Jack and Patrick talk about Megagames in the Australian environment – how it all started, how we do things down under, and how our players and designers find the world of megagaming.
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy.
The podcast The Great Game is created by Patrick Doyle. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
The gang talks to Chris from Melbourne Megagames about This City Sucks - a game about vampires, turf wars, real estate and auctions... and figuring out what the hell happened to the mayor!
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch:linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation onour Discord server
Jack and Pat delve into the dire archives for designs and concepts that landed in their scrapheap - not gone, not forgotten, but long-abandoned ideas that just didn't make it.
The Great Game theme isBalrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made byJack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
We regroup with the Architect of Megagames, Ben of BKGameDesign, to tackle the romance-inspired megagame Bound by Desire.
We talk about the secret to getting megagamers to a megagame, why Lady McStuffin' Face is so insidious, and just how dangerous romantic polyhedrons can be.
Episode Links:
Connect with Ben Attend Bound by DesireThe Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
For the inaugural session of Team Time, Jack, Pat, Ben and Ciaran hash out what's going on with councils in megagames and ask the question - do we really need 'em?
Find Ciaran and Trenton over at the Megagame Coalition and True North megagame servers (and of course, at the Great Game server)!
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
Just in time for the New Year, it's our self-indulgent, parasocial, bottle episode. Jack and Pat talk about what 10 years of megagaming has done to them.
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
Are you down for some Agency Death? A bit of Player Lock? Maybe a journey into the Three Table Trap? Or do you just want to hear Jack further his vendetta against the English and their tea?
Whatever you're here for, we've got it. We round out 40 episodes with a conversation about megagame bugbears and pet peeves - those things in the megagame world, community and design space, that just really grind your gears.
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Join the conversation on our Discord server
The Architect of Megagames, Ben of BKGameDesign, has arrived. We touched on Touched By Darkness (...) during the GenCon episodes, but now we get a full deep dive into the game, where it came from, and what makes it a perfect 'control's first megagame'.
Episode Links:
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Tony, the Duke of Highland, takes us to Gencon 2024... again!
Part 2 of 2. Make sure you check out episode 37 of the Great Game to hear the first 5 interviews.
01:20 - Forrest, Gods of the Ancient World
18:50 - Trenton, Grimvale Ventures
30:05 - Scott, Goblin City
55:15 - Tony, It Belongs in a Museum
Want to know more about Scott's CANDI? Check out the PBEM gang over at OMEGA.
You can find all of these amazing people over on Discord, on both the Megagame Coalition and the Dukes of Highland servers.
While you're there, why not join our Discord server?!
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Keep in touch: linktr.ee/greatgamepod
Tony, the Duke of Highland, takes us to Gencon 2024. Part 1 of 2, in which we hear from a bunch of interesting people about their megagames!
01:47 - Ben, Touched by Darkness
11:28 - Pinto, Pantheon
22:00 - Tony, It Came From the Skies
39:20 - Riley, Jungle (Philly Megagames)
57:46 - Josh, Crucible of Nations
You can find all of these amazing people over on Discord, on both the Megagame Coalition and the Dukes of Highland servers.
While you're there, why not join our Discord server?!
The Great Game theme is Balrog Boogie by the Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo was made by Jack McNamee
Do you know what the opposite of a piggyback is? Neither do we.
We spoke to Riley and Trenton from the Megagame Coalition about... the Megagame Coalition!
Established as an umbrella organisation that connects and supports megagame groups all across North America, we spoke about how the Coalition game to be and how GenCon has been such a driving force for the American megagame scene.
EPISODE LINKS:
We venture south again, chatting with the Megagames Argentina gang about what their experience in the megagame world has been and how they're bringing megagame design to the homeland, its culture and its history.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Learn more about Megagames Argentina
- Open Veins of Latin America, an important book and inspiration for Aceleración Constante
- The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/earth
Diving into some listener requested subjects, we regrouped with Paddy (of Running Hot fame - see episode 13 back in 2020) to talk about the art of running the same megagame over and over and over...
