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Peaky Midwest is a the American child of the UK Peaky LARP writing workshop. Peaky began in 2001 and has a long history of producing great UK-freeform games.

The first Peaky Midwest was held in May 2012 with the help of two members of the UK Peaky, who traveled all the way across the ocean to show us the ropes.

Previous Events

April 2023, Peaky Midwest #10

Peaky Midwest 2023 was a return to face-to-face events. Ten writers met up just outside of Chicago, Illinois to write and playtest three great new larps.

• Demands of Passall written by Quinn D, Jest Pestlin, and Susan Schmidt. Demands of Passall is a larp about a group of Acolytes who follow the 5 Aspects of Passall.  It follows the Acolytes’ journey through faith, doubt, and/or zealotry as their gods speak to and make demands of them. A game for 4 to 15 players and 1 or 2 GMs.
• Dungeons, Dishes, and Dragons written by  Brendan Adkins, Matthew Francois, Esa Sclafani, and Susan Weiner. A Secrets and Powers LARP set in a modern fantasy world in the kitchen of a high end restaurant. A game for 8 to 10 players and 2 GMs.
• The Statue written by Iris Felshman, Jon Marcus, and Eva Schiffer. After a great sculptor dies, their heir and their protege both lay claim to a piece of their work. The players will play out the case in court, with two taking on the roles of claimants and the other three playing both jury and witness roles. A game for 5 players and 1 GM.

April/May 2022, Peaky Midwest #9

Peaky Midwest 2022 was a virtual event event that met over the internet, with the writing weekend being held in April and the playtest weekend in May. Sixteen writers split into four teams and created four great new larps.

• Harry Potter Book Club Reunion written by Aer van de Water, Olivia Montoya, Laura Boylan. After a flopped reunion, you're stuck in the airport with your high school friends from the Harry Potter Book Club during a tropical storm. A game with 3 cis female characters, 2 afab nonbinary characters, 1 intersex female character, and 2 cis male characters. Requires 1 GM.
• Henchpeople Unite! Local #1 written by David Cave, Elisa Ford, Kathleen Fuller, and Susan Schmidt. Supervillains make terrible bosses. One henchperson has a solution: unionize! A game for 3 to 6 players and 1 GM.
• In the Fairy Woods written by Quinn D, Kathleen De Smet, Jon Marcus, and Eva Schiffer. A group of people are trapped in the fairy woods and the malicious fairies intend to have their fun. Cursed with different appearances and having forgotten their names, the characters stumble around different areas of the forest trying to find a way to escape together. A game for 8 players and 1 or more GMs.
• News of the Apocalypse written by Keith Darron, Sarah Judd, Matthew McNally, Jest Pestlin, and Gaylord Tang. A virtual game for 6 players and 1 or 2 GMs about programming and broadcasting news shows from a St. Louis, Missouri newsroom during a mounting, world-ending crisis. Inspired by chthonic/eldritch horror.

May 2021, Peaky Midwest #8

Peaky Midwest 2021 was a virtual event, held in May over the internet. Sixteen writers split into five teams and produced five awesome new larps.

• [CITATION NEEDED]: A Game of Wikipedian Archaeology written by Benjamin Aldred, Joanna Tova Price, and Gaylord Tang. Players create characters who are archaeologists of the far future, working through their personal conflicts to collaborate on an abstract for a paper for a conference about the distant, near-mythological past - our present time. A replayable, GM-less game for 3 to 6 players.
  This game is available for free.
• Mirror Mirror written by Megan Coppock, Quinn D, and Eva Schiffer. In a reimagining of Snow White, players take on the roles of evil Queen Delara and her scrying Mirror. This is an emotional journey about processing grief through a beloved story, with many opportunities for the characters to explore parts that are normally not considered in detail in most retellings. A game for 2 players willing to play female characters and 1 GM.
  This game is available for free.
• The Passion of Joan written by Kathleen De Smet, Aer van de Water, Sarah Judd, and Josh Krehbiel. Joan of Arc connects with the voices in her head—St. Margaret, St. Catherine, and Archangel Michael—when she is at a low point after her interrogation and confession under duress. They guide her through her doubt by reliving their lifetime of intense (non-romantic) love for her. A game for 4 players and 1 GM.
• Prisoners of Memory written by Elisa Ford, Olivia Montoya, and Azalea Weisblat. Prisoners of Memory is a game about the price of immortality, and making difficult decisions with limited information. Characters will question everything about their lives as they regain access to forgotten memories. A game for 6 players and 1 GM.
• Quest for Knowledge written by Aslanta Chen, Jenny Diewald, and Jon Marcus. An expedition to explore a spacecraft from outside the solar system. A game for 7 players and 1 GM.

