Save the Date: JARPS 2025 Symposium (online)
Save the date for a 3-hour conference on analog role-playing games, featuring the 2025 special issue of The Japanese Journal of Analog Role-Playing Game Studies (JARPS) on exploring the theme of Tools of the Trade: Props, Techniques, and Inspirations for Analog Role-Playing. The symposium is supported by Game in Lab and linked to the eduRPG Barcamp 2025.
A detailed program will follow in the coming days on our website and will be sent to registered participants (see below).
Date: 2025/11/22 (Sat)
Time: 12:00-15:00 CET | 20:00-23:00 JST
This year’s symposium focuses on the equipment, methods, and technologies that are part of and enhance the creation, design, and play of tabletop/table-talk role-playing games (TRPGs) and live-action role-play (larp). The event explores questions about how tools—ranging from physical props to digital applications—shape the evolving landscape of analog role-playing games and related play forms, as well as the creative practices that support them.
The tools we use as designers, writers, and players form the backbone of our games. From rulebooks and dice mechanics to narrative frameworks and digital aids, these tools not only facilitate play but also inspire innovation. This symposium aims to explore how creators and players utilize these tools to construct immersive worlds, promote collaboration, and address challenges in storytelling and inclusivity.
The 2025 JARPS Symposium features presentations from scholars and practitioners worldwide addressing various aspects of tools, frameworks, and the materiality of play. The presentations are based on articles submitted to the 2025 special issue of the journal. The issue will be released in November. Pre-print versions of the articles will be made available in October to registered participants.
Scheduled Presentations (order tbc):
- ANTs on the TRPG Table: Collaborating with Actor-Network Theory to Understand Role-Playing — R. Bienia
- What Makes a Rulebook Accessible and Entertaining? Recommendations of Best Practices — C. Casimiro, M. Heron, S. Sousa
- The “Stories” of Real Escape Games Created by High School and Technical College Students: An Analysis of Proposals Submitted to the National High School Real Escape Game — K. Ishida
- Short-Term Interest, Long-Term Stagnation? An Exploratory Study of Learning Retention in Board Games as Educational Materials — Terashima et al.:
- Campaign Board Games as a Steppingstone towards TRPGs: An Examination of a New Phenomenon in Tabletop Gaming — J. Reed
- Field Report on the Practical Application of NotebookLM as a Support Tool for LARP Event Participants — T. Moroishi, CLOSS
With simultaneous interpretation between Japanese and English.
Linked Event: eduRPG Barcamp
This year, the symposium partners again with the eduRPG Barcamp, an open and participatory workshop-event about educational role-playing games (RPGs), in which participants provide the content. The Barcamp is held in German, but if requested, sessions will be held in English.
The Barcamp eduRPG team invites JARPS symposium participants to a get-together after the symposium to discuss and exchange ideas and questions about the presentations.
Registration
Please register here (free) for both the eduRPG Barcamp and the JARPS Symposium to receive the Zoom and Discord links. Please take note of the time zones in which the events take place.
If you have trouble registering, please do not hesitate to contact us at symposium@jarps.net.
Image © Gwendoline Lefebvre (Game in Lab)