‘Romantic companionship’ emerges in mainland LARP games

Hong Kong women are among those taking part in live-action role-playing games in mainland China that offer immersive romantic experiences, with some venues using handsome male hosts and intimate physical interactions to attract players.

The trend has raised concerns over “soft pornography,” with some games featuring staged kisses, carrying players and other physical contact.

Live-action role-playing, or LARP, is an immersive role-playing game usually involving six to seven players, with a host guiding them through a storyline. While traditional games focus on mystery and deduction, emotional storylines have become increasingly popular, allowing players to explore themes including romance and relationships.

Some games now feature “romantic companionship” roles, pairing female players with male hosts as part of the storyline. Players who repeatedly book the same host are known in the community as “romantic companionship sisters”.

Images posted on Chinese social media show male hosts carrying female players, staging wedding scenes and allowing players to sit on their laps.

According to Sing Tao Headline, a sister publication of The Standard, a veteran Hong Kong player who has taken part in more than 400 LARP games said she once spent HK$50,000 to HK$60,000 in a month on “chartering” — paying for other players to secure her preferred role and group.

She said she had also played the same LARP more than 10 times because she particularly liked a host.

“It’s not like I actually want to date him,” she said, adding that physical contact was usually limited to holding hands or putting an arm around someone as part of the storyline.

She said players should be able to distinguish between the host’s role and their real-life personality.

“I’ve heard of people kissing in the ‘little black room’, and even having sex,” she said, referring to private rooms where hosts and players can be alone.

A Hong Kong LARP venue operator said “romantic companionship” was originally intended to add emotional tension and intimacy to romantic storylines, but some mainland venues had taken it further amid fierce competition.

“Some venues realized that bringing in handsome male hosts for intimate interactions could attract customers more easily than improving the games or service,” he said.

The situation remains more restrained in Hong Kong, he said, where most LARP hosts do not work in the industry full time.

Gender studies scholar Day Wong said LARP games allowed players to experience romantic relationships that might be difficult to have in real life.

Clinical psychologist Sarah Ip Miu-yin said some players could be drawn to “romantic companionship” because of loneliness or setbacks in relationships.

She warned that while emotional storylines could help players reflect on their relationships, they should not become a substitute for developing social skills and building relationships in real life.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