Larp House Presents: Club Felis

Club Felis / A Larp House event / May 12, 2023 6-10 PM / Caydence Records & Coffee / 900 Payne Avenue St. Paul MN / Reserve your place right meow!

CLUB FELIS:
Everybody Wants to be a Cat
~~~ REGISTER HERE ~~~

Cats of the Twin Cities, come gather and play at our very own nightclub: Club Felis. Here the stray cats and posh house cats mingle. They flirt, play, drink milk, and enjoy their cat mint. In particular they participate in or enjoy watching the Cat of the Year competition, which is held “every week.”  For one evening only, Caydence Records & Coffee in Saint Paul, MN will host the hottest night club in the Twin Cities for all things cool cats and hot jazz: Club Felis!

“Welcome all you cats and friends to Club Felis! Not everyone is welcome here, but you are! Are there any dogs among the audience maybe? Not so? Are there any mice among the audience? Not that either? But can everyone who belongs to the family of cats raise their paws and give me a resounding MEOW! Tonight we will announce who is the deserving winner of the Cat of the Year award! Those of you who want to brave the competition should talk with Agent Orange. Apart from that, enjoy the milk and other extravaganza. You have been here before, so you know what the deal is. Please welcome Scat Cats! (music!)”

– George – master of ceremonies at Club Felis

All Swinging Cats, show off your talents, sing/yowl your heart out, or jump into the Scat Cats improv jazz jam, playing awesome pick up standards. Scheme with your friends, disdain your enemies, and use impeccable cat logic to prove YOU deserve to help decide who wins Cat of the Year this week. Because everybody wants to be a swinging cat!

line art of a cat playing a trombone, and a cat playing a drum kit

The 4 W’s

Who

Presented by Larp House Role Play Collective and the Make a Scene Scenario Festival 

Organized by Micah Amundsen (they/them), Jamie Bordewick (they/them),  and Katherine Shane (she/her).

And hopefully attended by you!

What

Club Felis is a Nordic style larp by Martin Brodén, Ada Fredelius and Anna-Karin Linder about cats living in the city and meeting in their very own nightclub: Club Felis.

Players: 20-40 players

Run Time: 3 hours, including about an hour of prep time to don your cat ears, practice your cat moves, and get your Cat of the Year talents or karaoke hits to our very own Club Felis music & talent team!

Where

Caydence Records & Coffee, 900 Payne Avenue • St Paul MN

Metro Transit route 64 with 14, 30, and 32 stops nearby. Street parking available.

When

Friday May 12, 2023, from 6-10 PM

Continue reading “Larp House Presents: Club Felis”

Salon du Larp House: Charm School playtest

It’s 1925 and some experienced grifters—hustlers, sharps, and general crooks—gather to teach a group of younger, less-experienced con artists the tricks of the trade. Of course everyone brings their own bag full of secrets, and sometimes the best con is the one you don’t even know you are running…

Professors teach their signature cons, honed over years of practice, to promising new comers.

Students can gain experience, insight, and possibly a mentor as they learn various cons.

And as anywhere old and young gather, stories will be shared, grudges aired, and feelings bared.

What

Charm School is a game about being low-down dirty-rotten crooks who exchange tips, stories, and grudges. Sometimes the best con is the one you don’t even know you are running.

Run Time: 3 hours, including 90 minutes active play time
Players: 6–10
Facilitators: 2, who play as well
Tone: Self-serious characters played in a light-hearted way

You might enjoy this game if you are a fan of such films as: The Sting, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Now You See Me, Catch Me If You Can, The Brothers Bloom, or the Ocean’s Eleven franchise.

Written by Jason Morningstar
Organized by Kevin McIntrye and Kelley Vanda
With admin support from Katherine Shane and Jon Cole

This event is a playtest. Charm School 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 March 25th, 2023, from 1 to 5 pm Continue reading “Salon du Larp House: Charm School playtest”

Larp House Presents: Glamourous Night

People dance in a dimly lit room. Two move lean into one another, sharing weight. One person the the foreground thrusts out an outstretched hand to another person.

In the old, old, half forgotten times, magical beings spin helplessly through realms of music and magic. Tragic are they! These wizards, fae, humans, and magical animals do not see that they already possess the power to change themselves. To take control of their vulnerable situation, each group dominates the minds of the others in turn, each more wickedly than the last. Mind control scars both the leader and the follower, but each has a chance to heal. In the end, only True Love can redeem them and break their bonds. When they have the chance to escape, will they want to?

What

Glamourous Night is an immersive game about hurting others, and having a chance to redeem yourself for 8 to 30 players. It is an abstract, mostly non-verbal game that is played to music. Players use two movement techniques to resolve their characters’ conflicts, either mutual spell casting or mind control. Players will be on their feet and moving during most of the three hour workshop and the two hour game.

The setting is a fantastical medieval Europe where all the folk tales are true. The characters are powerful magical beings who go on an accidental journey between dimensions. They are tempted to mind control each other before escaping, scarred. Only True Love can break mind control bonds and redeem their actions. Finally, each character decides which of the three dimensions they will make their new home.

Written by Jon Cole
Organized by Steve Stolpman and Jon Cole

When

Saturday January 28th, 2023, from noon to 5pm

Read on for more details!
