How do I become a Mutant in the Ark?

A step by step guide to taking part in The Last Ark

​So, you like the idea of spending some of your summer as a Mutant, exploring a post-apocalyptic society from within. Maybe you have a specific vision of something you want to do there – grow your own mushroom farm in a corner of the ship or create a crew of mouse-eared marauders with a taste for flesh, for instance (you can do both, if you want to!) Or maybe you love Mutant, Stalker or Metro 2033 and want the full-body experience of living in the postapocalyptic age. Either way, this is what you do to join:

1. Sign up for one or more events here on our page and pay for your ticket. You’ll be asked whether you want to play a pre-written character or create your own. If you choose the first, we’ll send you a character. If you choose the second, we have a template you can use and are happy to help with advice along the way.

In the first event, Crash, you can only play as one kind of character: a mutated crew member from the Silver Ark. They get pre-written characters. For the other events, you can sign up as a marauder or pre-existing inhabitant of the island and create your own character.

2. Get started on writing your character or lean back and wait to receive one. You’ll be able to decide yourself what your character will look like, so you can get started on costumes as soon as you feel like it.

3. To prepare yourself to play your character, start putting together a costume and make plans with others who are going to the same event. Maybe you already know someone, or you find them through us. As we get closer to the events, you’ll find useful tips on how to prepare and make your gear on our blog.

4. If you want to, read up on Mutant or other post-apocalyptic fiction.

5. You’re welcome to come by the island in between events, to take part in changing the shape of the Ark. For instance, you might want to decorate your own corner of the Ark before the first event or start a small vegetable garden sometime before the second. Once you have a ticket to one of the events, it’s your island too and we invite you to set your mark on it. You’ll be able to go there by boat with us. A schedule will follow.

6. The day of the event, you’ll be taken by boat to the Island along with all the other players, where we’ll run a pre-event workshop to instruct you in how to get the most out of the experience. You’ll get the tour of everything your character should know about, have time to meet your character’s friends and enemies, and get a refresher of the few rules of the event. You’ll have time to change into costume before the event begins.

7. Have a good time exploring the new world as a Mutant or Zone dweller. Repurpose parts of the Silver Ark, fantasize about what the world used to look like, eat slow-cooked shroom food, make a sculpture, tend your ant farm. For the most part, what you see is what you get – on the Island, pretending is all about creating realistic illusions. Your character can do what you can (convincingly) do. Take it as it comes, and let yourself be present in both the small daily tasks and the social complications of the settlement.

During the events, it’s up to you how you spend your time, but if you feel lost, there’ll always be an event-maker somewhere nearby, you can ask for advice.

After each event, there’ll be a chance to socialize out of character before we take you back to the mainland.