Live Action Role-Playing Game

Live Action Role-Playing, commonly abbreviated LARP, is a form of role-playing game in which participants physically portray their selected characters rather than describing their actions verbally around a table. Players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by real-world environments while interacting with each other in character, and the outcome of player actions may be mediated by game rules or determined by consensus among players; event arrangers called gamemasters decide the setting, specify the rules to be used, and facilitate play. The first LARPs took place in the late 1970s, inspired by tabletop role-playing games and genre fiction, and the activity spread internationally during the 1980s, diversifying into styles ranging from strongly game-like play to forms more concerned with dramatic or artistic expression; some gamemasters design events toward educational or political goals. Settings vary from realistic modern or historical periods to fantastic or futuristic ones, production values range from minimal to elaborate venues and costumes, and events range in size from small private gatherings lasting a few hours to large public events with thousands of players lasting for days.