![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hello From Mars
Oct. 12th, 2024 11:39 pmTonight I went to a R&D/workshop performance of Terraforming Mars by the Ludens Theatre Company. Noting that they refer to it as a show, but also noting the first word in the company names, I treated it as a game, and a very fine one; it's very firmly in the conversation for the most-enjoyed game I've played all year, and probably actually the leader in the clubhouse, even despite some firm competition. (The Initiative campaign board game, Bridge Command and Phil Hannay's latest Manorcon puzzle hunt spring to mind.)
Thinking a little harder, I'm not sure to what extent I was attracted to this show in particular, and to what extent I was attracted to a format that I had long (literally decades) known about but hadn't actually experienced before. I would regard it as having been a small example of a megagame, perhaps a "chamber megagame" or perhaps fitting in to the rather intuitive definition of a kilogame. As is the case with most megagames, the game was played in teams; as is the case with many megagames, there were board game or war game elements in something that was essentially a very light LARP - with the lightness referring to the way that players joined sub-teams performing specific jobs within a scenario rather than devising and playing their own characters. It was played co-operatively within teams, but whether the teams would co-operate with each other or not was left up to us.
It was simultaneously played by two teams, each of perhaps fifteen or twenty, each in their own room. There were six (?) actors/referees/facilitators/NPCs, of which we normally had two in our room and the others floating through or communicating with us from another room. The show lasted two and a half hours, incorporating a break of about fifteen minutes halfway through. I hope that the Ludens theatre company finds further opportunities to stage the show; I would recommend following the company for further developments and if the principle appeals then I would wholeheartedly recommend giving the show a try if you get the chance. If you're someone who believes in trying to go in unspoiled, let's leave it at that.
( But if you're interested in learning a little more... )
Thinking a little harder, I'm not sure to what extent I was attracted to this show in particular, and to what extent I was attracted to a format that I had long (literally decades) known about but hadn't actually experienced before. I would regard it as having been a small example of a megagame, perhaps a "chamber megagame" or perhaps fitting in to the rather intuitive definition of a kilogame. As is the case with most megagames, the game was played in teams; as is the case with many megagames, there were board game or war game elements in something that was essentially a very light LARP - with the lightness referring to the way that players joined sub-teams performing specific jobs within a scenario rather than devising and playing their own characters. It was played co-operatively within teams, but whether the teams would co-operate with each other or not was left up to us.
It was simultaneously played by two teams, each of perhaps fifteen or twenty, each in their own room. There were six (?) actors/referees/facilitators/NPCs, of which we normally had two in our room and the others floating through or communicating with us from another room. The show lasted two and a half hours, incorporating a break of about fifteen minutes halfway through. I hope that the Ludens theatre company finds further opportunities to stage the show; I would recommend following the company for further developments and if the principle appeals then I would wholeheartedly recommend giving the show a try if you get the chance. If you're someone who believes in trying to go in unspoiled, let's leave it at that.
( But if you're interested in learning a little more... )
