Interspaces – Street Games Festival: The Gratefulness-Vampire Social Club

The Gratefulness-Vampire Social Club is a single player pervasive LARP about caring for strangers. Players enter by becoming a vampire at the start of the game (creating their character) and start playing pervasively from that point onwards, in their own time. They end the game whenever they want to.

Gratefulness-vampires are vampires that don’t suck blood, they suck gratefulness. In order to survive, they must create situations in which someone is grateful to them. Depending on their alignment, there is also the possibility for them to create these situations artificially. It is up to them how, but kindness is the guiding principle. When joining the club players get a printed zine with the rules of the game and which also acts as their club ID. Theoretically they can also pick up one of the zines any time during the festival and start playing, as the game should be self-explanatory through them. When a player receives the gratitude of a stranger (or friend), they can pass on a „you’ve been bit“ sticker that invites that person to join the game by becoming a vampire themselves. Social clubs have a long tradition of providing a space for connection, empowerment, and support. They also sometimes have a connotation of stuffy conservative values, which is something we seek to subvert with the use of the vampire setting. Vampires in their gothic horror tradition are synonymous for ‘the other’ – the dangerous stranger – a theme we see reemerge in our societies at the moment. By creating vampires that live through acts of kindness & thankfulness, we seek to swap the dark stranger associations for supportive, caring associations, something we hope spills over from the game into real life and has an impact there. Even though the game can be played anytime, we want to host 1 or 2 club events during the festival e.g. at the University Museum/the old cathedral on Toome Hill (suggestions). Each event can fit into a 90min slot and includes welcoming new vampires and social activities. There are no rounds as such, as the game is played pervasively all the time, once you have become a gratefulness-vampire. The LARP aspect of the game is minimal, players do not have to come prepared or dress up (even though we will at the club events). They can roleplay as much, or as little as they want.