Better Casting Through Science (?)

Casting is a very important part of running one-shot pregenerated LARPs.  Making the wrong decision about which player should play which character can result in unhappy players and make the game worse.  On the other hand, if you can find that perfect player for a role, they can bring up the level of the entire LARP.

If you ask five LARP GMs for the best way to cast games, you're likely to get ten answers.  Some notable ones include:

• Just give brief descriptions of all the characters and let players pick their top five.
• Casting is an art, not a science.  Ask open-ended questions and go with your gut.
• Everything players write is significant, including margin doodles, handwriting, and when they got the questionnaire response back to you.
• Interview them on the phone or in person.
• We've developed a complex Excel spreadsheet that tells us how to cast people.

At Alleged Entertainment, we've developed a complex Excel spreadsheet that tells us how to cast people.  What follows is a trip into the dark recesses of that spreadsheet.