Strandfall is an orienteering-style larp (live action role playing game) where players are survivors of a global disaster that has unleashed mysterious, deadly storms. For three hours, you’ll investigate the storms in a park in Edinburgh and make fateful decisions about your future as an individual and part of a community.
Strandfall is in conversation with works like Threads, Battlestar Galactica, Station Eleven, Eclipse, and Death Stranding. Inspired by Nordic larp, we aim to collapse the distinction between the screen-based and physical worlds by introducing physical traversal and social dynamics.
Strandfall is made by Experimental Social Scene and supported by Immersive Arts funding. Email us at contact@strandfall.com.
What kind of larp is Strandfall?
- Themes: Strandfall is a sci-fi story set in a post-apocalypse, with an emphasis on climate change, co-operation, and adaptation. This makes it similar to the “solarpunk” genre. We’re inspired by works like Death Stranding, The Ministry for the Future, Station Eleven, and Eclipse. The main themes are loneliness, trust, and co-operation.
- Style: We’re closest to the Nordic tradition of larp. We tackle serious themes and give players wide latitude. At the same time, large parts of the experience are pre-determined, similar to many sci-fi blockbuster larps.
- Characters: Since we expect to have a lot of players new to larp, most characters will have very light backstories. However, some players will be given more detailed stories.
- Workshops: We’ll have a 1-2 hour workshop to help set up the world of Strandfall, get into character, and practice using our custom “spatial computers”. This workshop is mandatory for all participants.
- Sex and gender: Characters are not gendered and can be played by anyone.
- Content warnings: Depression, anxiety, suicidal feelings, end-of-the-world, climate change.
Strandfall is for you, if you like:
- Directed play: This is a short 3-hour larp with several pre-determined events and a highly gamified core experience. While you are free to play your character as you like and will influence the outcome of the story, you will not be able to drastically change or “break” the game.
- Being competent: Every character is a professional on an important expedition, operating genuinely-functional “spatial computers” in the field or co-ordinating from a base. Think Apollo 13. You will be expected to work under pressure. That also means mistakes are expected and welcome.
- Cautious optimism: The end of the world has already arrived, but life is still important. Most survivors are determined to work together, even though you don’t all share the same goals.
Strandfall is not about:
- Winning everything: Even though we have game-like elements, just like in real life, it will be impossible to succeed at everything. Your character can try to do so, but you should understand they will fail.
- Romance
- Combat or direct competition
Experimental Social Scene
We re-enchant the world through embodied, technology-assisted play. Founded in 2026, it consists of Adrian Hon and Alex Macmillan.
Adrian Hon is a game designer, author, and former CEO and founder of Six to Start. At Six to Start, Adrian co-created Zombies, Run!, led the design of Marvel Move, won Best of Show at SXSW, and worked on multiple projects with Disney Imagineering. Previously, he designed the Perplex City ARG and wrote two books: You’ve Been Played, a critique of gamification, and the novel A History of the Future in 100 Objects.
He is currently Associate Artist at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and is writing a book about the history and future of immersive experience.
Alex Macmillan is an engineer and hacker of software, hardware, audio and stories. Alex’s novel, improvisational creations have enabled budget-constrained theatrical storytelling both in the UK and overseas.
Alex is developing the rugged, networked, portable “multi-functional devices” that bring the Strandfall scenario to life.
