Now it is difficult to find out for certain whence the fashion for role-play games came. However, sincerely speaking, for most of their participants RPG are not simply fashion but a way of life. They all eagerly await the moment when they will be able to escape from everyday problems and become their favorite hero, making thorough preparations: sewing costumes, preparing armor, etc. Several times every summer a forest near the village of Kolodenka (Rivne oblast) turns into the world of unmatched British fantasy writer John Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings series. Well, not exactly, because Tolkien would never have dreamed that an Old Slavonic Murom might appear next door to his Middle Earth and these two countries’ inhabitants (players of the two teams taking part in the game) will contest in fencing, handicraft skills, etc.
The ancient world of Murom’s real history together with the bewitching English tale of goblins, hobbits, and wizards told by Tolkien are made reality by members of the Rusych Society, which was formed several years ago at Rivne School No. 15, when its older pupils became interested in the English writer’s books. Luckily for them, their teacher Svitlana Kukharuk did not view their passion as escapism and supported them in every possible way. It was then that the Rusych appeared, now uniting not only schoolchildren but graduates of the class that started the Tolkienist role-play game: brothers Kyrylo and Hlib Kapustins, Dmytro Potekhin, Oleksandr Khabarov, et. al. Among the benefits of the process of the game are that its participants almost unanimously mention their intimate communion with wild nature. Note that the Rusyches never leave any garbage in the forest and never do it any damage. Maybe the reason is that during the game none of them imbibes strong drink, although beer has been known. Another benefit is improving one’s knowledge of history and folklore.
The Rusych meetings have long overgrown the limits of a children’s game. Now Tolkien’s world is recreated not only by teenagers but also people in their thirties. In the words of game participants, this healthy and merry world gives them inspiration to live a full life until the next summer.
