Looking to play and preview new games?
Our ashcans are works-in-progress that give you a chance to play games before they’re completely finished. We love the feedback we get from our fans, and getting such a diverse group of people to play and run these games helps make them even better.
This is also an opportunity for Magpie Games to work with new creators, mentoring them through the process Magpie uses to create games and giving them a taste of what it’s like to publish your own work.
Wondering what “Ashcan” means? The term ashcan comes from the comic industry, when publishers would produce editions containing unlettered stories and unfinished art that weren’t intended for wide circulation.
| 3-5 players | 2-4 hour run time | Rated Teen | PbtA |
Crossroads Carnival
Crossroads Carnival is a tabletop RPG about outcast carnival performers in the 1930s trying to save a world that hates and fears them. During the game, you’ll take on the role of one of outcasts and misfits as they are drawn into a battle between light and dark. You’ll play monsters who wander from one desperate town to the next in a struggle to hold onto your humanity and save the souls of the rubes. During the great depression, hunger is everywhere. The souls of humanity grow weak as they starve. And you are the only hope for a world about to be consumed by darkness.
If you are a fan of Carnivale, Mirrormask or Fables, then you will love Crossroads Carnival!
| 3-5 players | 2-4 hour run time | Rated Everyone | PbtA |
Passing
Passing is a tabletop RPG game where you play shapeshifting aliens in the suburbs of 1950’s American. During the game, you’ll play out stories of alien fiction: desperately trying to keep a balance in your double life while you undertake dangerous undercover missions in the midst of a world that would rather have you dead.
If you are a fan of The Americans, District 9, or The Shape of Water, then you will love Passing!
| 3-5 players | 2-4 hour run time | Rated Everyone | PbtA |
Rapscallion
Rapscallion is a tabletop roleplaying game in which you play a rambunctious crew of pirates, testing their luck against the unpredictable winds of Fate. During the game, you’ll take on the role of a ragtag crew of pirates. You can’t say that you trust them completely—but at a moment’s notice they’re ready to sail through monster-infested waters or scale a corrupt noble’s castle walls.
If you are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, Sinbad, or Princess Bride, then you will love Rapscallion!
| 3-5 players | 2-4 hour run time | Rated Teen | PbtA |
The Ward
The Ward is a tabletop RPG about modern medical drama, centered around the lives of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. During the game, you’ll take on the role of one of those medical professionals, trying to do your job and save lives while managing your ever-rising stress levels and your own personal addiction. Maybe you’re addicted to drugs; maybe you’re addicted to being right; maybe you’re addicted to helping other people. But one way or another, it’s going to get you into trouble, the kind of trouble where maybe you’ll find yourself in a supply closet kissing your rival surgeon.
If you are a fan of ER, Gray’s Anatomy, or Scrubs, then you will love The Ward!