EPISODE LINKS: - Paddy is from Pennine Megagames - You can read more about Running Hot here
- The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
The Great Game enters a new continent as we meet with Javier, Uruguay Megagames, to hear how things are done down south.
From translating entire games to Spanish, to running one megagame a month (...!), we learned just much enthusiasm and momentum the team in Uruguay have!
Episode links:
We tackle Infinite Horizons, bushwalks and how Disney Land keeps you entertained... with Dave from Sydney Megagamers!
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We got into the weeds of tone and theme for megagames - what's good, what's bad, what role does tone/theme play in the success and 'fun' of a game.
To help navigate, we welcomed back recurring guests Nellie (Melbourne Megagames) and Chris (Very Large Huge Games).
Episode links:
We finally sat down to chat with John Mizon, SW Megagames, about the infamous, iconic and world-renowened megagame of sci-fi politics and paranoia - Den of Wolves. Listen along if you'd like to hear about the game, how it came to be, and why it's so damned popular (well, I mean, we tried to answer that question)
Episode Links:
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.
Epis
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!
Got a guest you want to hear from? A subject or game you need covered? Want to call us out on some of our nonsense? Why not send us an email!?
EPISODE LINKS:
Cosmic horror and good game design! We spoke to Johan from Gothenberg megagames about Event Horizon.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
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.
CORRECTION: we incorrectly noted the creator of Crisis in Elysium. Crisis was designed by John Mizon, of SW Megagames.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Check out everything Melbourne Megagames online
- Find us at The Great Game on Facebook
- The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
- The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Check out everything Melbourne Megagames do on their Facebook
- Sign up for Crisis in Elysium, being held in Melbourne on 12 November 2022
- The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
- The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Trenton can be found at the Megagame Coalition (and on their discord)
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Climate Crisis on 1 November
- Red Planet Rising, coming in December
- The Megagame Makers 2021 schedule
- Paddy is from Pennine Megagames
- Glenn is from Megagame Texas
- You can read more about Running Hot here
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Peter Nixon is from The Megagame Coalition
- Becky can be found at BeckyBecky's blog and Facebook page
- The Megagame Assembly podcast and recent blog on traitor roles
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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!
EPISODE LINKS:
- NSDM on Facebook
- NSDM OMG Con Panel
- NSDM Youtube Channel
- The Megagame Coalition
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
EPISODE LINKS:
- Patreon page for Project Nexus
- OMG Con 2020
- Megagame Assembly survey on megagames and ticket pricing
- Stefan over at Magic Coffee House
- The OWL League online presence
- The OWL League 2020 opening ceremony video
- Dave Harmon's Black Rock Outpost online mafia game
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
GenCon Online (where you can find Den of Wolves, Draft Night, Lucidian Online, talks on the State of Megagames, and so much more!)
Czar of the South - upcoming megagame playtest in Brisbane
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
Online Megagames of GenCon 2020 by the Megagame Coaltion
The Art of Not Being Governed (inspiration for Relics of the Fall)
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
The Megagame Coalition and their Online Megagame Convention
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
International Women&NB Megagame Network - Discord
The OWL League - online megagame coming this June
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
Megagames in the Future - an online symposium by True North Megagames
A Dark and Stormy Night - Second Playtest
The OWL League - online megagame coming this June
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
A Dark and Stormy Night - Second Playtest
Megagames in the Future - an online symposium by True North Megagames
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
Free megagames from the Megagame Assembly and Megagame Makers
Purchase Watch the Skies from Jim Wallman, Stone Paper Scissors
Purchase Den of Wolves from John Mizon, Horizon Megagames
God Emperor, which is FREE until 30 June 2020!
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
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.
Episode Links:
Purchase Watch the Skies from Jim Wallman, Stone Paper Scissors
Melbourne Megagames on Facebook
The Great Game Theme: Balrog Boogie, Diablo Swing Orchestra
The Great Game logo by Jack McNamee using Logo designed by Jack McNamee using Earth Vectors by Vecteezy
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.