What is “LARP?” How do I design a “LARP?” As a GM, how is this different from tabletop gaming? The book of LARP, written by a team of writers, sets out to answer those and several other questions. Written for the novice or beginner LARPer, the book sets out to direct interested players on all aspects of a LARP game.

Written by Mark Bruno and Brett M. Bernstein, Unbidden interweaves the supernatural with modern-day life. It forces its players to create characters that are as real as your neighbor next door. Your character, whether it be a member of your local clergy or an average executive, is then transformed as their awareness of the world around them increases. Seeing with new eyes, your character will play in a world dominated by the quintessential fight between good and evil. While the war between the forces of light and darkness is not new to gaming, the idea that you, as a gamer, are forced to play an everyday citizen without the trappings of magic, powers, and other items is refreshing. As you play “Unbidden,” you will find that your character will soon become an extension of yourself.

Ghost Stories: Horror Mystery Adventures is a slim volume (36 pages) that aims to provide an entire horror gaming system for players and referee to use with the minimum of delay. The system is necessarily very light in terms of details and examples and there will be some who consider the lack of artwork as a problem. A straightforward trait and die roll system is provided to resolve tasks of various sorts. Players can play such character types as occultists, demon stalkers, clergymen, archaeologists and similar staples of popular ghost stories. Additional sections briefly cover sorcery, combat, skills and backgrounds.

InSpectres is described as a “fast, simple and fun game that mixes horror and comedy” and it lives up to that description throughout the entire book. The author has blended the mystery of X-Files and the humor of Ghostbusters and Men in Black. It features an easy system to learn that doesn’t get in the way of a fun night of gaming. No one should expect InSpectres to replace more serious investigation/hunter games like Call of Cthulhu or Orpheus, because that really isn’t the point of this game. InSpectres is about fun, it is full of jokes, one-liners and offers everyone a chance to cut loose for an evening of entertainment.

I woke for no reason from strangely blissful dreams, my eyes adjusting quickly to the dark of our room. Michael slept against me, his huge arm around my waist, one hand splayed across my belly. He should have woken to any disturbance before I did. Yet of the two of us, I woke, not to sound or movement or anything I could understand, but more to a pressure in the air. A feeling, growing from my abdomen under Michael’s palm and spreading up my veins with the shock of the purest Liquid Silver, disturbed my dreams and lifted my head. The feeling told of an unwelcome darkness.

Written by 2003 Fiction Contest Winner, Elizabeth Petersen