Banbury Tales is a Regency larp inspired by Jane Austen’s books and numerous TV and film adaptions.
Four distinguished families gather at a country estate over the course of the social season. Each real-life day represents a single, eventful day in the game, spaced weeks apart to allow relationships, reputations and rivalries to develop between meetings.
As the younger generation navigates courtship and the pressures of marrying for status or security, the older characters share a past of broken hearts, scandals and decisions they can’t take back, but must now engage in matchmaking, manoeuvring for influence, guarding secrets and potentially seeking redemption for youthful mistakes.
Themes
- Etiquette and reputation
- Courtship and matchmaking
- Family drama and relationship conflicts
- Secrets and scandals
- Wishes vs expectations
Story
(subject to change)
England, August 1815. With the victorious Battle of Waterloo and the surrender of the French Emperor, the Napoleonic Wars have come to an end after more than two decades. At the same time, in the British Isles, both the parliamentary session and the season have come to an end; members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons are leaving in droves to return to their country estates.
To celebrate their return and the victory over Napoleon, Lord Camelford – or rather his mother, the Dowager Lady Camelford – has invited guests to a ball at Boconnoc House. The more prominent families of the area will not miss the opportunity to show off their children who have not been able to marry during the season.
It will be a time of dancing, gambling, conversation and increasingly desperate social climbing as each family struggles to find a suitable match before the weekend is over.
Finding a mate is serious business, and private balls like this one are an ideal opportunity for eligible bachelors and bachelorettes to meet. Under the watchful eyes of their elders, young couples must demonstrate their grace, talent for clever conversation and general suitability. While gloved hands may touch without scandal during the dance and on the way to and from the set, during the day the interested parties have the opportunity to get to know each other better on chaperoned walks in the countryside, even falling behind the rest of the group if they wish to talk privately.
If a gentleman wishes to emphasise his interest in a lady, he should visit her the next day in her family’s rooms, where her mother or aunt or another chaperone will be present. But he should be prepared not to be the only suitor. Will he be able to withstand the pressure of competition and scrutiny?
It remains to be seen whether, in these difficult conditions, every pot will find a lid, or whether some will have to wait until next season…
Location
| This larp is for you if | This larp is NOT for you if |
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You enjoy playing with complex social norms and hierarchies in historical settings. You enjoy playing with social pressure and family drama. You enjoy playing at a slower pace. You enjoy creating a story together and are open to supporting others as co-creator. You respect the writers’ vision for a character, and you are willing to stick to it for the sake of game balance. You don’t mind short (scheduled) off-game breaks for calibration (one planned). You don’t mind giving the organisers a hand clearing the venue before departure (no cleaning). |
You are mainly interested in the clothing style and overall aesthetics of the Regency era. You find strict social norms tiresome and tend to let your character’s actions be guided by a modern worldview. You prefer larps with a lot of action or “doing”. You get frustrated if your character doesn’t succeed or isn’t in the spotlight. You prefer to reinterpret or adjust a character to better align with your personal style or comfort zone. You hate playing with time jumps and off-game breaks. You expect a professionally organized event and service.
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What to expect
- Pre-written characters
- Collaborative play style (play to lift)
- Act structure with time jumps (overnight)
- Safety mechanics
- Self-preparation and workshop on site
- Pre-game hype and communication on Discord
- Organizers play full characters
- In-game entertainment (ball, croquet, badminton, billiard, picnic, theatrical, charity fair, parlour games, card games)
- Dance workshop led by a knowledgeable player (or a dance mistress if available)
- Live musicians on one of the evenings (subject to confirmation; not guaranteed at this stage)
What NOT to expect
- Absolute historical correctness
- Reenactment
- Point-based system
- Achieving your character’s goals (play to win)
- Transparent game
- Play on racism
- Play on antisemitism
- A whole host of downstairs characters/NPCs that serve food & drinks and help with getting dressed
Content Warning
- Mock firearms
- Homophobia
- Classism
- Sexism
- Violence (physical and emotional)
- Mention of sexual violence
The price includes:
- Four-night stay in a small Baroque hunting lodge with historic flair
- One (shared double) bed in a 2- to 5-bed room (most with en-suite bathroom)
- Towel and bed linen
- Full board (vegetarian options available/vegan options limited)
- Dinner on the day of arrival
- At least three meals per day
- Breakfast on departure day
Concession and supporter fees
If you have the financial means, you can pay an additional €100 for a Supporter Fee and help fund Concession Fees for other players. One supporter fee will fund one concession fee. We do not check for actual need and trust that these concession fees will only benefit financially weaker players (students, unemployed, on sick leave, low income countries, etc.).
You can pay in instalments of 50%. In return, please keep our work to a minimum by setting your own reminders. The instalments are due on 30 June and 31 July 2026.
Cancellations are subject to a cancellation fee of €25/€50 to cover administrative costs.
- Before 15th February: Refunds will be issued minus a cancellation fee of €25.
- 16th February to 15th April: Refunds will only be issued if a replacement player is found, minus a cancellation fee of €50.
- After 15th April: Refunds will only be issued if a replacement player is found, and will be limited to the amount the replacement player pays (on a “pay what you can” basis), minus a cancellation fee of €50.
Your spot is not freely transferable. If you wish to cancel, please contact us immediately so that we can contact someone on the waiting list or find a suitable replacement.
Banbury Tales is set in 1815 and the appearance of the characters should reflect this. Under the chapter Costumes, the Player’s Handbook provides guidance on costume and outfit selection. If you have any questions beyond that or would like personal costume advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you.
