When Nerf Meets LARP

It has recently been brought to my attention that some nerfers larp, and some larpers nerf, but there are also those that combine the two to create a great deal of nerfy larpyness. This is of great interest to me. I enjoy running around with nerf blasters, but I've never done it in character and with a greater purpose in mind. For some people, this is what they call 'Saturday'.



Live Action Role Play or LARP for those in the know, is a largely unknown and often misunderstood genre of live games. Players, or 'larpers' will invent a character and for themselves and physically act this character out as they encounter challenges and achieve goals that are set out before them. Players will interact with each other in character and can either form alliances or battle foes in order to achieve their goals.

There are many types of LARP games, but traditionally there are two main themes. The fantasy genre, where players create characters within a magical realm, or a historical genre where larpers will play in a historical, often battle scenario.

There is however, another genre that is proving quite popular, and this is the one we are mainly interested in because it involves... you guessed it... NERF.

Science fiction (Sci-Fi) games are very popular and often utilise nerf blasters at the heart of the game play. Since setting up my website, I have been contacted by several local LARP groups who run such Sci-Fi games. This was of great interest to me. Not only did I not realise how many larpers there are in the UK, but I certainly didn't realise that they used and modified nerf blasters. This was very interesting to me as it opens up a whole world of untapped talent.

So, if you're interested in larping with a nerf blaster, I have listed some of the groups that have been brought to my attention recently.

Zombie LARP 

Zombie LARP is a system run at various locations across the country. It is a very well organised, business like entity where players are forced to shoot zombies with the nerf blasters that are provided. This high impact game uses very convincing makeup to create a very realistic hell on earth scenario.

Whilst Zombie LARP is not your traditional LARP system in that it is more of a commercial entity where players are not required to create characters, it does look like a good giggle. Come on, who doesn't want to shoot zombies?

Dark Sun LARP

Dark Sun LARP is a more conventional LARP game. Each player creates and develops a character based on one of five Squad Roles (rifleman, Heavy Support, Engineer, Recon or Medic) and will be part of a 10 man military squad tasked with entering the Dark Sun portal.
It costs £15 to play, but 'monstering' (playing the bad guys) is free, and if you monster five times you get a free play.

For more information please visit www.dark-sun.co.uk/forum and  register to find out more.

I hope to be joining these guys at their next event so I'll take my camera and notepad and let you know how it went.

Big Damn Heroes LARP

Big Damn Heroes is one of the biggest Nerf-based LARPs in the UK. Nerf blasters are at the heart of the combat system and empower players to live out heroic conflicts in the distant future. They combine the fun of a Nerf war with immersive plot elements and a strong sense of character progression to offer a unique LARPing experience. 

Set in a future where humanity has already conquered and then lost control of its galactic empire, we’re alone in a system far from the birth place of our ancestors and trapped without the technology or knowledge to find a way home. 

Choose from a wide range of skill trees and character concepts that determine how you fight, and how you get paid – will you be the pistol toting bounty hunter out for his next mark or perhaps the mercenary with an automatic rifle looking for work at any price?

Big Damn Heroes runs near Chatham, Kent and is £20 to play or £5 to 'monster'.

I hope to be catching up with these guys at some point soon.

Green Cloaks

The Green Cloaks LARP system is based around the Warhammer 40,000 universe and seems to be the larger of the groups so far. Their system is based on the 'Gaunt's Ghosts' series of novels by Dan Abnett and so their games will appeal to anyone familiar with the Warhammer 40K universe. I don't yet know a great deal about these guys but they're not too far from where I live so I hope to catch up with them soon.