Blog 2: A Database of Global Larp Events

Larp festivals in your neighbourhood

A blog post by Piotrek Warzyszynski from Europe4Youth for WP5: Design of Spaces for Human Encounter

Have you ever wondered where larpers meet, share knowledge, hang out, and play together? Then you should definitely check out a larp festival. It turns out there are more of them than you would expect – there may even be one near you.

Photo: A children's larp produced by Europe4Youth.

The Horizon Europe-funded Larpocracy project team is pleased to present this database of larp festivals and other larp-related events. The list was created in support of a work package studying the design elements of various larp festivals and their usefulness in shaping democratic participation. Throughout 2025 and 2026, we will visit different events, talk with organizers and participants, and collect best design practices to include in a model of a democratic larp festival design.

This list is the result of online research conducted by our team in recent weeks, with help from larp communities suggesting events to include in the database. Most of the information in the database has been gathered from the events’ websites or social media pages. Since making larp festivals is a creative process, details may change year over year.

We will strive to keep the list up-to-date. Feel free to contact us through the link below with suggestions and corrections!

Listing larp festivals may sound easy…

What is a larp festival? This question continues to keep our team awake at night! We agreed that ‘larp festivals’ are not to be confused with ‘festival larps’, a type of larp common in e.g. the UK. Beyond that, things got complicated. One classic definition of a festival is an event showcasing multiple performances or activities, which would make a larp festival "an event where larp designers and players gather to play multiple games". Ideally, these games are also accompanied by a social program that strengthens the larp community.

This definition, combining larps with social integration, was a starting point of our discussion. It also had the benefit of covering both events that specifically call themselves festivals (such as “black box larp festivals”) and those that, for instance, call themselves "conventions." However, as we added more events to the list, we realised that certain events we considered natural additions still did not meet the criteria.

What about events where no games are played?

Take, for example, the Polish larp conference KoLa. This three-day event is entirely dedicated to larping and consists of over eighty presentations and panel discussions covering topics ranging from preparing for participating in your first larp to the use of larp in archaeological research. Is that a larp festival? Not exactly, since no games are played. But should it be on the list? Definitely – it has a significant impact on the development of the Polish larp community and it's a tool of collecting, archiving, and sharing the common knowledge that the larp community develops.

Another example is thematic festivals, where larp-related activities are only a part of the event, such as Ropecon in Finland. It is the largest role-playing convention in Europe, covering different types of games, from TTRPGs and miniature wargames to larp. While not exclusively a larp festival, it does include a dedicated larp section, which gathers more people than many dedicated larp festivals even though larp is a small part of Ropecon overall. Ropecon also plays a crucial role in bringing larp into the mainstream, for instance through coverage in mainstream media, and attracting new players. It, too, belongs on our list.

There are also several festivals centered around one major larp being played, but with an extensive larp-related program. These events often focus around a main game lasting several days, preceded by a series of talks, workshops, and social events that help players prepare for the game, develop practical skills (such as costume creation), or simply engage with their hobby and learn more about a topic. Such events were also included in the list, as they play a significant role in building and maintaining their larp communities, creating meeting opportunities, playing together, building bonds and friendships.

Workshop planning sessions at the Larpocracy Symposium held in Uppsala in March 2025

Finding common ground

Since larp is still a niche, whether as a hobby or an educational method, we decided to take an inclusive approach to curating this list. As our goal is to strengthen the community, it makes sense to gather information about as many larp-related events as possible. This led to the creation of 'larp-adjacent events' category, which includes events where larp is present in some form, even if the focus of the event lies elsewhere. For example, a medieval festival featuring larps would fall into this category.

As we continued adding new events to the list, our definition of a larp festival has evolved. Initially, we adhered to the strict definition requiring multiple games to be showcased. At the end we have broadened our criteria to include events that feature larps, host larp-related discussions, contribute to the development of the larp community, or promote larp to new audiences.

Let’s find more events!

Since any larp festival is a living entity, this database will evolve as well. We are committed to keeping it up to date and happy to add events that should be included, but are currently missing.

We would love your help! If you know of an event that is not listed, please fill out this form – we will review the event and add it to the database. Let us know here!