Footprints In The Sand: A Beach LARP

Footprints In The Sand: A Beach LARP  
by Steph Beck Fey (with input from Jenn Wulf and HD Kleinschmidt)

Disclaimer: This game uses imagery from the author’s Christian upbringing for a bit of fun. All people of faith know that people of faith can be obnoxious sometimes, so it’s important we have a sense of humor about ourselves and each other. The game is intended neither as a mockery of Christianity nor as any kind of encouragement to worship the prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). 

This is a game for two players. One player will take the role of Jesus, the long-suffering deity of the Christian faith. The other will take the role of a true-believing Christian who’s had a rough go of things lately.

They will walk together along a beach or shore and Jesus will carry the Christian on their back, just like in that one poem. Piggyback is the easier way to do this, though if the Christian agrees, a fireman’s carry might be fun.

The Christian, for their part, will be as irritating as they can possibly manage while still being sincere. They will bring a mind full of troubles and a backpack full of props. The props will be whatever seems fitting to bring. Prop ideas include snacks, a water gun, or radio tuned to a Christian music channel. Anything one might bring to the beach that can be used to annoy someone will make a fine prop. These will be used at the Christian’s discretion, though direct antagonism might be outside the spirit of the game. (Different players may feel different about, for example, squirting a water gun at their feet as opposed to right in their face. It is important to discuss these things ahead of time.)

If the players are alone, the Christian will tell Jesus every inconvenience they can think of in their life and pray for someone else to change about it. “My neighbor gets upset when my cat gets in their yard, please change his heart so he can be more chill about this.”

If the players pass someone, the Christian will make a judgement about that person and share that instead. Judgements should be petty, but potentially damning for the person’s immortal soul. “He looks like he pretends to know things about subjects he’s not familiar with. She looks like she spends too much on gacha games.”

If the Christian takes more than ten seconds to think of a prayer or a judgement as appropriate, their trial has ended. Jesus will set them down and be considered to have won the game if things such as winning matter to the players. 

If Jesus gets tired or has just had enough of all this, they will set the Christian down and be considered to have lost the game if such things matter.

When the game has ended, the players will switch roles and play again if they feel like it.