Continue reading “Larp House Presents: Glamourous Night”

Larp House Recommends: Make A Scene! Anthologies Kickstarter

Illustration of a group of brightly colored abstract human figures in various dynamic poses

Back in February of last year, our friends at Minnesota scenario festival Make a Scene! were very hopeful for another amazing festival. The festival selected the theme of gender diversity, and recruited incredible scenarios that were supposed to premiere at the festival in August 2020. While the festival could not happen, all the creative energy of creating seven new scenarios did! As a result, Make a Scene now has a great way to bring those scenarios, and also the premiere scenarios run at the festival in 2019, directly to you in two amazing books!

The books feature original illustrations, and anyone who is interested in larp and role-play will want these in their library. Most of these scenarios don’t require elaborate props or costumes, are suited for small group play and will be ready to run with your friends when social distancing restrictions have ended.

Please come and check out the Make a Scene anthologies Kickstarter, launching February 16th!

Congratulations 2020 Golden Cobra winners!

The winners of the 2020 Golden Cobra Challenge have been announced. Congratulations to our Larp House alumnae!

Best Game that Transcends Distance / Brings Us Closer:
Voyagers: a larp duet, by Margo Gray

Best first weird larp for people who have only played D&D so far:
To Boldly Hakuhō, by Wendy Gorman

You can see all the winners here, and download the submissions here.

Larp House Presents: College of Neraidology

girl lying in grass examining something with magnifying glass

This event has been cancelled.

Dearest Members!

We are thrilled to announce an incredible opportunity to advance the burgeoning field of Fae Studies! The Minnesota College of Neraidology is seeking scholars and observers to take part in a field trip to determine the nature of faerie activity. A possible colony of Fae has been reported in the backyard of a home in Richfield. We will gather (with the homeowners’ generous permission) on Saturday, August 29th at 1:00 PM for a one hour Site Inspection followed by a shared discussion of findings.

Data may take many forms and we recognize that creative extrapolation is a key part of the scientific method in regard to neraidology. In particular, we wish to know:

  • What species of faerie dwell in the area (sprites, gnomes, leprechauns, brownies, etc)
  • What habits they may have (dances, mushroom tending, animal husbandry)
  • What locations they favour (hidden hollows, man-made structures, natural wonders)
  • What tools, items or trinkets they have used (coloured stones, unusual feathers, shiny items)
  • Is this in fact a true fae colony, or merely a neurotic homeowner plagued by sparrows and mice?

Once the hour is complete, all participants are expected to present their findings to each other and form a cohesive theory to present to the College. We expect that the work of all participants be given equal weight.

To ensure the safety of students, faculty and guests, and of our delicate subjects of study, strict rules for masking will be required to prevent accidental Fae Inhalation and observers will be asked to maintain 6 feet of separation to avoid trampling evidence.

Further details as to the location of the study site will be provided if your application to the observation team is accepted.

Sincerely,
Sir Francis Cobblesworth
Dean of Neraidology (Faerie Studies)

What

A special socially-distanced adaptation of Royal College of Neraidology, a whimsical outdoor game about faerie studies for three to six players.

Written by Ivan Nevill
Organized by Katherine Shane

When

Saturday, 29 August 2020 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Rescheduled: Saturday, 12 September 2020, from 1 pm to 4 pm

This event has been cancelled.

We will set aside Sunday as a rain date.

Where

A private home in Richfield, Minnesota. Details will be provided to registered attendees.

Registration

Continue reading “Larp House Presents: College of Neraidology”

Larp House Workshop: Larp Jam ONLINE

Mason jar labeled "Larp Jam"

Have you ever seen a reality TV cooking competition? Each team has to cook up a larp using a secret ingredient. Then the “dishes” are rotated between teams of chefs, who have to keeping working on a “meal” they didn’t start.

LarpJam is great for roleplayers, people interested in game design, and folks who like collaborating in small groups.

In a matter of hours people with no larp design experience can create awesome, fully-playable larps!

What

LarpJam, a collaborative game-design workshop where you create your own live action roleplaying games, for 6 or more participants

Designed by Jon Cole

Facilitated by Katherine Shane

This LarpJam will be run completely online! We’ll use real-time collaboration software like Google Hangouts and Google Docs. You’ll need to have an Internet-connected device that can run these applications, probably something with a keyboard so you can chat and write at the same time, and a webcam.

When

20 March 2020, from 6 pm to 9 pm, CDT Continue reading “Larp House Workshop: Larp Jam ONLINE”

Larp House Recommends: Submit a scenario to Make a Scene!

Make a Scene! Call for Program - North America's premiere scenario festial is now accepting scenario submissions! This year's theme: Gender Diversity

Make a Scene! is a live-action scenario festival right here in the Twin Cities. Inspired by the format of larp festivals in the Nordic countries, Make a Scene! was a huge success last year, in large part because of the incredible support it received from the Larp House community. Make a Scene! would love to continue this relationship into the new year, and feature even more Larp House larpwrights at this year’s festival.

Learn more about submitting a scenario to Make a Scene!

Deadline: February 28

If writing a larp isn’t your thing right now, you can still mark your calendar for August 7–9, when we will premiere these scenarios at Make a Scene!, and Like the Facebook page for more information.

Larp House at Con of the North

whiteboard scrawled with complex diagram mapping relationships between suspected agitators

Members of Larp House ran larps at Con of the North, Minnesota’s longest-running gaming convention, running 14-16 February 2020.

We also got a chance to meet other local larp designers!

Games ran:

Thanks to all the con volunteers, the friendly hotel staff, and all the rad players that showed up to play!