History tells us of hat-wearing cavemen, who became notable figures with their discovery of fire. With it, these gentlemen of prehistoric times found out you could not only play with said fire, but also place it upon one’s head to create a brand-new style that was way ahead of its time. History also tells us that they never learned any fire safety, and that those poor suckers lost their gentlemanly hats (and hair).

Welcome to Particle Mayhem! We sure as hell aren’t cavemen. However, we are lunatics of our time, who strive to find the latest unusual fashion using any method necessary. Science, Magic, and even Witchcraft! You name it, we’ve got a lab full of it! Whatever IT is, it’s most likely highly illegal and will stop at nothing until blood is shed and hair is turned gray.

Let’s be honest, volcano kits are boring! They are a shameful waste of time, that any idiot could conjure up at an elementary school science fair. You know what’s better? Creating an ACTUAL volcano, with ACTUAL lava, that ACTUALLY emits from the top of your head!

With your experiments, feel free to create many various types of particles! Hat, Weapon, Taunt, and even Map Particles! Just make sure to handle your experiments with care, and read the FAQ if you have any questions!

1st Place: 30 TF2 Keys

2nd Place: 20 TF2 Keys

3rd Place: 10 TF2 Keys

Aspiring minds will also be able to earn this shiny medallion, to display to the world how much of a cosmetic genius you really are! All you need to do is participate in the competition, and once it has concluded, its all yours!*

Plus, if you really put your heart into it, you might even be able to win one of the top place medals as well! What a deal!

* Due to the new medal upload restrictions, we currently do not know when we will be able to distribute the medals. To compensate this, we will be handing out TF2 keys as prizes to the winners. Medals will be distributed once they're added to the game. We hope you understand!

All entries must be submitted to the TF2 Steam Workshop before the deadline on December 31st, 2019 at 12am UTC.

Particles of any kind may be submitted. This includes unusual effects for hats, weapons and taunts, map effects, or particles in general.

Cosmetics made for the event must follow the theme of Science, Witchcraft, and Magic (Think mad science gone wrong!).

Particles don’t have to follow the theme like cosmetics do. They can be anything!

Concepts for cosmetics and particles made before the event are allowed.

Anything else made before the event may NOT be submitted. We want to give everyone the chance to participate fairly.

Please refrain from making anything that is racist, sexist, or offensive to another person or persons. You WILL be disqualified from the contest if so.

Any contest submission may hold no more than 4 contributors.

Staff members are not eligible to participate in the contest. Entries may still be submitted but will not be judged and allowed to win prizes. Showcase effects on this site are excluded from the contest.

What is Particle Mayhem? Particle Mayhem is a community-created project and contest, put together by various members in the Team Fortress 2 community. We want mad scientists, wizards and witches from all over the world to make the craziest, outrageous particles the world has ever seen!
Is this an official update for Team Fortress 2? Unfortunately, no. This is a community-based project, and is not in any way affiliated with any official major, or minor update. This basically means that whatever you submit to this contest has no promises of getting into the game, as it is up to Valve to decide what gets in, and what doesn’t.
Is there a specific theme to follow? The theme for this project is Science, Witchcraft and Magic! You are required to follow this theme only if you are working on cosmetic items. As for particles, you are allowed to make whatever particle you want, without the limits of a theme or subject to follow!
Is there any sort of content that is specifically not allowed? We ask that you refrain from making anything that is racist, sexist, or offensive to another person or persons. We want everyone to be able to have a good time during the event, and to respect one another as well.
Medals aren't being handed out, yet? Why so? Recently this past year, tons of medals were uploaded to the TF2 Workshop. Due to the over-saturation and high demand of them, Valve put a halt to all medal uploads, and are currently trying to figure out a solution as a fix to the current system. Since we did not upload our medals before their decision, we could not get them into the game. Hopefully, when a decision is made, we can get these medals into the game, and distributed out to you guys.

Hat EffectExperts state that beyond our dimension, lies the fourth dimension; a place where rules don’t exist, cubes bounce, and humans have four faces. Experts also state that it’s impossible to reach, and that the travel would most likely kill us. Well, as it turns out, all we had to do was stick our arms into a black hole, and grab this sucker of a dimension. Take that, logic!

Hat EffectThere are some beings in between the plains of this world that can control magic with astounding abilities. Some can create portals to other worlds, to collect artifacts beyond our understanding. Others, however, die in the process. This vortex is the result of that.

Hat EffectApparently clumsiness leaves a mark, as these flying potion-filled vials follow anyone around who isn’t careful with where they step. That’s right, I’m talking about YOU. If you didn’t want oozing bottles following you around, you should’ve watched where you were going!

Hat EffectIntroducing a new way of storing human memories by crystallized energy! Now you won’t forget a thing by having this crystals floating around your head, and having them synchronize with electricity!

Taunt EffectWhat if we took electric eels in a water tank, shrunk them down to a micro-sized scale, and put that into an air-based mist? Well, we tried doing that, and found out that it caused way too many heart attacks. Since some tried to sue, we replaced the eels with static electricity, and here we are. No lawsuits.

Taunt EffectWe’re not sure how to describe this one. We can say, however, that you may want to stay as far away from these things, as you may experience multiple amounts of torment, and a one-way trip to another dimension.