On the 26th April, Journey to the End of the Night will take place in Dublin. This is a free street game played at night, and run entirely by volunteers.

It’s basically a giant game of tag, but with extra rules thrown in to make it possible to win and lose. All the players start from the same place, then they have to visit six check-points spread out over the city. But while they’re doing that, they are also being hunted down by the chasers. If a player is caught, they switch sides and become a chaser. The winners are those who make it to all the check-points without being caught.

Journey to the End of the Night was created in 2006 and since then it has been played in over 30 cities all around Europe and North America. Thousands of people have taken part, so there must be something in it!

It will be fun and exciting and unlike anything you’ve done before. The creators have described the experience as cinematic – like being the star of your own action movie. I suspect it’s very good for stress – a wonderful opportunity to ditch all your real life worries for a night and throw yourself into the game. Though maybe game isn’t the right word – one of the survival tips is “Bring a friend or two. Preferably ones you can outrun.”

The Dublin event is run by Make and Do who set up the prosocialrulebreakingclub a couple of years ago, run theatre games at Electric Picnic and are currently Artists in Residence at Project Arts Centre.

They are currently looking for volunteers to help make it all happen. The Volunteer sign-up form is here.

If you’re interested, you can learn more about the Dublin game, or find out more about Journey to the End of the Night in general or follow Make and Do on Twitter.

Related post: Interview with Hilary O’Shaughnessy