This text was written by Martin Nielsen from Grenselandet’s organizer team.
When the winter is setting in in Norway, Oslo larpers gather inside Chateau Nuef to play the finest chambergames from all over Europe. For the third year, we invite larpwrights from many different countries to come and run their blackbox, freeform and other kind of chambergames for two days. And you are more than welcome to join us playing!
Grenselandet, organized by Fantasiforbundet and Oslo Larp Factory, takes place in Oslo 23rd to 24th of November. For two days we will have a program of 10-15 larps from different countries. All of them will be high quality, well playtested games with duration of maximum four hours. And no preparations are needed for any of them, except for the preparation done on the spot included in the four hours. Yet, this isn’t really “pay and play”, because the best of all is that this is all for free!
Grenselandet means “border land” in Norwegian. The reason for this is the festival’s background as a meeting point for people involved in the international projects run by Fantasiforbundet in countries like Belarus, Palestine and Lebanon. The festival still serves this purpose, but most important it is festival with loads of quality games. As one of the smallest larp events in the Nordic countries, with only 50-70 participants on the previous two festivals, this is also a place where you can actually meet and greet with most of the other people there.
Contrary to most other cons and larp festivals, Grenselandet will only have playtested games and the programme items are put up by invitation only. Last year, we had games from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Poland and Belarus. We hope to have even more countries represented this year, and the first two games are already confirmed, involving one ”new” country for Grenselandet.
From Italy we have imported The Living Newspaper, a game based on Jacob Levy Moreno’s theatre of spontaneity. Moreno, who invented the psychodrama, had ideas very similar to larp, with inviting an active audience playing out stories. More games will be released soon, so keep checking our website or on Facebook. From Denmark we have imported Sort Sol, a game where you play both a villager fighting for survival and an animal god fighting to avoid being forgotten. It is played in a blackbox and uses masks, lighting, scenography and sound in a very innovative way to give the players a strong experience.
The games at Grenselandet take place in different venues in, or nearby, Chateau Neuf, the student house in Oslo. Games that are designed for it will be run in blackboxes to allow the organizers to manipulate lights and sound for the best possible experience.
And yes, there will be a party too, hopefully with a live band. Saturday night we all gather in one of the cafes at Cheateu Neuf to drink beer, talk about games and hang out with people from different countries. And there is no programme on Sunday, convenient if you taste too many home-made beers.
So why don’t you join us for a taste of cold Norwegian winter outside and the cozy atmosphere of Grenselandet inside?
This text was written by Martin Nielsen from Grenselandet’s organizer team.
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