Live-Action Role-Playing
Role-play in person — dress the part, act it out, and resolve conflicts with rock-paper-scissors, latex swords or nerf guns.
What is Live-Action Role-Playing?
Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP) is the umbrella term for role-playing games conducted in person, with players physically representing their characters instead of describing their actions. Rules for combat range from rock-paper-scissors (parlour LARPs) to padded 'boffer' swords (Nordic and American 'boffer' LARPs) to airsoft or nerf (post-apocalyptic and modern LARPs). Ranges from intimate salon games to Scandinavian LARPs with thousands of participants.
Quick facts
Category
Tabletop Role-Playing
Type
Team sport
Players
4–500
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
1970s, contemporaneous with the rise of D&D
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional