How to choose a megagame? or, you can't exactly find these at the local game store

One of the most overlooked questions involved in running a megagame is one of the first ones that needs to be answered. Though a lot has been written about how to plan games and after action reports looking back on games played, very little has been said about selecting your first megagame to run. Since the internet loves lists, I offer the following tips for any aspiring game runner.

1. When in doubt, phone a friend

   
   

   Before Midwest Megagames was a thought in my head, I knew I wanted to run megagames. I've got a strong background in project management and knew that I have a lot of transferrable skills that would help, but zero experience in organizing games. In addition to reading a LOT of blog articles about planning megagames, I also stumbled on the Megagame Coalition Discord Server and connected with Tony from The Dukes of Highland, a group based out of Kentucky in the United States that hosts megagames on a regular basis. Tony graciously agreed to have a video chat with me and answer any of the questions I had involving the planning and production of megagames.

   
   

   Few things were as valuable as this conversation. If you're planning to run a megagame, talk to the people in the community who have run games and know what they're talking about, which games are easier to run than others, involve less production work (printing, fabrication, other props), or are less demanding in terms of venue space.

   
   

2. Pick something you care about

   
   

   When we planned our first megagame, Watch the Skies, it was based on the special place that it had for a number of us running the game. Despite the infamous Shut Up & Sit Down Plays Watch the Skies video had been out for nearly a year, most of us got into the hobby through a megagame hosted by Riley Nixon at the University of Minnesota in 2017.

   
   

   For us, it was important that we choose a game that we were passionate about running, even if it wasn't the most well-developed game out there by the time we planned our first game in 2024. Even once we ran our first game, it was important for us to select games whose themes and gameplay genuinely interested us.

   
   

3. Pick something that is marketable

   
   

   Do you live in an area with a strong fantasy or LARP community? Do you live in an area with a robust population of Sci-Fi nerds or board gamers? Lean into the inclinations of the groups around you. We're lucky to be in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, which means we're surrounded by all types of geek.

   
   

   If you're fortunate enough to live in an area where people are already hosting megagames, try to find niches that they're not addressing. If you find yourself surrounded by hard sci-fi simulation games, maybe something more fantasy-themed is your answer.

   
   

   Some themes are easier to market than others. A game that can be described as 'Model UN with Aliens' is an easier elevator pitch than 'A semi-realistic simulation of the proposed Operation Sealion where Germany planned to invade Britain'. Most commercially available megagames do a great job of having accessible themes, but be sure to keep the theme in mind when marketing them. What works well for the grim-dark Touched by Darkness wouldn't work similarly for the light and whimsical Fae's Anatomy.

   
   

4. Look to other community resources for more information

   
   

   The Megagame Assembly is a group dedicated to promoting the hobby around the world and maintains an excellent list of commercially-available games that available for purchase that can be considered 'design-complete'. This list gives a great jumping-off point to understand roughly how one game compares to another. If you're not going to have more than 15 people, then Aftermath is probably not for you, given a minimum recommended player count of 22.

   
   

   A word of warning, however: the purchase of these games usually only includes a commercial license to run the game and digital files required to run the game. You'll still need to print off your own player boards, maps, or purchase any other components required. (Looking at YOU, Fae's Anatomy, with your extraordinary amount of hourglasses of varying times)

   
   

5. Pick something that is easy to run

   
   

   Aside from everything else discussed as a barrier to running megagames, game runners can ALWAYS use more Control volunteers/facilitators to help run the game. I've never heard of a situation where someone had too many volunteers to run a game. This is where the Megagame Assembly list can really shine - pick something considered easy to run and requiring a low number of facilitators.

   
   

   Summary/tl;dr:

   
   

   If the theme works for you, just buy Touched by Darkness. It's a print-on-demand title that you can purchase from The Gamecrafter which includes all the physical components required to run the game at a price point lower than some developers charge for the files for their game alone. As far as I'm aware, this is one of only two Megagames where you receive a complete physical product upon purchase. The other game, Alliance, is also available on The Gamecrafter but requires you to also obtain poker chips and print a couple extra handbooks from the included files. Still a vastly reduced barrier to entry over other options.

   
   

   Touched by Darkness can be played with a variable number of players going from as few as 15 to as many as 46 with the additional roles expansion pack. It can be run with as few as 2 moderators regardless of if you're at the high or low end of the player count and improves on the formula laid out in Den of Wolves, a very popular megagame inspired by the Battlestar Galactica TV series.