OK check-in
The OK check-in is a technique used during games to promote player safety by giving participants a quick way to determine a player's emotional state without significantly breaking the flow of a game or player immersion.
These techniques were developed around 2016 to help answer the question of whether a participant was acting out distress as an expression of their character in-game, or if something in the game had upset them out-of-game. It begins using a similar hand signal as used in scuba-diving[1]. The steps of the OK-check in system are as follows:
- The person enquiring makes an "OK" symbol with their hand, touching the thumb and index finger together to create an "O" and leaving remaining fingers splayed out; and ensuring that the other person can see it. This means: "Are You Okay?"
- The other person responds in one of three ways: thumbs up for "Yes", thumbs down for "No", and a wavering flat hand (parallel to ground) for "I am not sure".
- If "yes", play continues as normal.
- If "no" or "I'm not sure", participants are to then pause play and discuss further, potentially using a script, GM assistance, or other tools agreed upon prior to play to look out for the affected player.
The exact details of this procedure may vary between larp groups and countries. In particular, roleplayers are advised to substitute with a different signal when in Italy, due to the OK hand sign being seen as offensive in that cultural context.[2].
Example games
See also
References
- ↑ Ok Sign: Scuba Diving Hand Signal
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sarah Lynne Bowman, Maury Brown, Johanna Koljonen (2017) Safety Calibration in Larps, presentation slides, Nordic Larp website, retrieved 5th May 2026.
External links
- Check-ins on the Nordic larp wiki