Crypt Kickers
A Halloween committee larp for 4 to 6 players, plus everyone watching. Play it around a table or over video.
4 to 6 players · About 90 minutes · Free download
Free
| Players | 4 to 6, including the person running it |
|---|---|
| Time | About 90 minutes |
| Where | In person or over video |
| You'll need | Printed character sheets and a timer |
| Prep | Read the sheets |
| Experience | None. First larp friendly. |
| Tone | Comedy, light stakes |
| Content | All ages. Halloween themes and creatures. Playtested with adults. |
| Price | Free, pay what you want |
Max Gladstone Special Judge's Choice Award, Golden Cobra 2021
The roles are clear, the rules straightforward, the conflict real enough to generate honest friction, but the stakes light enough to permit hijinx and hilarity without a great deal of bleed. I could toss it at friends who've never tried LARP or freeform gaming before, and know we'd have a good and memorable time. That's a beautiful thing. Also, it would work perfectly online without a great deal of prep.
Golden Cobra judge, on awarding Crypt Kickers the Max Gladstone Special Judge's Choice Award
There's an expanded edition on itch.io with bonus characters if you want a bigger table.
Half a century has passed since the infamous Monster Mash took place. Now the original planner’s grandchild wants to host a party with all the same guests. Gather for this monstrous committee LARP and decide where to host an unforgettable Halloween bash. The catch is that everybody has to agree on the place, or the party doesn’t happen.
Dim the lights, cue up the music, and negotiate for a hideous celebration. This is Crypt Kickers.
How a night runs
Everyone picks a character before they see the character sheets. You get the name, description, and what they’re known for. You just don’t get the secrets until every player has chosen a character.
Then you build the history. Every character sheet has connections, and each one is a question about somebody else at the table. How did the Wolfman save Boris’ life? Why does Dracula owe Boris seventeen lambs? The two players involved answer it together. This takes fifteen or twenty minutes. By the end of it, everyone at the table knows something that connects their characters.
Then Boris sets a timer for sixty minutes.
The group has to pick one location for the party. Every single person has to agree. Dracula can’t be anywhere with sunlight. The Wolfman needs to see the moon and needs to stay away from Igor’s hounds. Igor is bringing the hounds.
At the end of the hour, the group decides. This isn’t a vote, and there’s no majority. One holdout means no party.
Then you celebrate or sulk.
In person or online
Crypt Kickers started as an online game. The premise helps, since the monsters live in different places and they’re calling in to plan a party none of them can agree on. Video does that work for free.
It plays just as well around a table. Players discuss and bargain and argue for what they want, out loud, in a room. It’s honestly just as much fun to watch as it is to play. If you’re hosting a Halloween party with more people than seats at the table, six people play and everybody else mills around behind to watch the action.
Whoever runs the game plays Boris Jr. and keeps time either way.
If you like this type of game, you can scale it up. A murder mystery party runs on the same engine. Everyone gets a secret, and the fun is in what people do with it.
Crypt Kickers is one way to run a Halloween night. There are other Halloween party games if you’d rather everyone be doing something at once.
Questions
How many people do I need?
Four to six, including whoever runs the game. That person plays Boris Jr. and keeps time, so they're a full participant. At four players you leave out the Zombies and The Living.
Can more than six people be in the room?
Yes, and it's better that way at a party. Six people play. Everyone else watches monsters argue about where to have a party, which is most of the fun.
How long does it take?
About ninety minutes. Fifteen to thirty minutes building connections, then a hard sixty-minute clock on the planning session.
Do I need to prepare anything?
Print the character sheets and have a timer. That's the whole setup. Whoever runs it should read through the sheets first so they know what's in them.
Do I need to have played a larp before?
No. Nobody at the table does. There's no combat, no dice, and no rules to learn. You sit in a room as a monster and argue about where to have a party.
What do I print?
One character sheet per player, which is one page each. The rules run three pages, and whoever's running the game is the only one who needs them. You can also just read off screens.
Does it work over video?
Yes. It was designed with video in mind, and the fiction supports it, since the monsters are calling in from different places.
Can kids play?
It's designed for all ages. The playtests were adults. The content is Halloween themes and classic monsters, in the spirit of the song it comes from.
What happens if we can't agree?
Nobody gets a party, and that's a real ending. Play "Monster Mash" and sit with it. Some of the best runs end this way.
Jim makes games and events that invite people to embrace a shared fiction.