Beginners Guide: Atmosphere at a Megagame
When recruiting someone to play a Megagame, the first thing you usually do is explain the concept of the game (i.e. . It's kind of like [X] but with 40 people!) A common follow-up might be ‘But what's that like? Isn't it a little much?’ The answer? It's awesome and it's just enough.
Honestly, Though, It's A Lot
I love the buzz of the room in the time between ‘doors open’ and 'game start.’ Conversations range from ‘Wait, how do you do [mechanic] again?’ to ‘From the start, we're anti-anything [Team Y] does.’ It's invigorating and always gets me in the mood for the great memories I'm about to make.
On the other hand, walking into a room of strangers and feeling that wall of sound from a mass of people can be anxiety inducing. (Sidebar: I'm currently working through a blog idea about anxiety and Megagames. If you'd like to chat about how you've overcome anxiety to play in a Megagames or how Megagames helped you work through anxiety, please reach out on Discord at MelloOU#4699.) While the wall of sound will only grow over the course of a game, the once unfamiliar faces will morph into 'The [Country] Head of State' or ‘[Region]'s Magistrate' and the unfamiliarity will fade away.
Everything Is On A Timer
Megagames are designed where there's just not enough time for players to do everything they want to do. The pace of play intentionally leads to accidentally missing key pieces of information, which leads to misunderstandings, which lead to some of the great moments that make Megagames.
It's important to come into a Megagame grounded in the fact you can't and won't know everything. There's not enough time to talk to everyone and that's ok! There are simply too many people, too many spinning plates.
A Fantastic Community
Megagames are a niche hobby, an incredibly niche hobby. Sure, there are groups of diehard Megagame fans but the reality is that in a group of one hundred people, the people reading this blog are the only ones who have even heard of the hobby.
Because of this, the Megagame community (in my experience at least) is incredibly welcoming and accepting of new faces. Seeing that influx of new energy invigorates the ‘old guard' in the group. People want to accomplish their objectives but, even more, they want the new faces to have a good time, so you come back and bring more people. That's the only way ourcommunity grows.
