A card-based storytelling series of
secrets, survival, and spectacle.

Pick up a box and play. No game master, no dice, no preparation - just grab a character card and let the drama find its own shape.

4–8 Players Around 4 Hours Ages 13+ No GM Needed
Explore the Games
Larp in a Box prototype boxes - Brimstone and Shipwrecked

Prototype editions of Brimstone and Shipwrecked!

What is Larp in a Box?

A series of story games built around one simple idea: give a group of people interesting characters, hidden secrets, and a dramatic situation - then let them run with it.

Each box contains a complete cast of characters, and illustrated Act Sheets that carry the story across five acts from first meeting to final reckoning. You can play round a kitchen table or dress up in a fully themed space. The game works at whatever level you want to commit.

Venetian masquerade masks

Character First

Each Role card gives you two character options with their own features and quirks. You decide what your character does with them.

A masquerade mask on velvet - secrets and hidden identity

Secrets & Stakes

Your Connection card gives you links, and a secret and a goal that only you know about. When - and whether - they come out is entirely up to you.

A hand of playing cards

No GM Needed

The game runs itself across five acts. Act Sheets set the mood and direction; Scene cards brief you on your scenes; the players do the rest.

A group of people gathered around a table

Play it Your Way

Round a kitchen table or in full costume in a themed space. The game works at whatever level you want to commit.

Watch the Explainer

A five-minute tour through the system - what's in the box, how a session flows, and what makes Larp in a Box different.

How to Play

From the first shuffle to the final scene in about four hours.

  1. 1

    Pick Your Role

    Each Role card offers two character options. Read both sides, choose the one that interests you, and you're already in character.

  2. 2

    Build Your Character

    Draw three Personality cards and keep one. Then take a Connection card - this gives you links, and a secret and a goal you'll carry through the whole session.

  3. 3

    Meet the Room

    Introduce your character to the group. Share what people would know about you, then discuss how you're connected to the other characters.

  4. 4

    Play the Acts

    Work through five acts, each introduced by an Act Sheet that frames the mood and direction. Draw Scene cards to inspire your scenes, then perform them. Anyone can call "Cut!" to wrap a scene and move on.

  5. 5

    Finish the Story

    After Act Five, The End sheet frames the epilogue. Each player answers one reflection question. That's your story - one no other group will ever tell quite the same way.

The Games

Each title is a complete, standalone experience with its own world, characters, and secrets. All use the same system.

Brimstone box

Brimstone

Old West Frontier Drama

A gold-rush boomtown rises from the dust. Settlers, gunslingers, gamblers, and dreamers - everyone's got an angle, and nobody's hands are clean. Five acts chart the birth of a town and the secrets buried beneath it.

The Acts

  • First Stakes in New Soil - Dust rises as wagons roll to a halt
  • Survival and Shelter - The wind bites colder; the prairie no longer feels like a blank canvas
  • Gold and Growing Pains - "Gold!" spreads like wildfire; law is now a matter of interpretation
  • The Shadow of Progress - Surveyors and hired guns arrive with papers and claims
  • The Rails and the Ruins - Years have passed; the train whistle echoes through a grown town
  • The End - The town still stands, worn and rebuilt; the saloon piano plays a slower tune

Characters include

The CardsharpThe PreacherThe Undertaker The BankerThe TrackerThe Deputy The Saloon OwnerThe Escaped Convict
Brimstone box
Shipwrecked! box

Shipwrecked!

1920s Ocean Liner Survival

A luxury liner. A catastrophic night. Survivors washed ashore with too many secrets and too few answers. Build a life on the island - if you can - while the past refuses to stay submerged.

