Expression of Interest form
In order to apply for a ticket at Episode 1: Idle Tears, you must complete the Expression of Interest Form which can be found here..
Game Size
The Equinox Institute intends to limit the game to no more than 30 players during the course of its run. For our first event, “Episode 1: Idle Tears” there are a total of 20 player spaces available.
Ticket Categories
By purchasing a ticket, all attendees are:
- Able to attend The Equinox Institute LRP event, Episode 1: Idle Tears, on Friday 28 March 2025 to Sunday 30 March 2025 (information on timings can be found at the Act Structure section) which includes the creation of a character which they are able to portray when experiencing the event;
- Provided with access to a bed for the duration of the event (please see Venue and Accessibility for information on bedding arrangements. Please note that rooms range from private double rooms to shared dorms); and
- Access to a communal kitchen space.
Please note that this event is self-catered and we will not be providing food or beverages as part of a ticket purchase.
The following categories of tickets are available for purchase:
Standard Tickets
Standard tickets represent the normal ticket price for playing our game. The Equinox Institute Team aims to ensure that at least fifty percent of tickets per event are standard tickets.
Standard Tickets are distributed by way of a lottery. Where there is more interest than spaces for a Standard Ticket, all individuals who applied for a Standard Ticket will be entered into the Standard Ticket lottery for a chance of obtaining a slot (see ‘Lottery Process’ section below).
For Episode 1: Idle Tears – there are 10 Standard Tickets available. These are priced at £200 each.
Accessibility Tickets
Accessibility Tickets operate like Standard Tickets but are intended for individuals for whom:
- The cost of a Standard Ticket is an issue (including students, individuals not in full time employment or anyone needing to attend in order to care for another attendee);
- There would be accessibility issues with attending the event (please see our Event page for accessibility at the event venue and the limitations that would apply); and/or
- Have poor representation within the LARP community (which for the avoidance of doubt includes people of colour and disabled people).
We will not investigate or question the eligibility of individuals who apply for an Accessibility Ticket.
Accessibility Tickets are distributed by way of a lottery. Where there is more interest than spaces for an Accessibility Ticket, all individuals who applied for an Accessibility Ticket will be entered into the Accessibility Ticket lottery for a chance of obtaining a slot (see ‘Lottery Process’ section below).
Group bookings are not considered for Accessibility Tickets.
Should less than the maximum number of Accessibility Tickets are applied for, remaining Accessibility Ticket will be converted to Standard Tickets.
For Episode 1: Idle Tears – there are 5 Accessibility Tickets available. These are priced at £100 each.
Sponsor Tickets
Sponsor Tickets operate like Standard Tickets but are intended for individuals who wish to pay an additional sum in order to increase the overall quality of our event for all in attendance. They do not confer any benefit (whether before, during or after the game) to the individual who purchase the ticket.
Sponsor Tickets are distributed by way of a silent auction. There is a minimum bid price for the Sponsor Ticket and an attendee may submit a bid for a ticket as part of the application process for a ticket. Dependent on the number of Sponsor Tickets available, those individuals with the top bids by the end of the expression of interest period will automatically receive a ticket for the event. This will be communicated during our live draw event.
Where an individual has submitted a bid but has been unsuccessful, they will automatically be rolled over into the Standard Ticket Lottery for a chance of obtaining a Standard Ticket.
If there is not enough interest in a Sponsor Ticket then, at the end of the expression of interest period, all Sponsor Tickets will be convered to Standard Tickets.
Group bookings are not considered for Sponsor Tickets.
Further details on the silent auction process can be seen at the ‘Silent Auction’ section below.
Attendees who purchase a Sponsor Ticket:
- Are required to pay the whole of the up-front cost for their ticket upon successful obtaining a ticket;
- Have agreed they will receive the same level of service and quality as expected of a Standard Ticket and acknowledge they do not receive any additional benefit as a result of their purchase of a Sponsor Ticket;
- Are subject to the Social Contract and Safety Policies in the same way as all other attendees; and
- Will never have their status as a Sponsor disclosed or acknowledged by The Equinox Institute team but may disclose their status as a Sponsor at their own discretion.
For Episode 1: Idle Tears – there are 4 Sponsor Tickets available. The minimum bid of each Sponsor Ticket is £250.
Pre-Selected Ticket Process
The Equinox Institute Team reserves the right to set-aisde a number of places at an event for pre-selected individuals.
These spaces are reserved for exceptional circumstances (for example – payment of a site deposit, being a first aider or a member of the wider Reality Checkpoint LARP team) and are only granted following agreement by all members of The Equinox Institute Game Team.
Any tickets granted in this manner are considered to be Sponsor Tickets and are subject to the same requirements as other Sponsor Tickets including payment of the minimum ticket price and disclosure of the individual’s status as a pre-selected attendee. This has the effect of reducting the overall number of Sponsor Tickets available for an event.
For Episode 1: Idle Tears – 1 ticket has been pre-allocated to a member of our community and has been charged at £250.
Refusal Policy
The Equinox Institute Game Team reserves the right to refuse an attempted booking, at any time, without having to provide a reason as to why. Where an individual is refused a booking, the Equinox Institute Team will contact them via our official email address to confirm this is the case.
Payment Process
Once a ticket has been confirmed, attendees are expected to confirm their place by either payment in full or, where agreed by way of the Expression of Interest form, payment of a deposit in accordance with the agreed Payment Plan. Deadlines for payment is set out below:
| Payment Date | Standard Ticket | Accessibility Ticket | Sponsor Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 December 2024 | £50 (Deposit) | £25 (Deposit) | Full amount of value of bid. |
| 31 January 2025 | £100 | £50 | N/A |
| 28 February 2025 | £50 | £25 | N/A |
No booking is considered finalised until an attendee pays the deposit or, in the case of a Sponsor Ticket, the value of their bid is paid in full. Failure to pay the deposit or instalments by the deadline will result in your ticket being released to an individual on the Waiting List.
Late Bookings
Any bookings made after the 31 January 2025 must be paid in full before they are accepted. No bookings will be accepted after the 28 February 2025 deadline.
Alternative Payment Plans – Standard and Accessibility Tickets
The Payment Plan above is considered to be the “standard payment plan” for individuals who have agreed to payment by instalments in their Expression of Interest forms. If this does not work for you, please contact The Equinox Institute Team in writing and by email (at EquinoxInstituteLrp@gmail.com) so we can discuss the possibility of an alternative payment plan.
Offers to pay by alternative deadlines to the above must be agreed in writing with The Equinox Institute Team and are offered at the The Equinox Institute Team’s sole discretion.
How to Pay
Details on how to pay will be contained in the email confirming the offer of a ticket for the event. If however you are unable to locate this, please get in touch with The Equinox Institute Team at EquinoxInstituteLrp@gmail.com so these details can be provided again.
Please note that Reality Checkpoint Limited only accepts payment by Bank Transfer and does not agree to payment in cash or via PayPal.
Refunds, Cancellation and Termination Policy
An attendee may cancel their attendance at the event at anytime by submitting an email in writing to EquinoxInstituteLrp@gmail.com. No other forms of notice are acceptable. Attendees should look to notify the team as soon as reasonably possible once they are aware they cannot attend.
Refunds
The Equinox Institute Team provides no guarantee of a refund at any point after payment.
Where the Equinox Institute receives notification of a cancellation, it will attempt to resell the ticket and pass any resale amount (less the deposit) to the attendee once the new booking has been confirmed and paid. The Equinox Institute Team reserves the right to sell-on any cancelled tickets for less than the full original price up to three months prior to the start date of the event.
Sponsor Tickets, if cancelled, will be sold as Standard Tickets. Sponsors should therefore be aware that the maximum refund they may receive, regardless of the bid made for the original ticket, will always be the total price of a Standard Ticket minus the deposit.
Cancellations made in the four weeks before the start date of the event will receive no refund even if the ticket is resold.
Where an attendee has to cancel in the week prior to the event for health reasons, The Equinox Institute Team will look to refund the attendee as much as it can out of the funds remaining after the game (the attendee acknowledging that these funds may be as low as zero and that accordingly, a refund may not be due where this is the case).
Termination of Ticket – Attendee Engagement
In order to finalise plot, props and various administrative documentation, all attendees are expected to engage with The Equinox Institute Team where it has communicated with them prior to the event. In particular, it is important attendees comply with any deadlines for submission of Character Creation.
If The Equinox Institute Team has sent correspondence to an attendee’s main point of contact and it has failed to respond and/or reply to a request for submission of Character Creation details within 7 days of such a request, the Equinox Institute Team reserves the right to cancel the booking and arrange for resale of the ticket. Where this is the case, the Equinox Institute Team will provide notice to the attendee that this has occurred and a refund will be issued in accordance with the Refunds section above.
Ticket Resale
Attendees may not swap, exchange or resell their tickets without the express written permission of The Equinox Institute Game Team. Attendees who do so without permission may be banned from all future Reality Checkpoint LARP events and, where appropriate, this may extend to any individuals to whom the ticket has been resold.
Group Bookings
The Equinox Institute LARP will accept group bookings for Standard Tickets only. Attendees who apply for a Sponsor Ticket will be allowed to declare their intent to be part of a group but this confers no mechanical booking adjustments.
To apply for a place at the event as a group, all members of the group must submit an individual Expression of Interest form. As part of the Expression of Interest form you will be asked to list all other members of your group who your booking is contingent on. If any member of the group fails to do this, then all bookings will be treated as individual bookings for the purpose of any lottery process that takes place for the distribution of tickets.
In order for all members of a group to successfully obtain a place, 50% of the group’s total membership must gain a ticket during the lottery process. For the avoidance of doubt this means that for a group of:
- 2 – at least 1 member must obtain a ticket; and
- 3 or 4 – at least 2 members must obtain a ticket.
Once this threshhold has been met, all members of the group will automatically gain a ticket to the event – reducing the overall pool of available tickets accordingly. If there are not enough remaining tickets once this has taken place, then all group members bookings will be rejected and the tickets redrawn for other attendees. The group will then be added to the waiting list in accordance with our Lottery process below.
Lottery Process
Accessibility and Standard Tickets are distributed via lottery. This is done via a live draw event.
Prior to the draw, an individual who has submitted an Expression of Interest Form, will receive an email from EquinoxInstituteLrp@gmail.com to inform them of their unique alias. These aliases will be added into and drawn from the transparent drawing mechanism on the live stream. Dates and times for this live-stream will be shared via our official communication channels which includes this Website, our Facebook Page and Discord.
During the live stream we will draw all names from our list in order. Once the stream is completed, we will review the list in order to confirm which attendees have received a ticket for the event and who is on our waiting list. We will then look to contact each attendee through the details provided in their Expression of Interest form along with payment details where an attendee has successfully obtained a place at the event. Should you require a phased payment plan prior to the event, you should respond to this email and we will arrange details with you.
Silent aUCTION Process
The silent auction process only applies to Sponsor Tickets.
When applying for a place via the Expression of Interest Form, an attendee who wishes to apply for a Sponsor Ticket will be given the option to bid for a Sponsor Ticket. The starting bid for Episode 1: Idle Tears is £250.
Once you have submitted your Expression of Interest Form, an individual will receive an email from EquinoxInstituteLrp@gmail.com to inform them of their unique alias. The Top 4 bids received shall be communicated in the same live draw event as for the lottery but prior to the Accessibility and Standard Ticket draws. All unsuccessful bids will be automatically entered into the draw for a Standard Ticket as per the rest of the Standard Ticket application.
A payment plan is not available for these tickets and payment of your full bid must be paid up-front.