2020, event canceled

Peaky Midwest 2020 was scheduled for mid April in Madison, Wisconsin. Unfortunately because of the threat of COVID-19 the organizers felt it was best to cancel the 2020 workshop.

June 2019, Peaky Midwest #7

Peaky Midwest 2019 was held in mid June at a private home in Madison, Wisconsin. Nine writers split into three teams and produced three great new games.

• Ensemble Cast Mystery: Death at Bancroft Manor written by Kathleen De Smet, Tasha Robinson, and Eva Schiffer. A detective and their companion investigate a 1920s country estate mystery, while an ensemble cast plays all other significant roles to lay out the clues of the story. A game for 6 players and 1 GM.
  This game is available for free.
• Fire Brings Change written by Quinn D, Jon Marcus, and Steve Vig. A team of firefighters gets trapped while fighting a wildfire in California. During a brief respite, they struggle to come to terms with themselves, and the ways that they are changing. A game for 6 to 10 players and 1 GM.
• Six Criminals and a Funeral written by Dave Cave, Alan De Smet, and Jaime Frey. The story of a crime going wrong, told backward. A game for 6 players and 1 GM.

April 2018, Peaky Midwest #6

Our sixth workshop, Peaky Midwest 2018 was be held in late April at Castle Whately, just outside of Chicago, Illinois. Twenty nine writers split into six teams and produced six great new games.

• Earth and Other Impermanent Things written by Korey J. Enright, Vivien Grimm, J Hyde, Stephanie Slattery, and Jess Leigh Unrein. In a forgotten future, humanity’s last hope is the machines they have sent down to re-terraform a desolated Earth. Orbiting survivors and Earth bound machines remotely communicate from two separate out of character locations. A game for 7 to 12 players and 2 to 3 GMs.
• Framework written by Katie Giacomini, Adrienne Kammer, Clint Koglin, Jenn Martin, and Max Saltonstall. Paintings come to life for one night of the year to stretch their legs and solve their problems. Players play patrons at a gala and manifestations of artwork. A game for 8 to 10 players and 2 GMs.
• Rehearsal, Replay written by Dave Cave, Jon Marcus, Eva Schiffer, and Adira Slattery. The first theater with all artificial actors is in rehearsals the night before opening. The director left the AI puppets to run automatic rehearsals overnight. Surely the puppets won't begin to pull their own strings. A game for 6 players and 1 or 2 GMs.
  This game is available for free.
• Romantic Entanglement written by Quinn D, Lillie Franks, E. Chris Garrison, and Tara Zuber. According to the Company, Alice and Jill are soulmates. The only problem is...the relationship failed. To correct this error, the Company has brought them together to meet alternate versions of themselves and find their true soul mate among the variations. A game with 8 female characters to be run by 2 GMs.
• Second Annual Mad Science Awards written by Brandon Brylawski, John Kammer, Jess Pestlin, Laurie Rich, Hakan Seyalioglu, and Susan Weiner. A lighthearted game about mad science, egos, and identity swapping. A game for 8 to 10 players and 2 GMs.
• Who Killed High Hat? written by Brendan Adkins, Diane Glewwe, James Silverstein, Gaylord Tang, and Steve Vig. A darkly humorous game about horrible people possibly losing everything and probably learning nothing, while drinking heavily. A game for 8 to 9 players and 1 to 2 GMs.

March 2017, Peaky Midwest #5

This was the fifth Peaky Midwest, held just outside Chicago, Illinois. Twenty four writers gathered in Castle Whately and split into five teams to produce five new games.

• Dungeon Owners Association written by Elisa Ford, Doug Freedman, Robert Peck, Jess Pestlin, Morgan Rippke, and Skylar Rippke; Fantasy monsters attend their home's Dungeon Owners Association meeting. Requires 10 players.
• Fools Rush In written by Katie Giacomini, Diana Glewwe, Clint Koglin, Jim Silverstein, and Adira Slattery; The last dance for American soldiers heading off to war in the Pacific Theater in 1945. Includes 4 to 9 female characters, 5 to 14 male players, and 1 to 11 neutral charaters.
• Midnight on the Rashomon Express written by Korey Enright, Philip Kelley, Stephanie Slattery, and Tara Zuber; Passengers on a train travel through memories of the same events in six different tropes in the hope of discovering what really happened. Requires 6 players.
• Peace, Land, and Bread! written by Kathleen De Smet, Lillie Franks, Jon Marcus, Eva Schiffer, and Steve Vig; An upstairs/downstairs game set in Ireland in 1917 with themes of privilege, food, and revolution. Cast includes 2 male characters, 2 female characters, and 2 neutral characters.
  This game is available to purchase.
• QUILTBAG written by Frank Beres, Quinn D, E. Chris Garrison, and Susan Weiner. Students attend their University's "Queer Life support" therapy group. Requires 8 players.

