SF Bay Area Foam Combat
There are several groups around the bay area practicing a variety of different foam combat sports. This personal page is designed to help navigate the different available groups for new players and cross-gamers.
Belegarth
Belegarth is a full-contact combat game focused on duels and team battles, with some trappings of medieval or fantasy settings. Purely combat-focused, the game balances in between being a sport, a LARP, and a martial art.
Most of northern California Belegarth is part of the Norcalia Alliance (facebook, discord, geddon) which maintains a list of practices.
At time of writing, this includes:
Mallenorod (facebook, discord, geddon, meetup) which meets Saturdays 12:30-4 at Lakewood Park in Sunnyvale
Ashen Spire, which meets Mondays 6-8pm at John Mise park in San Jose (please note: this practice is aimed at advanced fighters, and will be less approachable for new players)
Grey Haven (facebook, geddon), which meets Tuesdays 7-10pm at 48 Webster St in Oakland
Saracor (facebook, discord, geddon), which meets Wednesdays 7-9pm at Emerald Glen park in Dublin
Tolaria (facebook, discord, geddon), which meets Sundays 1-5pm at East OPERS Field in Santa Cruz
Amtgard
Amtgard is a low-roleplay LARP with class-based combat and magic.
Amtgard in California is governed under the Kingdom of Westmarch (facebook, discord, ork).
Realms in the Bay Area include:
Wyvern’s Spur (facebook), which meets Sundays at noon at Marina Bay park in Richmond
Wavehaven (facebook), which meets Sundays at noon at University Terrace park in Santa Cruz
Wildmire (facebook, discord), which meets 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month at Lake Elizabeth in Fremont
Belial Peaks (facebook) meets Saturdays at 10am in Crockett Park in Oakley
Crimson Wood meets Saturdays at 11am in Eagle Park in Rohnert Park, with fighter practices Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30
Jugger
Jugger is a sport using foam weapons. It has the least roleplaying flavor, and the most formal competitive tournaments, operating entirely as a sport.
California Jugger coordinates through discord.
Arborealis meets at Arguello Field in Stanford on Sundays 3-6pm
Ursae Majoris (facebook, instagram) meets in Berkeley on Saturdays at 1-4pm in Memorial Glade.
Luna Limax (instagram) meets in Santa Cruz alongside the UCSC Belegarth group, Sundays 2-5pm at East OPERS
Bay Area LARPs
There are a number of other LARPs around the Bay Area, many of which do foam weapon based combat, though (my understanding is) none have free, weekly practices. Many commonly advertise their events on Facebook. All of these games are much more RP-focused. I am not personally familiar with any, though I include them for completeness and in hopes of inspiring more players to cross-game and bring our communities together. Thanks to Jason Brodsky for helping me put together a more complete list. If you are associated with one of these LARPs and would like to update your blurb or try out a heavier combat sport, please reach out!
Solitude is a small, free to play fantasy LARP with highly athletic combat.
NERO BANE is a fantasy LARP with complex rules and character progression.
Refuge is a fantasy LARP with complex rules and character progression.
Project Valhalla is a sci-fi LARP.
Dark Prospects is a wild west World of Darkness LARP with minimal combat.
C-Tek is a cyber-punk LARP mostly using nerf weapons for combat, though boffer weapons are in the rules.
Dystopia Rising Norcal is a post-apocalyptic LARP using both nerf and boffer weapons.
FanWar is a combat LARP camp in Palo Alto for children aged 9+.
Maps of the various Bel, Amt, and Jugger groups around the Bay
Weekly Practice Calendar Summary:
Amtgard | Belegarth | Jugger | |
Sunday | Wavehaven (Santa Cruz), Wyvern’s Spur (Richmond) | Tolaria (Santa Cruz) | Luna Limax (Santa Cruz) |
Monday |
| Ashen Spire (San Jose) |
|
Tuesday | Crimson Wood (Rohnert Park) | Grey Haven (Oakland) |
|
Wednesday |
| Saracor (San Ramon) |
|
Thursday | Crimson Wood (Rohnert Park) |
|
|
Friday | Wildmire (Fremont) |
|
|
Saturday | Crimson Wood (Rohnert Park) Belial Peaks (Oakley) | Mallenorod (Sunnyvale) | Arborealis (Stanford) Ursae Majoris (Berkeley) |