Icebergs

It’s become fashionable to talk about how to play a larp villain — that there’s special things that a larper needs to do to play the bad guy. Invariably, I think it’s bad advice, because it almost always focuses on things other than role-play. I’ve heard advice that ranges from how to act out-of-role to pseudo-facilitating for the “good guys” to self-care for the in difficulties assumed to come with it. And with all due consideration, I’m going to call “bs.”

Rarely can I find the origin of a larp phrase so easily and clearly as “boutique larp” — Mo Holkar coined it in the Larpers BFF Facebook group on January 21, 2017. It’s been nearly a decade since that post, and while the term is not common, it’s been used a decent amount. Personally, I’m quite fond of it, because boutique larps are having a moment.