LARP Writing Contests

If you want to encourage LARPing, you need more good, easy-to-run, ready-to-go LARPs that can be given to new GMs and new groups. What better way to make that happen than by sponsoring LARP writing contests with cash prizes?

Intercon has had a long history of Iron GM and Small Game Contests, starting with the Live Action Roleplayers Association (LARPA) mid-Atlantic Intercons. NEIL was involved in many of those contests, helping LARPA to sponsor them by providing prize money. Several impressive LARPs came out of those contests, like Marlowe 2020, The Road Not Taken, and Time Travel Review Board. These LARPs, and other contest LARPs like them, continue to run in different places, bringing more people to LARP.

As the New England Intercons prospered and grew - and needed more LARPs to satisfy its voracious population of LARPers - it was only natural for NEIL to sponsor local competitions leading up to Intercon. With contest game first runs at Intercon, it meant that they could be played and judged by a diverse crowd of enthusiastic Intercon LARPers.

What follows is a history of the events primarily sponsored by NEIL.

Intercon T Iron GM Contest (January 2020)

Facilitated by: Tara Halwes, Kim Sward, and Ace Tayloe

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the genre of Monster Stories, the theme of Immortality, the ingredient of Silence, with a prop of a lantern.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 The Witching Hour: Michael Von Korff, Kiara Vincent, Elisabeth Cohen, and Sarah Judd Into the Abyss
2nd $150 Hanging Lantern: Benji Michalek, Jeff Steele, and Natasha Borders Respawn
3rd $100 Liminality Octopus: Xavid Pretzer, Jakob Weisblat, and Edwin Karat In the Hall of the Beast
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Geese In Our Thyme: Jacqueline Bryk, Ben Walker, and Justin Buckley Cryptid Connection
The Tenth Muse: Joshua Sheena and Megan Coppock The Horror of Wadi Alwasi

The scoring between the five games was extremely close.

Intercon S Iron GM Contest (January 2019)

Facilitated by: Tara Halwes and Kim Sward

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Magical Realism (the 'real world' meets the fantastic), the secret theme of Coming of Age, the secret element of Distress Call, with an additional secret prop of a 10” glass round mirror.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 Paranoid & Crochety: Tory Root and Lily Benderskaya The Leonids
2nd $150 The Witching Hour: Sarah Judd, Kiara Vincent, Michael Von Korff, and Elisabeth Cohen Self Reflections
3rd $100 Hanging Lantern: Natasha Borders, Benji Michalek, and Jeff Steele Nightingale
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Carcosa Creations: Kim Kreiner and Kevin Kreiner The Call
Liminality Squid: Xavid Pretzer, Jakob Weisblat, and Edwin Karat Fading Lights
Muses: Megan Coppock, Eric Wirtanen, and Joshua Sheena Distress Call
Not Set In Stone: Jeff Diewald, Julie Diewald, Tim Lasko, Theresa Sullivan, and Gaylord Tang Level Up!
Team Folks: Allegra Durante, Telmo, and Timothy Yuan Gap Year

This was an amazing year for the Iron GM competition:

Several of these games have already run again, in other venues.

Intercon R Iron GM Contest (February 2018)

Facilitated by: Tara Halwes and Kim Sward

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Sea stories, the secret theme of Metamorphosis, the secret element of Math, with an additional secret prop of a wooden shaker egg painted silver.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 The Crystal GMs: Ace Tayloe, Evanleigh Davis, Anna O'Shea, Laura Willard, and Kate Zdepski Be the Change You Wish to Sea
2nd $150 Carcosa Creations: Kim Kreiner and Kevin Kreiner The Heart of the Sea
3rd $100 Paranoid & Crochety: Tory Root and Lily Benderskaya Into the Silent Sea
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Giant's Lioness: Sean Croteau and Anna Galitzine The Mariner's Tear
Remote Commute: Megan Coppock and David Neuebauer Village in the Lee

Intercon Q Iron GM Contest (February 2017)

Facilitated by: Tara Halwes and Kim Sward

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Parallel Universes, the secret theme of Hope or False Hope, the secret element of Trickster animals, with an additional secret prop of 10' foot strand of green LED lights.

Three teams produced really interesting games, with the usual narrow point spread in the results.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 10th Muse: Megan Coppock and Josh Sheena A Thread of Faith
2nd $150 Galimatias: Sarah Judd and John Isabella Snugglebunny Apocalypse
3rd $100 Giant's Lioness: Sean Croteau and Anna Galitzine Epilogue

Intercon P Iron GM Contest (February 2016)

Facilitated by: Marsha Gershon

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Paranormal, the secret theme of Convention and Rebellion, the secret element of Tattoos, with an additional secret prop of a Plastic Kazoo.

