![]() ![]() Of course, a game of this scale requires a great deal of organisation and preparation, though the Melbourne Megagames team pulled the job off beautifully. And let’s not forget the fact that covert activities managed to throw spanners in the works limited only by your imagination (and your ability to pay for it, of course…) A Major Enterprise Though the nature of warfare was governed by strict rules, politics was a different beast entirely and creative players ruthlessly outmanoeuvred their opponents in court to create situations that would have major consequences. Added to this were nations from across the sea who were taking this chance to gain a foothold in the continent, surprising everyone with their devastating war elephants.īut even more dangerous than the battlefield were the two council chambers governing the two halves of the continent where laws and edicts could be passed. Naturally, war was a major factor in the proceedings, with the North and South of the continent each eyeing each other balefully whilst also suffering from their own personal infighting that could become quite nasty at times. And there is little more devastating than making a deal with a trusted ally and handing them a bunch of resources only to find out five minutes later from your general that at the same time you were giving them your money they were invading your capital. The game took place over eleven rounds (or months) with phases where players would conspire with their teammates, earn and spend resources, inform each other of progress and setbacks, and then separate off to pursue their various missions, each desperately hoping that what they are doing would help their colleagues. Fifteen separate factions step into the power vacuum, each with their own goals and agendas. For The Crown is set in a fictional 18th Century-style continent which is undergoing mass upheaval in the wake of the death of the governing monarch. This game was called For The Crown and was written by Sydney game designer Patrick Doyle, who has written half a dozen megagames (covering such fields as cyberpunk, high fantasy, and alien conspiracy) and had come down to help run it. For The Crown The war map, slightly before the interior became a bloodbath Most megagames thrive on conflict, betrayal and skulduggery, and this one was no exception. ![]() And if it also seems like other players will use your confusion as an opportunity to stomp right over you, then you’re also damn right. If this sounds like it can get complex and confusing, you’re damn right. Players are typically placed into teams where game specialisations are divided out, so one of you might be a general who spends most of their time at the war map while another might be a diplomat spending their time making deals and bargains with other teams, and yet another might be handling the economy ensuring that the treasury has the resources it needs while getting the diplomat to beg and borrow food from friendly allies to feed the general’s armies. But what is a megagame, you might well ask?Ī megagame sits somewhere between a freeform larp, a large-scale boardgame, and a model United Nations all interlinked into one large package played over the course of a day. Over the weekend I had the great pleasure of stepping in to a vacant position on a team playing a megagame hosted by Melbourne Megagames.
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