“Fan Ju/饭局”
— live-action roleplaying scenario
— appox. 60 min
— 2025 playtested at Cedar, Shanghai, China
A roleplaying dinner experience that reimagines the contemporary chinese social dinner “饭局(fanju)” as a battleground of ladder climbing, class anxiety, social codes, and survival performances.
Five players take on distinct characters with intertwining backstories, motives, and conflicting end goals. Throughout the meal, they navigate a tense choreography of ordering food and drinks, dining, commissioning live violin and folk instrument performances, and determining who will pay the bill.