Exposing a subculture only beginning to enter the imagination of mainstream America, this is the story of live action role-playing (LARP) games. A hybrid of games—such as Dungeons & Dragons, historical reenactment, fandom, and good old-fashioned pretend—LARP games are thriving and this book explores its multifaceted culture and related phenomenon, including the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval reenactment group that boasts more than 32,000 members. The history of LARP is detailed and is shown to have arisen from the pageantry of Tudor England and is currently being used as a training tool for the U.S. military. Along the way, the author duels foes with foam-padded weapons, lets the great elder god Cthulhu destroy her parents' beach house, and endures an existential awakening in the high-art LARP scene of Scandinavia.

Official book of Knutpunkt 2014. Published in conjunc- tion with the Knutpunkt 2014 conference.

Official book of Knutpunkt 2014. Published in conjunction with the Knutpunkt 2014 conference.

Welcome to a new world of learning! This book is a practical introduction to the use of roleplaying games in education. Roleplaying games are a great tool for provoking reflection, learning and critical thinking. Within this book, you'll find all you need to get started using this method. Included are four ready-to-play larps, several short articles highlighting different uses of roleplaying games in educational spheres and a multitude of methods and exercises to improve your games.If you are a teacher, activist in an NGO or a larper interested in using roleplaying games for education and reflection, this is the book for you. Let's play the learning game!

This collection of all-new essays approaches the topic of immersion as a product of social and media relations. Examining the premises and aesthetics of live-action and tabletop role-playing games, reality television, social media apps and first-person shooters, the essays take both game rules and the media discourse that games produce as serious objects of study. Scholars of social psychology, sociology, role-playing theory, game studies, and television studies all examine games and game-like environments like reality shows as interdependent sites of social friction and power negotiation. The ten essays articulate the importance of game rules in analyses of media products, and demonstrate methods that allow game rules to be seen in action during the process of play.

#Feminism features 34 nano-games for three to five participants, with topics ranging from silly to serious. All you need to play is a few simple props (or none at all), and a few minutes to an hour of play time. Each game offers a bite-sized take on contemporary feminist issues: within its pages are games about selfies and rom-coms, reproductive rights and domestic violence. #Feminism features authors from 11 countries, and comes in a beautiful, A4, glossy magazine-style format with a reader-friendly layout and full-colour photographs.