In 2013, one of the creators of the game Cloak and Boffer, Zvonimir Barać, designed an amazing LARP that remains especially dear to me, sadly, it never got a sequel. It was Carmen – Act One, and unfortunately, also the last.
The story took place on the space station Carmen, where humans, aliens, and other beings had arrived in search of life extension. All spaceships were locked inside the station, and after a few days of tension and frustration, everyone’s doors suddenly opened—leading them into a waiting room.
There, they were greeted by a cleaning robot (the first of many annoying robots/automatons, all played by Barać) who explained the basic rules of the waiting room and politely asked them to “enjoy waiting.” Something had clearly gone wrong earlier—most of the station was non-functional, and the waiting room made up just 0.5% of it. Through some exploration, players were expected to eventually unlock a new area during the evening and begin to uncover what had actually happened.
That was the basic premise—the rest was left to the players to stir up through their own stories, goals, and interactions.
The only real complaint I have about this LARP was the space itself, which I had found. But this is a common issue with LARPs in Croatia: I was always expected to find a space for as little money as possible, ideally free. So, naturally, the spaces were often completely inadequate for the story. Still, we were either happy—or very happy—to have found any space at all. The venue for Carmen cost about 4 euros per person.
I played some kind of symbiotic character—sometimes human, sometimes alien—with a mask that looked a bit like Cthulhu. As with all the costumes and masks that Zvonimir and I owned, this one also made an appearance in our FMV video game General Horse and the Package of Doom.
There were very few rules, and I believe it was the first time we used NERF guns for weapons. One of my most memorable moments was when someone (Noel?) tried to shoot me from just a few meters away—and I managed to dodge every dart, making it seem like my character had some extra superpower.
Another fun moment was when I pretended to be unwell—probably from some kind of space drug—and two people came up to me off-game to ask if I was actually okay.
The LARP was packed with entertaining moments—schemes, duels, drugs, and all sorts of chaos. Every character was either a little or completely nuts, and the players portrayed them brilliantly.
That’s why Carmen wasn’t just a LARP that I personally loved—all hoped for a second act. But the universe took us in a different direction. The opera Carmen has four acts. Who knows—maybe the pause between the first and second act is just veeeery long.
