This Is The Best Way You Can Possibly Celebrate Your Love Of Battlestar Galactica
This article is more than 2 years old
If you’re fond of live action role playing, are a fan of Battlestar Galactica, have some money burning a hole in your pocket, and have a passport, this might be something you want to check out. The German government is apparently setting up a massive BSG-themed LARPing session on a decommissioned naval destroyer. Just a heads up, this is based on Ronald D. Moore’s modern incarnation of the show, so you’ll want to leave your gold-plated helmets back at home.
On February 4, the German destroyer, redubbed Hesperios, a freighter that picks up and escape pod and finds itself embroiled in the human/Cylon war. The event, called Projekt Exodus, is a five-day-long extravaganza with room for 80 participants. If this is the kind of thing you’re into, I can imagine worse ways to spend a few days.
This is a similar event to one that went down last year on a Swedish battleship in a highly successful LARP called The Monitor Celestra. Both events are supported by a group of dedicated BSG LARPers called Twelve Colonies, and you have to imagine that, if this latest endeavor is a hit, there will be more to come. They did try to get one going in the U.S., but that never came to pass.
This time around, however, they’re after more than just at good time, as the event is also designed to be educational. They plan to use the event to “analyze the narrative structure” of BSG, including exploring the larger political issues the show brings up. This means ideas of freedom, humanitarianism, and safety, among others, and by spending days in character, running through scenarios that propose such issues, the organizers hope that “the players will get to experience problems of our society from a complete new viewpoint. They will be confronted with [a] new situation and impressions that will leave a lasting mark on their thinking.”
Unfortunately, it’s too late to sign up for Projekt Exodus, as it is sold out—we are getting pretty close to the date anyway, and last minute travel arrangements care pricy as hell, so most of us weren’t really considering a trip in any serious way. Maybe next time. Also, you have to speak German, and despite having a couple years of high school German under my belt, my comprehension skills in this arena leave something to be desired. Maybe we’ll just stick to U.S. historical reenactments like Civil War battles.
If you’re in the neighborhood, however, you can stop by on February 8 for a “Spaceship Doors Open Day,” which sounds something like an open house.
