Article:
Creating a LARP Group: Retaining Existing Players

In the past article, we talked about Recruiting New Players. While new players may be considered the lifeblood of any game, the existing players are necessary to help cultivate the new players.  It's obvious that you can't maintain a game where you're hemmoraging players. You need to maitain a net positive on players, by gaining more new players than the existing players you lose.  In addition, you will need some players that will act as anchors in the game that new players can rely on or ask for help.  

Here are some ways to maintain players in your game.

Stick to the Key Aspects of the Game
If the combat in your game makes it unique, you will need to keep the players challenged with skill based fights. If your roleplaying is what draws people to the game, then keep the story deep and intriguing.  The number one cause of players quitting is that they don't feel as fulfilled as they once did.  To fight this, your plot teams will have to keep challenging themselves to do better and better to match the players' needs.

Keep it Fresh
Sometimes, the game will get stale, at no fault of its own. Existing players will have tried everything there is. Sometimes this means holding some skills back until later or it could mean adding occasional playtests. You game should always be evolving into something better, and as soon as you think it's perfect, you'll start to lose players.

This also holds true for the IG storyline as well. Don't be afraid to shake things up in a big way! Assassinate the king, start an all-out war, or have a natural disaster reshape the geography. Major overhauls like this can make existing players feel like new players, simply because no one knows what is going on or what will happen next!

Offer Incentives
Another common thing you can do to keep existing players coming is to add incentives for players who play often. This can come in the form of IG or OOG benefits. Examples of IG benefits include adding prestige classes, benefits for retiring, or hidden skills. Examples of OOG benefits include giving them voting rights for playtests and rule changes, providing a discount for events, or giving away props at the end of the year.