‘1672’ – CanonLARP

1672 – the white faction’s years of true freedom

In the 17th century, the Dutch Republic fought for its independence. Quickly, it became a refuge for freethinkers, tradesmen and progressives. The colonial trade made the elite of the country the richest of Europe. The country is led by the de Witt family, who lead the ‘White’ faction. They believe the country needs no king, and that free trade and diplomacy can secure a prosperous future. It would later be called ‘the Golden Age’.

Other in the country, the ‘Orange’ faction, are not so content. They think that the young Prince of Orange was stolen from his birthright. In past generations God had chosen the Orange family to lead the country. Now some heretical, tradition mocking, upstart tradesmen think they can lead the country. The Netherlands has become a pariah state in Europe. This ‘Orange faction’ is humiliated, ignored, and loses power quickly.

On the first day, all characters are welcomed at a celebration for winning the Anglo-Dutch war.

1672 – the orange faction plots to take power

Disaster strikes. War, plague, economic disaster… this can not just have happened to this Godblessed country. The guilty ones are easily found: the White faction. The hungry, scared people call for a leader. And was it not the Princes of Orange that were sent by God in the previous wars?

On the second day, all characters are welcomed at a wedding.

The end of the game

The worst has happened. What have you done to stop it? What have you done to make it happen? How much blood do you have on your hands?

The following aspects tell you about the game’s design choices:

The LARP plays with time skips. First of all, players will play several pre-game scenes in which they create memories with other characters. Players play one day in 1667, and one day in 1672.
The fate of the country was written by fate, and in this LARP, this fate does not change. Your characters will however have influence in their own role in the tragedy. You can try to keep your conscience clean, or be ruthless.
The LARP is set in a real historical moment, but a lot of the story is dramatised, condensed and made less complex. It is not necessary to know Dutch history. Humorous workshops will teach you how to be a greedy, very protestant, infighting Dutchman.
This is a LARP in which every character is miserable and oppressed at least some of the time. We expect players to take risks, react to losses and make sure that oppression is fun for the victim. Most players will at some point be respected, and we expect players to at least (sarcastically) pay respect to these powerful people.

“1672 is a fantastic experience about one of the most thrilling moments in Dutch history. The well-defined historical characters (with all their good and bad sides) and the small scenes in between bring the roles to life with enough material to create truly beautiful play. For every larper who loves historical drama, political intrigue, beautiful costumes, spectacular (historically accurate!) food, and heart-wrenching stories, it is an absolute must!“

– Jimmy

“It was a delight to play 1672. The aesthetics were fantastic—from the location to the costumes of all the players, from the food to the dishes it was served on. As a player, it was very easy to immerse yourself in the characters of 1672.
The setup of the LARP greatly aids in the gameplay. It builds up in a very pleasant way towards the peak moment on the second evening, allowing you to deeply engage with the dramatic arc of your character. And although it remains a LARP, and not a reenactment, you still have a little feeling afterward that ‘you were there.’ How cool is that!?“
– Jantine

”1672′ was organized twice in Dutch in 2021 and 2022. We want to thank the following people:

Marlies, Corne and Willemijn for writing and game design.
Anne and Chaja (run 1) for smooth logistics, location management and IT.
Bram for the plenty and historically authentic food.
Ork and Eline for the splendid pictures.
Karijn for her very helpful proofreading of characters.
Corné, Anne and Willemijn for building props that made history come alive.
Jeannot, Merel, Tom and Henk for NPC’ing and other tasks that were indispensable to make this LARP happen.