silence, everyone else raises a hand, too.
This is how it works:
As philosopher Jean Baudrillard (1994) suggests, "all of human culture is the result of the collective sharing in/of simulacra", implying that reality itself emerges from negotiated simulations rather than objective truths. Larp invites players to actively engage with intimate enactments of different realities, an evolving act that reshapes our perception of ourselves and others. What if, instead of fiction being a mere reflection of reality, reality itself is a product of our collective fiction?
When we larp, we discover the agency to do extraordinary things—not just in shaping stories but in shaping each other's experiences. Other players are there to lift us in the same way we will do for them. Larps and larpers might not always be even or just, but more often than not, if there is care, there is trust. Larp culture reflects complexities, vulnerabilities, and strengths inherent in human interactions. When we embrace roles outside our daily reality, players navigate nuanced social explorations, discovering a deeper understanding of ourselves and others. As we step into another's shoes (literally or figuratively), we practice understanding different perspectives. Ultimately, larp is more than play; it is a profound exploration of human behaviour, continually reshaped through shared experiences.
References
Aabel, M. L., Strand, G. S. B., & Aardal, K. (2013, October). Linda's birthday party. Larp Factory Book Project. Retrieved from http://larpfactorybookproject.blogspot.com/2013/10/lindas-birthday-party.html
Groth, A. E., Grasmo, H., & Edland, T. K. (2021). Just A Little Lovin': The Larp Script. Volvemàl Grasmo.
Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens: A study of the play-element in culture (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1938)
Montola, M., Stenros, J., & Saitta, E. (2015). The art of steering: Bringing the player and the character back together. In C. B. Nielsen & C. Raasted (Eds.), The Knudepunkt 2015 Companion Book. Rollespilsakademiet
Nielsen, M. (2014, April 23). Culture calibration in pre-larp workshops. Nordic Larp. https://nordiclarp.org/2014/04/23/culture-calibration-in-pre-larp-workshops/
Losilla, S. (2024, June 11). Rules, trust, and care: The Nordic larper’s risk management toolkit. Nordic Larp. https://nordiclarp.org/2024/06/11/rules-trust-and-care-the-nordic-larpers-risk-management-toolkit/
Vejdemo, S. (2018, February 21). Play to lift, not just to lose. Nordic Larp. https://nordiclarp.org/2018/02/21/play-lift-not-just-lose/
Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and simulation (S. F. Glaser, Trans.). University of Michigan Press. (Original work published 1981)
Nordic Larp. (2019, September 3). Larp design glossary. Retrieved from https://nordiclarp.org/2019/09/03/larp-design-glossary/
Tiz Creel of Living Things Studio ©2025
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