At Origins this year, I’ll be running a kid’s LARP.
Since the theme is time travel, I decided to do a LARP where the kids are modern day kids tossed back in time. They have to fix something that’s wrong before the time machine will allow them to jump again. There’ll be an absent minded professor along to manage the machine, and help the kids figure out what’s wrong with history that needs fixed.
I’m running the game twice, once Friday morning and once Saturday morning. My plan right now is for those games to be two different scenarios, so the same kids could play in both. I’m also counting on parents to be NPCs.
One of the scenarios will be a Wild West scenario, using Nerf Mavericks as six-guns. The Mavericks will be modded, replacing the stock springs with weaker ones. This will reduce the range of the blasters, which is more appropriate to the convention setting. It’ll also make it so even the youngest players can cock the blaster. This is a problem I’ve seen with blaster use in kids games, where the youngest players can’t participate in the shooting without a friend cocking the blaster for them. All my modded blasters are being tested by my six year old daughter.
The other scenario will be a pirate themed one, and will include foam swords. They’ll be safe pool noodle foam swords, a design I’ve tested with both kids and adults.
Both scenarios will be problem solving based, with enough firefights or combat to burn off some energy. But they won’t be constant fighting.
I’m really looking forward to running these, I think the kids will have a blast!