There were four excellent competitors, producing enjoyable games, in another close competition.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 Cats O' Nine Tales: Katherine Bryant and Caroline Murphy The Gate
2nd $150 Zabugofast: Daniel Zaharopol, David Farhi, Kevin Gold, and Ari Nieh The Candles of Destiny
3rd $100 League of Circuses: Sarah Judd and Betsy Isaacson The Weather Underground
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Trigonometric Butterfly: Vicki Bloom, Matt Weber, and KN Granger Gimme Shelter

Intercon O Iron GM Contest (February - March 2015)

Facilitated by: Viktoriya Fuzaylova

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Satire, the secret theme of Lost and Found, the secret element of Vegetables, with an additional secret prop of a Skeleton Key.

There were three excellent competitors, producing enjoyable games. Despite the fact that Nat Budin was ineligible to compete (being married to the facilitator), he also wrote a fourth game for the competition!

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 Organized Chaos: Kristen Patten, David Braslow, Kim Sward, and Brian Rust Compost Tales
2nd $150 Yellow Sign: Alon Levy, Sarah Judd, and Thomas Wohlers Seek/Find
3rd $100 Crossbones: Megan Coppock, Matthew Herron, Renee Shultz, and Matthew Snouffer The Rings of the Lords
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Alleged Entertainment: Nat Budin Saturday Market

Intercon N Iron GM Contest (March 2014)

Facilitated by: Viktoriya Fuzaylova

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient genre of Comedy of Manners, the secret theme of Tradition versus Change, the secret element of The Four Elements, with an additional secret prop of 12 origami butterflies.

It was another tough competition, producing five very good LARPs.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 Team MAD: Dan Zaharopol, David Farhi, and Matthew Steele The Elements of a Proper Starship
2nd $150 Nuclear Option: Ekate K., Xavid Pretzer, and Halftime Peairs The Importance of Being Convergent
3rd $100 Justice Sans Truth: Greer Hauptman, Mol Dezern, Isabel Malonzo, and Li-Chi Young The Prophecy of the Starry Skies
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
KSTV: Tom Traina, Vicki Bloom, Kara Hurvitz, Sarah Judd, and Sam LaFleche My Big Fat Pixie Wedding
Live Game Labs: Aaron Vanek and Kirsten Hageleit Unfamiliar Spirits

Intercon M Iron GM Contest (March 2013)

Facilitated by: Joshua Sheena

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players in 24 hours, using the secret ingredient themes of time-travel, stuffed animals, and secret societies.

Once again, it was a tough competition, with just a few points separating first place and last place. Some of these games have run again since the contest, which is part of the goal!

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 The Melpomenauts: Liliya Benderskaya, Kat Davis, Jaelen Hartwin, and Tory Root The Dying of the Light
2nd $150 Arkham Escapees: John Brewer, Ada Nakama, Conor Walsh, and Naomi Wixon Adorable, Nonthreatening, Chronological Sound Edu-tainment (Brought to you by the letter I)
3rd $100 Alleged Entertainment: Nat Budin, Viktoriya Fuzaylova, Phoebe Roberts, and Andrew Sheingold AGENT Bobo of the Resistance
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Not Apple Designs: Sarah Judd, Sam LeFleche, Kevin Piala, Kara Hurvitz, and Zack Card The Factory
Salmon Sorbet: Katie Gordon, Jamey Patten, Kristen Patten, and David Braslow Chronometrix, Inc. - Yesterday's Solutions Tomorrow
Team MAD: Daniel Zaharopol, Matthew Steele, Ari N, Michael Shulman, and David Farhi The Maddington Family Reunion

Intercon J Small Games Contest (March 2010)

Facilitated by: LARPA

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 10-16 players. This was a general contest, with no special themes or ingredients.

This was a really small contest, as Mike Young was the only entrant. He won all the money!

Place Prize Creative Team Game Download
1st $500 Mike Young Slash Available here

Intercon I Iron GM Contest (March 2009)

Facilitated by: Jaelen Hartwin

Goal: Produce a 2 hour LARP for 12 players, using the secret ingredient themes of pulp (the literary style), long-lost siblings, and fairies.

Each game could score a possible total of fifty points, and the results were very close. The difference between the winning team and the last place team was just six points.

Place Prize Creative Team Game
1st $250 I Escaped From Arkham: John Brewer, Nyren Knapp, Ada Nakama, Conor Walsh, and Naomi Wixon A Midsummer Night and the Livin' is Easy
2nd $100 Second Place: Eric Cantrell and Emily Shepperd Death at the ILLS
Other Teams, Alphabetically by Team Name
Paranoid and Crotchety: Liliya Benderskaya and Tory Root Lifeline
Windmill Games: J. Akira Barnes and Brandon Grinslade Dream a Little Dream for Me