Every weekend in countries around the world, grown men and women don elaborate costumes, adopt assumed identities, and meet up to enact fantastical scenes set in alternate realities. Although many ...

In the popular imagination, live action role play looks like a bunch of under- and over-weight men hacking sloppily at each other with foam swords while sporting Middle Age streetwear. On occasion, ...

Since the dawn of modern propaganda during the First World War marketing executives have perfected the use of archetypes and association to harness subconscious reactions on behalf of “engineering ...

The best part of going to an SF con is running around, getting little glimpses of a million subcultures I never knew existed -- but which I'm always relieved to discover are not only real, but ...

As white nationalists attacked towns across the US, many of the critiques of black bloc and antifa tactics were cheap shots. Over the last year white nationalists have descended on towns unleashing ...

High school bullies got this one right: "Dungeons & Dragons" isn't cool. Neither is "Magic: The Gathering," Civil War re-enactment or any other live-action, role-playing game (aka "larp") that ...

Canadian director Alexandre Franchi's debut film, The Wild Hunt (here's our review), opens this weekend in Toronto and Montreal. He'll be blogging here on The Ampersand through the weekend to provide ...

Ever wonder what it was it like to engage in medieval combat? How about throwing some wizards and witchcraft and fantasy into the mix? Put it all together and you’re a LARPer. That stands for “live ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. In the empty meadows hours east of Montreal, thousands of knights, ...