I'm working on a solo LARP, something I've never done before.
I'm curious about people's thoughts: what makes a solo LARP a game? What distinguishes it from a guided meditation session or ritual?
This question makes me think of The Tragedy of GJ237b (https://medium.com/@balehman/the-tragedy-of-gj237b-928cfeae460b) which positions itself as an "A role-playing game for no players". I think the meta-narrative is deliberately unreliable, because in essence the game is you pretending that someone has a game going in a room you can't visit, and once you do you process the loss of people you'll never meet. So you're the player just by setting it up.
I wondered at the time if it counted as a game, as my mindset would argue a game needs 'play' (without trying to define that) as opposed to other group rituals, and players to create that play. But there was a whole discussion around it that asked about games that we no longer had complete rules for so couldn't play, like the Game of Ur. Are they still games? It was a good thought exercise at least.
I'm not sure what makes a solo LARP explicitly a game and not a ritual, although it could be both at the same time. But for myself, I think that a game requires (1) instructions, however sparse, to separate it from unguided daydreaming or activities, and (2) play, which I'm going to fail on defining because it doesn't have to be about recreation or fun but I think of as a guided activity that performs some sort of recreation.
Not sure if that helps at all XD
Yeah... probably any definition is going to fall down at some point, >_<.
Granted, Chess's imperfect information is related to the number of potential moves and directions a match can take from any given point going forward, and not knowing what the opponent will take, as opposed to 'hidden' information like cards in a player's hand.
But, I realized after posting that definition wasn't going to hold up in all cases. ^_^;
I think there's a point where a thing isn't a game... like an artificial heart isn't a game, for sure, but that doesn't mean there's an easy-to-agree-upon border between game and non-game. {shrug}
I don't know why you wouldn't call a game - even a multiplayer game! - a ritual in the first place. If you go to a minor league ballpark early enough for batting practice and stay late enough for the cleaners to come through the stands, you'll definitely see the ritual; it might not be completely contiguous with the game of baseball, but it's entwined enough that I sure as heck am not qualified to pull them apart.