April 2016, Peaky Midwest #4

This was the fourth Peaky Midwest, held just outside Chicago, Illinois. Twenty one writers gathered in Castle Whately and split into five teams to produce five new games. This year we managed to playtest all five games on Sunday, amidst unseasonably beautiful warm weather.

• The Beacon written by Diana Glewwe, Clint Koglin, Robert Peck, and Tara Zuber; A starship crew responds to a distress beacon. Requires 6 players.
• Grandma's Resting Place written by Quinn D, Kathleen De Smet, Katie Giacomini, Eva Schiffer, and Gaylord Tang; A story of remembrance in the immediate wake of a beloved Grandmother's death. Includes 1 female character and 5 characters of flexible gender.
  This game is available to purchase.
• The Night of Chekov's Gun written by Marc B., Amanda Brown, Doug Freedman, Gail Freedman, and Adira Slattery; Real historical figures meet the Wild Wild West in a star studded train ride. Includes 6 female and 6 male characters.
• Play Date written by Stephanie Marx, Drew Novick, Mags Simkins, and Susan Weiner. A group of children and their imaginary friends get together for a play date: A game about how children deal with difficult issues. Requires 10 players.
• A Retreat to Remember written by Jaime Frey, Lelah Frey, and Philip Kelley. A boat with 7 passengers arrives at a mysterious island with no memory of why they're there or even who they are. Requires 7 players.
  This game is available to purchase.

May 2015, Peaky Midwest #3

This was the third Peaky Midwest, held just outside Chicago, Illinois. Seventeen writers gathered in Castle Whately and split into four teams to produce four awesome new games!

• Goldilocks, Frocks and Two Stinking Barrels written by Marc B., Sue Lee, James Silverstein, Anita Szostak; Guy Richie meets fairy tales. 12 to 14 players.
• Spring Thaw written by Alan De Smet, Gail Freedman, Philip Kelley, Jill Krynicki Dutcher, Drew Novick, and Eva Schiffer; A small town in Utah greets the first train after a hard winter. 11 players.
• The Vindicators: Survived by... written by Dave Cave, Jon Cole, Keith Darron, and Tara Zuber; The mundane children of superheroes cope with the fallout from their parents’ deaths. 10 players.
• Emotional Baggage written by Quinn D, Steve Vig, and Susan Weiner. High emotion hostage situation on a commercial airline. 7 players.
  This game is available for free in our store or from the Larp Library.

July 2014, Peaky Midwest #2

This was the second event outside the UK, held in Madison Wisconsin. Twenty one writers gathered at a private home and four games were written. We were only able to playtest three of the games due to time constraints and all three were very well recieved. The fourth game was playtested in Chicago a few months later.

• Better Living Through Robotics written by Keith A Darron, Kathleen De Smet, Elizabeth Fein, Jaime Frey, and Eva Schiffer; A 1950's Retrofuture take on a post-apocalyptic world with subservient robots for 10 players.
  This game is available to purchase.
• H.P. Wodehouse (working title) written by Dave Cave, Alan De Smet, Paul Hinic, Seth Mulhall, and Aaron Pavao; The world of P.G. Wodehouse meets H.P. Lovecraft, a comic romp at a golf tournament for 14 players.
• Critical Path written by Amanda Brown, Brandon Brylawski, Doug Freedman, Jill Krynicki Dutcher, and James Silverstein; A game of shifting perspectives for 9 players.
• Two Hours To Curtain written by Quinn D, Gail Freedman, Sarah Porter, Anita Szostak, and Steve Vig; In the hours leading up to a theater's final performance, the actors deal with the realities of their futures. A game for 10 players.

May 2012, Peaky Midwest - The first Peaky in the US!

This was the first event outside the UK, held in Madison Wisconsin. Fourteen writers formed 3 groups in Mags house and 3 games were created. It was agreed that this was definitely Peaky Midwest #1 and we look forwards to many more.

• IRL written by Alan De Smet, Gail Freedman, Aaron Pavao, Sarah Pavao, and Jim Silverstein; Transhumanist Preapocalyptic for 8-9 players.
• A Turn on the Radiance Rose written by Doug Freedman, Sue Lee, Kristen Pierson, Eva Schiffer, and Steve Vig; 1920s seance in a train car, for 10 players.
  This game is available for free.
• Larpers Anonymous written by Dave Cave, D. N., Mike Reed, and Margaret Simkins; Slot zero at a LARP convention. 10 players.
  This game is available for free.

For more information on the origins of Peaky and the modern UK events, check out the history of Peaky UK.