The Battle of Five Armies is a larp held in the Czech Republic inspired by the events in the book The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, which is a precursor the famous, filmed, trilogy The Lord of the Rings. But you probably already know that!

Just as in the novel and now, the upcoming movie, each year the forces of good and evil of Middle Earth clash in an epic battle in the woods and surrounding plains. Elves, Men and Dwarves fight for the forces of light while the Gundabal, Naurrakur, Highlanders fight for the forces of evil.

There’s tons of information on their website, but if you want a longer and more in depth look at the Battle of Five Armies you can Czech out (yes, I did that…) documentary made in 2012 of the event. It’s long and doesn’t have subtitles, but gives you a good idea of the scale and depth players go into the event.

My favorite part: It isn’t predetermined who will win. Sometimes the “evil” side wins!