Are We Having Fun Yet?

The one-week Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop helps writers and other creators learn about space science. It's fabulous and it's FREE! Applications are open now for the workshop in July. https://www.launchpadworkshop.org/

As you may now if you've been following me for some time, I'm a big fan of European-style Live Action Role Playing (LARP). One LARP I was really excited about back in 2024 was called Odysseus. Inspired by Battlestar Galactica (and other SF TV shows and movies), the game was played in Finland on an incredibly detailed and interactive spaceship set, and had a lot of hype after its successful 2019 run. So much hype, in fact, that the two 2024 runs were massively oversubscribed, and I was very disappointed not to get a ticket in the lottery.

But now Odysseus is back, in an exciting new form. The organizers, realizing that the massive volunteer effort and cost to create and then disassemble the spaceship set were unsustainable, have decided to crowdfund ten more runs of the game in 2026-2027. If the campaign succeeds -- which depends on them selling out all ten runs -- they'll have nearly a million dollars to play with, and will be able to set up a permanent spaceship set and pay the staff to run it. That'll give people choices about when to attend, create the possibility of runs in Finnish and Swedish (and maybe more!), and provide a facility that can be used for corporate events, educational events, and new and different science fiction LARPs. If the 2026-2027 runs demonstrate that this can be run as a sustainable business, it might go even longer than that.

But none of this will happen unless the crowdfunding campaign succeeds. I've backed it, pledging for 3 tickets for myself and my partners plus an additional pledge to increase the campaign's chances of success. I encourage you to check it out, and pledge if you can. I think I can guarantee that if you attend this LARP you will have a fabulous time.

Back the campaign here: https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/ellarion-tales/odysseus-first-light