Transcripts available at diceexploder.com

This is, at long last, the end of this Dice Exploder miniseries on larp. And I wanted to send it off by returning to the question I kicked it off with: what can tabletop designers learn from larp? To get into that, there’s few people I’d rather have on than Jay Dragon (Wanderhome, Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast).

When I pitched Jay this topic, Jay wanted to bring in the 10 Candles from 10 Candles. This is a game best known for, what else, the 10 candles you light at the beginning of play. And the act of doing so, and then turning out the lights, sets a mood that feels like a ritual, something deeper and more visceral than most tabletop games, something not exactly larp-like, but that feels of a piece with the emphasis on environment and embodiment that larp often brings…

Ad Links

Spectacula by Jeremy Melloul

Make a Scene festival

Further Reading

10 Candles by Cavalry Games

Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast by Possum Creek Games

Wanderhome by Possum Creek Games

Game Design Study Buddies on Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Dow Schüll

Dice Exploder on Ribbon Drive by Avery Alder

A Dozen Fragments On Playground Theory by Jay Dragon

Socials

Jay on Bluesky and Possum Creek Games on itch and Warehouse 23

Sam on Bluesky and itch

The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.com

Our logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.

Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

Dice Exploder on Patreon