What is this contest about?

The Golden Cobra Challenge is a friendly contest open to anyone interested in writing and playing freeform larp. This is the sixth year of the contest! It ran from September 20, 2019 through October 16, 2019. Challenge end date was extended. Read more about the challenge.

Golden Cobra Challenge 2019

Find the games submitted in 2019 here and at the archives.

Find games receiving awards and honorable mention in 2019 here and at the archives.

Some of these games will be run at Metatopia 2019.

Congratulations and thank you to all who took part! Welcome to the Golden Cobra Circle of power and good luck with your game.

What is a golden cobra?

Only the baddest-ass snake in the jungle, which is something you should always aspire to be. Rules were announced on September 20, 2019 and all submissions were due by October 16, 2019 at 11:59PM PST. Winners and Honorable mentions will be announced on 8 November 2019 at Metatopia. (Edited!)

In 2019, Golden Cobras was awarded in seven categories:

• The John Darnielle Special Judge’s Choice Award
  • This year, we’re super excited to have John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats be awarding the Special Judge’s Choice Award!
• Best Use of Silence or Non-Verbal Elements in a Game
  • Give us a game that uses silence or non-verbal elements in a meaningful, fun, or transformative way.
• Best Live-Action Online Game
  • Give us a game where all players can participate online using any digital communication tool, such as Google Hangouts, Messenger, Twitch, Zoom, Discord, texting. Gameplay must be synchronous: all players are playing simultaneously and gameplay is clearly blocked out in time.
• Deepest Two-Hour Experience
  • Freeform doesn’t have to mean lightweight: give us a deep, well-crafted experience in 2 hours or less.
• Best Game for Players Dropping In and Out
  • Give us a game that can gracefully accommodate adding new players on-the-fly, or players who need to leave as the game goes on.
• Best Apocalyptic Game
  • A lot of y'all were designing with the end of the world in mind, so we came up with the Best Apocalyptic Game award.
• Best Game for New Larpers
  • Give us the new game we can recommend to our larp curious friends that will get them excited and ready to larp more.

Optional ingredients:

• A Physical Cardboard Box
• Direct Civic Action / Resisting Fascism
• Fanny Packs
• Houseplants
• Flashlights

What were the competition constraints?

In order to be considered for a Golden Cobra 2019, your game had to adhere to the following:

1. While there are no length requirements, judges only read the first four pages of your submission (four total sides of 8.5x11 or A4 paper).
2. The game must be playable with zero to minimal prep.
3. The game does not directly reference material by The Mountain Goats (come on folx).

What were the Rules for Entering?

1. Be a new, unpublished freeform larp. It is neither a tabletop roleplaying game or a video game.
2. Present your game in a readable, playable format in a single file (pdf preferred).
3. Submit only one game. Your name could appear on one entry but teams were welcome.
4. You retain all rights to your work and ancillary material related to submissions, like play aids or commentary. These will by default be published under the name it was submitted under in the yearly free Golden Cobra Anthology (if one is created) and linked from this Website for the world to enjoy.
5. The deadline for submission was October 16, 2019 at 11:59PM PST.

So who won in past years?

You can read about the winners and Honorable Mentions and Judges Choice Awards here. Games from 2018 are posted here.

What happened this year?

Judges read the games during late October and announce and ran the winning games at Metatopia, 7-10 November 2019. The winners get bragging rights and everyone gets a new game they designed - and admission into the Golden Cobra’™s Circle of Power!

Can I spread the word?

Please do! Find us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/goldencobra17 and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Golden-Cobra-Challenge-241492113182306/.

Who are the judges?

Judges for 2019 are Banana Chan, Clio Yun-su Davis, J Li, Hakan Seyalioglu, and Evan Torner.

How does the Special Judge’s Choice Award Work?

The judges will select approximately several finalist games for overall prize eligibility. Our Special Judge, John Darnielle, will review the finalists and pick his favorite from among them, then share a writeup of why he selected it.

I have more questions!

Check out the FAQ! or email cobracommander@goldencobra.org.