Odysseus was a well-received Finnish-style larp (or live-action role-playing game) for 104 players organized first in 2019 and again in 2024 by Illusia ry and a team of dozens of volunteers. It was set in an original world drawing heavily from Battlestar Galactica, but also inspired by Star Trek and The Expanse.
Three runs of the game were held each year, and large space ship sets were built in a rented school building, where the game area provided a 24/7 immersive experience for the players over 48 hours, followed by a debrief / end party.
Now a number of the crew are attempting to create a commercially viable version of the game. They’re setting up a business entity, Ellarion Tales, and are prepping an improved version to be known as Odysseus – First Light.
(To have a better understanding of what Odysseus was, you can look at their archived web site, which includes links to not just the game material but also documentaries, music, and photos. Or read player experiences, for example by James Bloodworth (“Odysseus A Retrospective (2019)”) or by Jaakko Stenros (“Human Monstrosity and Odysseus”). More Odysseus photos can be found at Larppikuvat.fi.)
To provide a background to the project, Laura Kröger, the lead producer and narrative designer, talks with Adrian Hon at MSSV about the thought process and challenges, including what commercial game running in Finland requires.
In addition, the folks at Ellarion blog about the process and their reasoning behind a number of creative and pragmatic choices they’re making. There is also a fairly detailed intro post to Odysseus – First Light, including accessibility, safety, and expectations. The post about crowdfunding talks about the finances from players’ point of view and schedules for the first runs.
At this writing, their goal is 10 runs, starting from October 2026 and continuing until summer 2027, with the possibility of more if stretch goals for the crowdfunding are reached. Two of these 10 initial runs will be so-called local runs (materials will still be in English but the spoken language will be either Finnish or Swedish).
The Odysseus – First Light Indiegogo page prelaunched in late January. (Meaning, you can read about the project but cannot back it yet.) The campaign proper will start on March 6 and end on April 12th, 2026.
(Note that they are still finalizing the project; details might change before the campaign actually launches.)
I haven’t played in Odysseus myself, but I know several people who have—some more than once, in fact—and everyone has been bursting with praise. (And some thought-out criticism as well, sure, but overwhelmingly the comments have been good things.) In addition, Erik and I were able to tour the set during their July 2024 visiting hours, and can testify first hand to the quality of the propping and environments, including soundscapes. It was truly extraordinary! If the folks at Ellarion Tales are indeed able to improve on Odysseus, their larp(s) should continue to provide legitimately memorable gaming experiences.
Images: Jump countdown by Henry Söderlund via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). First Light mashup by Ellarion Tales. Ship faults by Minttu Hopeasuo (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Troubleshooting the engine by Henry Söderlund via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Empty cafeteria by Erik Jensen. Project schedule by Ellarion Tales. Attack by Henry Söderlund via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
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