#40 - Ropecon 2026: LARPs and RPGs We Played

Welcome to episode number 40 of the Board Game OK podcast, recorded in rainy Helsinki, Finland.

I'm your co-host, Joonas, and with me is my co-host, Luis.

Hello, everyone.

In this episode, we will continue our ROPECON recap by talking about the tabletop and live-action role-playing games we played and Dungeon Mastered at the convention.

This episode will probably have a title like Robocon Part 2, but I like to call these episodes the Yearly Board Game OK Roleplaying Special.

So if you came here for the board game talk, I'm sorry, you won't hear that today.

But don't stop listening yet.

I will guarantee you that you will hear about a game today that will make you go, huh, I would really like to try that one day.

Luis, you said that we shouldn't have this role-playing episode because you said that you no longer like role-playing games and that you hate puppies.

What do you have to say for yourself, Luis? When did I say this? Remind me.

I have a WhatsApp conversation from you taking place after the convention.

It's all here.

Yeah, no, that did not happen.

I did say that we should not have this episode because I played a total of one role playing game besides the one that I was hosting.

And I was just like, I just don't have that much to talk about.

That is what I

actually said.

And you played like four, five? Yeah, I had a record of Ropecon for myself.

I think last year I said that I was in three sessions and I can't imagine that you could have more just because of how the lottery system works.

And when I talk about the lottery system, I mean the thing that the way a lot of the organized program works in Ropecon is that there's more people usually who want to come to the program that there's spaces for.

And there's a lottery system.

You put in your name, and then there's a computer algorithm that picks someone.

If you get picked for many different events and programs, your likelihood of getting picked is reduced.

I think so, yes.

If you have been picked for something, then they prioritize people that have not been picked for anything.

Then these programs also take some time.

They are not usually very short.

And they set this fixed time in your calendar.

So it's really hard to also fit all of this stuff in your calendar.

And besides all of this, I was able to play one, two, three... four role-playing games, and then I even GMed one of my own games.

Yeah, I wonder if the reason for this is because you were like...

How many LARPs did you do? Just one? I did two LARPs.

Two LARPs.

I think LARPs in general have more availability.

Yeah.

And depending on the LARP, but I think at least the ones where I have been always had about the same availability or more than the people that actually do it.

I think LARPs are... a bit easier to get to if they're in that setting than tabletop RPGs because tabletop has space for like four or five and then people normally are wanting to go to those.

However, also we were saying last week or last episode how there was way more program this time around or like it felt that there was more English program.

So maybe that also opened up the availability for you to be able to participate in more than what you were expecting.

Yeah, that can be.

And then, of course, there's the time of the day when the program is being organized.

If it's very early in the morning... there's less people who want to join in.

And there might be cancellations as well.

But yeah, you played one game.

I played some more.

We played zero role-playing games together.

So there's nothing that we can discuss at all.

How did you feel this experience to be like? But we did both play something.

And then we both ran some games.

Luis, you ran Spire.

I ran Ten Candles.

And I thought that let's start by talking about the experiences we had as players at Tropicon.

And then we can... dive a little bit deeper to Spire and Tank Candles, because we probably would recommend these systems for the role players out there, because otherwise we wouldn't be running these games, right?

Right.

Well, I actually decided to run the game before I tested it.

Oh.

So I, retroactively, I can say, yes, I would recommend people to play this.

Yeah.

But I had already decided like, yeah, I'm going to run this before I have tested it.

Okay.

For the first time.

And I did test it before I run at Ropecon.

So I had already played it and I had already liked it.

But I did make the decision before

being able to say that.

Now, I was going to say that then leave all of these opinions and clues about how do you like the system for the last segment.

But I heard the word liked there.

At least something positive you have to say about Spire.

But leave it at that.

Okay.

Keep the listeners in suspension, Luis.

In suspension? In suspension.

Is that the word? In suspense.

In suspense.

Okay.

Suspension is like the car thing.

Yeah.

Or like a

liquid, right? Like you have a suspension.

Yeah.

Or if

you just

stop moving.

Yeah.

I guess.

Yeah.

If you stop moving.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I guess you meant suspense.

Yeah.

Don't worry.

Even if you move a little bit, Alois will still tell you what he thinks about Spire.