The Great Game

We were joined by Nellie (Melbourne) and Justin (Adelaide) to talk about how we got our start and how we got our different megagame communities to where they are today.

In what ended up being a disjointed wander down memory lane, we ended up with more of a 'slice of life' than a 'megagame communities 101' and covered lots of ground - getting started, the terror of venues, burnout and community building.

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The lads take a break from international (and domestic) VIP guests to spend some time on their entirely underqualified analysis of crunch in megagames. Ever got tired of the word 'crunch'? No? Well, you will today! Bonus: hear the lads rag on those damn Brits!

Cosmic horror and good game design! We spoke to Johan from Gothenberg megagames about Event Horizon.

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A long awaited (and re-recorded) conversation with Ciaran from True North, talking about The Generalissimo is Dead - the megagame that inspired The Death of Stalin (or maybe the other way around?)

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Tony (Dukes of Highland) schools the megagame community in megagame administration...!

We were lucky to welcome back Tony and Zane to chat about their experiences publishing megagames and getting their ideas out into the community. An insightful conversation with lots of good-practice nuggets on how to organise yourself and your megagame materials when looking at publication.

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We spoke with Justin (Adelaide Megagames, alumni of Sydney Megagamers) and Tristan (Melbourne Megagames) about their revised run of So Say We All at the end of 2023.

The conversation goes into the game itself, the collaboration process of redesigning some elements, and the experience of megagame designer-turned-player.

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An a special double-episode, we sit down with Rob Grayston from East Midlands Megagames to talk about the 2023 International Megagame Survey.

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To kick off 2024 (although this definitely could have been recorded in 2023...) we got to chatting with the newly formed Adelaide Megagames.

Kaity, Justin and Monte walk us through the origins of this new group and how they came to run Watch the Skies as their third game at the end of 2023.

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Tea and biscuits at the end of the world. Quaint.

Pat had a chat with Zane and Chris from Very Large Huge Games about their Aftermath event, which saw over 150 players in London simulate the post-collapse world of the UK.

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In the ancient world, amongst gods and armies, even the humblest can make a name for themselves. Just watch out for that Spartan Hole!

Jack and Pat discuss Gods of the Ancient world with megagame designer Tony, from the Dukes of Highland megagame society. We delve into Tony's origins in megagaming, how Gods of the Ancient World came to be, and launch off on numerous tangents about design and player inventiveness.

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Blood, lies and regicide - does it get any more megagamey?

Pat speaks with Jack about God Emperor's origin, design process and legacy.

This episode is relatively spoiler-free and delves into the design of God Emperor and how its different mechanisms work.

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Grab a cup of tea, ready your seventeen rulebooks, and secure your fishing rights - we've got a special treat this episode.

Pat and Jack sat down with Tom, Chris and Zane from Very Large Huge Games to talk about First Contact and learn just how easy it was to run their 200 player megagame of politics, aliens and biscuit distribution. 

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A little late to publication again, Patrick and Jack sit down to sort out the biggest problem facing the Megagame community since last turn madness - player death. We delve into the reasons for death in games, the different ways it is sometime portrayed, and ultimately solve EXACTLY how death should work in games to come.

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A slightly late episode recorded late 2022 with Leon (Melbourne Megagames) and Jef. The team speaks about Crisis in Elysium - run by Melbourne Megagames in November 2022 - and debriefs on the design, the day, and the vibe of getting back to in-person games again.

A lost episode of the Great Game, recorded in May 2021 and dusted off 18 months later for your listening pleasure.

Patrick and Jack sat down Nellie, Tristan and Theo from Melbourne Megagames to talk about It Belongs in a Museum, the first megagame run in Australia (and perhaps the world!) since the start of the COVID era, and a rollicking adventure story of treasure hunters and greedy museums.

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Patrick and Jack (Click and Clack?) sat down with Trenton Greyoak for a long overdue look at Deephaven - a megagame legally distinct to Dwarf Fortress! The conversation took us to a lot of nitty gritty about this story-driven, roleplay-heavy game - from maps to random tables to wooden block towers (entirely not Jenga).

This is our last formal episode for this crazy 2020 session of The Great Game. We're hopeful to return in 2021 with more megagame goodness.

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Our third and final conversation from OMG Con, we spoke with Patrick Rose and Glenn about their experiences (as designer and player, respectively) of the online version of Running Hot. At the time of publishing this episode, Running Hot has been run twice - it's a politico-corporation adventure game of the pre-cyberpunk future. 

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Our second 'studio' recording from OMG-Con 2020, we sat down with Peter Nixon and Becky Ladley to talk about As Thou Commands, a new design from Peter that looks at medieval worldbuilding and politcs. The game was playtested at the con and our conversations delves into it from a designer perspective, to the player experience, and far beyond.

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The first of three interviews from our coverage of the 2020 Online Megagame Conference (OMG Con), we sat down LIVE with Mark and Merle (from the National Security Decision Making game) and Cody (Megagame Coalition) to discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis!

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A whopping double-episode for our ten-episode anniversary, we sat down with Zac (returning, Brisbane Megagames), Stefan (Magic Coffeehouse, Megagame Coalition, OWL League creator) and Ed (Reading Megagames) to talk about the epic 2-week megagame that was The OWL League. 

The group talks about the design and admin of the game, the different player perspectives, and what a 'legacy' megagame might look like for future seasons of the OWL League.

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Patrick takes to interviewing Jack, Zac (returning to the podcast) and new guest Jason, delving into a post-mortem of the recent playtest of Dark and Stormy Night, our home grown online megagame. The discussion veers around the technical and design obstacles we faced and the team discusses what we've most learned about the online space for megagames.

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Jack and Patrick are joined by John (KiwiGameDesign and Reading Megagames) to discuss the world of online megagames, the challenges and opportunities ahead, and the design process for John’s new online game – the Anubis Heresy.

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Jack and Patrick are joined by Stefan (Megagame Coalition and Magic CoffeeHouse) to talk about all-things online megagames. Discussion focussed on the potential of online megagames and delves into Stefan's upcoming online game, OWL League.

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Patrick turns the table on Jack, interviewing him (and his co-designer, Zac) about the 2019 megagame - We Are Not Alone. The lads discuss the game's design process and the departure from its inspiration, the classic Watch the Skies.

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Jack and Patrick explore the megagame design process from their perspectives and delve into inspiration, organisation and the importance of knowing when and how to bring in collaborators.

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Patrick interviews Justin and James from the Sydney Megagamers about their experience in designing their first megagame, a sci-fi game of political intrigue based on Battlestar Galactica - So Say We All.

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Jack and Patrick talk about their experiences in getting started running games - how to find a game to run, how to put a team together, and how to deal with venue crises. A few tech issues this episode, so some sections needed to be re-recorded.

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Jack and Patrick chat with Nellie (Melbourne Megagames) about the inaugural run of Watch the Skies, the challenges and successes of setting up megagames in a new city, the lessons learned along the way, an alien baby fiasco, and the future of Melbourne Megagames.

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