The Acts

  • Before the Storm - Sun dips below the horizon; golden reflections; hidden rivalries
  • Washed Ashore - Shipwrecked; a night of disaster and desperate survival
  • Life on the Island - Weeks pass; routines settle in; tensions simmer
  • The Bleakest of Days - Another storm; irreversible consequences become possible
  • Echoes of the Past - Years later; survivors gather; closure or revelation
  • The End - The sea is calm; the island fades to memory; not all were rescued, but all are remembered

Characters include

The Navy OfficerThe Hollywood StarThe Stowaway The MissionaryThe War CorrespondentThe Bank Robber The Cabin BoyThe Terminally Ill Socialite
Shipwrecked! box
A Symphony in Steel box

A Symphony in Steel

Music, Ambition & Ruin

A band's rise, ruin, and roar - unforgettable. From basement rehearsals to festival stages, from screaming fans to unauthorised documentaries. Play the musicians, managers, and hangers-on who make - and break - the legend.

The Acts

  • Basement Tapes & Broken Strings - Young, messy, raw hope
  • Budget Motel Blues - Debut out; survival tour; small crowds still matter
  • Heavy Rotation - Breakthrough; festivals, screaming fans, pressure
  • Demons in the Decibels - Infighting, addiction, public meltdowns
  • Ashes in the Liner Notes - A documentary; flashbacks; some voices missing
  • The End - Legacy through bootlegs, tattoos, and tribute nights

Characters include

The Lead SingerThe DrummerThe Manager The SongwriterThe ProducerThe Tech The RoadieThe Rhythm Guitarist
A Symphony in Steel box

The Five-Act Structure

Every game has a recognisable shape - one that mirrors the arc of classical drama. Hope, pressure, climax, crisis, and something that might just be resolution. Each act is introduced by an illustrated Act Sheet that sets the mood and points players in the right direction.

Brimstone Act 1: First Stakes in New Soil
Act 1 - First Stakes in New Soil
Brimstone Act 2: Survival and Shelter
Act 2 - Survival and Shelter
Brimstone Act 3: Gold and Growing Pains
Act 3 - Gold and Growing Pains
Brimstone Act 4: The Shadow of Progress
Act 4 - The Shadow of Progress
Brimstone Act 5: The Rails and the Ruins
Act 5 - The Rails and the Ruins
Brimstone: The End
The End

Characters can't be killed off in Acts 1 through 4. They can storm off, go missing, fall ill - but they can always come back. The story finds room for everyone.

What's in the Box?

Brimstone Role cards laid out on a wooden table

Role Cards

Two characters per card - facts, quirks, and the story function of each archetype. Pick your character, pick your side.

Shipwrecked Personality cards showing character trait sliders

Personality Cards

Five personality dimensions on sliders - Quiet to Outgoing, Practical to Imaginative. Draw three, keep one, and let it shape how you play.

Shipwrecked Connection cards showing Relationships, Secret and Goal

Connection Cards

Two relationships, one secret, one goal. Your private agenda - the hidden engine driving your character through every scene.

Brimstone Scene cards arranged by act on a wooden table

Scene Cards

A title, a location, a tone, and a dramatic goal. Draw one each turn, announce the title, keep the rest to yourself, and perform.

Brimstone Act sheets showing front and back

Act Sheets

Six illustrated sheets - Acts 1 through 5, plus The End - each one framing the mood and direction of that part of the story.

The full Brimstone acts deck with Instructions on top

Instruction Booklet

A four-page booklet containing everything you need to play. No GM, no complex rules, no prior experience required.

The full Brimstone acts deck with Hints on top

Hints for Improvisation

Some tips and suggestions on how to improvise a scene.

About Storyworlds

Storyworlds makes games that put the story first. Larp in a Box is our debut boxed game - built on the conviction that most people are better performers than they think, and that the best evenings are the ones that didn't quite go to plan.

The system is designed to be genuinely accessible. You don't need to have played a roleplay game before. You don't need to know everyone particularly well. You just need a group of people willing to commit to a character for an evening.

These are prototypes, shaped by feedback from the players who've tested them. More games are in development.

Interested in publishing, playtesting, or partnering?

Visit storyworlds.se Get in Touch
Prototype boxes - Brimstone and Shipwrecked

Prototype editions, fresh from the printer.

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