We do not expect costumes to be historically accurate down to the last detail – we are more concerned with the overall look, while still being broadly in keeping with the style of the period. You can sew your own costume, buy it off the rack, or assemble it from clothes you already have hanging in your closet.
You will find costume inspiration on Teresina’s Pinterest-Board.
- Not wheelchair accessible (several floors, no lift)
- Poor visibility in one of the staircases
- Partially uneven floor (old floorboards, paving stones)
- Uneven stone stair case to the park
- Some players are given written information to read during the game.
- Name tags will only be worn on the night of the workshop and potentially taken off for the rest of the larp.
- The owner of the castle owns a dog and several peacocks. The dog will be kept away from the game, but the peacocks roam freely on the grounds and are noisy in the mornings.
The venue is not accessible by public transport.
Prague airport has the best flight connections. We’ll help you get in touch with other players so you can share a rental car.
- 01.05.25 Sign-up form opens. Please save the date until the casting process is complete or notify us if things change.
- 14.05.25 Sign-up form closes at midnight. Casting Preferences/Flagging form opens.
- 23.05.25 Casting Preferences/Flagging form closes at midnight.
- 15.06.26 Confirmation of spot/offer of a spot on the waiting list. Payment period begins. Cancellations are subject to a cancellation fee of €25 to cover administrative costs.
- 30.06.25 Payment deadline ends.
- 31.01.26 You receive your complete character sheet.
- 15.02.26 Refunds will now only be issued if a replacement player is found, minus a cancellation fee of €50.
- 15.04.26 Refunds will now only be issued if a replacement player is found, and will be limited to the amount the replacement player pays (on a “pay what you can” basis), minus a cancellation fee of €50.
Our sign-up process is twofold:
- In the sign-up form, you simply let us know that you want to participate in the event.
- We will then send you a list of everyone who filled out the first form and ask you to fill out a second form where you can indicate your casting preferences (generation, themes, traits, co-players based on who filled out the first form, playstyle and ending, etc.) and set flags if necessary. You must complete both forms to complete your sign-up for the event. We encourage you to fill out the form as accurately and thoughtfully as possible so that we can make the best match for you.
Flagging
Since we cannot know everyone who signs up and cannot be aware of all possible conflicts between players that could disrupt the game, we use a flagging process for safety reasons. Flagging allows you to let us know if there are any other players who match the following criteria:
- Red flag: ‘This person is unsafe for others/the game. If this person attends, I will drop out.’ (We reserve the right ask if you are willing to share more details. We take red flags very seriously and want to handle them conscientiously).
- Orange flag: ‘I am not comfortable with this person and, if they attend, I will opt out. I do not consider them unsafe for others/the game; it is purely a personal matter.’
- Yellow Flag: ‘I don’t want to play a close relationship with this person for personal reasons, but I have no problem with both of us attending the larp.’ (We will do what we can with the casting, but we can’t guarantee that someone won’t larp with you).
We appreciate any comments you are willing to make about the nature of the flag. No one will be told who flagged them. This information will remain confidential. We reserve the right to exclude players from the game if they receive a certain number of yellow and/or orange flags.
We ask for your understanding and respect that half of the places are reserved for friends, people who have helped us at other Tag Team Larps or at one of the 2026 runs, and selected individuals, as we are organising this larp non-commercially in our spare time as a hobby. Any unfilled spots will be assigned through a combination of random lottery by generation (starting with youngest) and selection based on other casting preferences to ensure a well-balanced and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Gender
While there will only be female and male characters available, we welcome all non-binary, genderqueer and other gender identities to our events and will strive to provide you with a character that you feel comfortable with. Regardless of your gender identity outside of the game, you can play as any gender. To enhance the immersive experience, we ask that players make a reasonable effort to match their appearance to the gender of the character they are portraying, keeping in mind that this should be as comfortable and achievable as possible. If you need any guidance or support with this, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re here to help!
⚠️ Character assignment
We are planning a major overhaul of the old version of the larp, including reworking the existing characters and partially replacing them with new ones, so we won’t be able to assign you a character as soon as the casting process is complete. As one of the main writers of Banbury Tales is also involved in the organisation of La Madrina which runs in October 2025 and would like to remain flexible regarding their workload, the character assignments (excluding the full character sheet) might be announced anywhere between November 2025 and January 2026.
You will receive the full character sheet by 31st January (at the latest). If you do not like the character as written, please contact us as soon as possible to see if any changes can be made or if a recast would make more sense.
You will be given a detailed description of your character after casting, including backstory, closest relationships and possible game impulses. It is up to you to pace your character’s story and ultimately shape the ending.
We don’t expect you to read up on your own and become a history expert; the players’ guide will provide you with all the relevant information about the game and the setting. We simply ask that you think about your character’s stance on certain issues to establish easy points of reference and interaction in the game, and strongly recommend that you contact your fellow players to develop a shared understanding of character relationships.
TBD
Gallery
Characters
We will have up to 32 playable characters and four families for you to choose from. We plan an extensive revision, so the characters below will not fully represent your choice.
Team
Story and characters: Nicholas Chung, Vicky Heinzelmann
Sign-up and finances: Nicholas Chung
Production: Nicholas Chung, Vicky Heinzelmann, Lena Felten
Props: Nicholas Chung
Kitchen: Tibor Laubert, Larissa
Crew: Anna Brändle, Diana Dinger, Jen Hoge