MEGAGAMES @ SHUX

A cadre of Megagame Coalition organizers and designers are proud to be curating five megagames for SHUX 2019!

Click the images below for more info! Looking to volunteer? Click here!

Friday Oct. 4th

Saturday Oct. 5th

Sunday Oct. 6th

Full Descriptions

Player Count: 20 – 43
Friday October 4th: 9am – 4pm (w/ lunch break)

In this Battlestar Galatica-inspired megagame, a small fleet of interstellar vessels tries to survive while maintaining civil society, fending off a military threat from without and infighting from within.

It is the 27th Century, and freedom is under attack. The inhabitants of Wolf 1061C have ambushed and defeated all the fleets of the Old and New Nations of Earth, except for the Aegis, a lone battlecruiser, and its jumbled armada of mostly civilian vessels, drawn to the narrow band of safety the Aegis provides. That fleet, home to thousands and the Interstellar Council-in-Exile, must survive. Can you make the difficult political, military, and logistical choices to weather this long-term crisis?

Players will take on the roles of starship captains, politicians, and others trying to see the fleet through this harrowing time. The game has a focus on managing resources, as well as various units and assets – however, talking and negotiating with other players in a high stress environment will be crucial in order to achieve success. And one must always be on the lookout for The Wolf within.

Den of Wolves is a modern megagame classic from the Uk-based megagame group, Southwest Megagames.

You’ll love Den of Wolves if:

  • You like Battlestar Galactica or classic military sci-fi in general, and the Battlestar Galactica board game in particular.
  • You’re looking to play a true megagame masterpiece and see how it works to help design your own games.
  • You want to toss your friends out of an airlock while they shout at you about due process.

Sickle: A Scythe Fan-Made Megagame

Player Count: 20 – 90
Friday October 4th: 6PM – 11PM

Join 60+ other players to fight, negotiate, and harness powerful new technologies as prominent political factions, scientists, and industrialists involved in the power struggles of Eastern Europa.

At the center of the chaos is the mysterious Factory. Originally constructed by Nikolai Tesla, the Factory produced wondrous technologies utilized by the nations of Eastern Europa to destroy each other during the Great War. Although the Great War is over, the power struggles are just beginning.

Sickle is a fan-made megagame set in the 1920+ Universe created by Jakub Różalski and is home to the award-winning board game Scythe by Stonemaier Games and the upcoming video game, Iron Harvest by King Art Games.

We thank Stonemaier Games for their support and encouragement in this and other fan-made projects!

You’ll love Sickle if:

  • You love exploring interesting alternate history settings
  • You like settings driven by bizarre technological breakthroughs like Fallout or Crimson Skies
  • You love the lore of board game Scythe and the broader 1920+ art universe
  • You like games with tonal limits but freeform gameplay, like modern matrix games
  • You love forcing your frenemy to collaborate with you in order to accomplish a common goal

Sworn to Serve

Player Count: 18-53
Saturday October 5th: 9AM – 2PM

Negotiate, backstab, and bribe your legislation through the US congressional gauntlet as a member of Congress, media reporter, or a friendly neighborhood lobbyist in this 20-53 player megagame!

These Great United States are in chaos!  Avian flu and wildfires! Tax loopholes and flood insurance! Chinese clones and Russian hackers!  Join 50 of your fellow Americans to show just what Congress can do in the face of a crisis! Politically maneuver policies through the congressional machine as a member of congress, media reporter, or a friendly neighborhood lobbyist.  Be careful though – everyone wants to do the right thing, but the right thing may not get you reelected in this Megagame of negotiation, tact, and weaponized bureaucracy!

 

You’d love Sworn to Serve if:

  • You are a fan of John Oliver, the Daily Show, Samantha Bee, Vice, 60 Minutes, or the Weeds Podcast by Vox.
  • You think John Oliver, the Daily Show, Samantha Bee, Vice, 60 Minutes, or the Weeds Podcast by Vox are full of it.
  • You like Megagames with fairly concrete tonal limits to gameplay (no nuking the moon!).
  • You find backroom deals to be the most fun parts of games like Diplomacy and Watch the Skies!

You’ll love Deephaven if:

  • You favor more freeform, narrative megagames
  • Celebrating hubris in role-playing games brings you great joy
  • Building a dwarven fortress sounds amazing
  • You like DARING DWARVES DELVING DISASTROUSLY DEEP

Deephaven

Player Count: 30 – 70
Saturday October 5th: 4PM – 10PM

All Dwarves are welcome at Deephaven! From the proud Mountain Clans and industrious Hill Clans, to the mysterious Clans of the Deep. Yes, even Gully Dwarves are allowed, as odd as they may be! But take heart, we have abolished the caste systems of old! You are not stuck to one role. Only you can craft your destiny!

All Dwarves are welcome at Deephaven! From the proud Mountain clans and industrious Hill clans, to the mysterious clans of the Deep. Yes, even Gully Dwarves are allowed! MINERS delve deep to find arcane metals! SHAPERS forge legendary weapons, armor, and new inventions. ARCHITECTS build awe-inspiring structures and massive fortifications. MERCHANTS handle foreign trade, FARMERS feed us, and BREWERS keep us, uh, well-hydrated! The CARTOGRAPHERS maintain the Grand Map and the INKBEARDS chronicle discoveries, announce oaths, grudges, and important events. The GUARDIANS keep the peace, and the LEGION leads us to war! We rely upon the wise COUNCIL to enact decrees and manage a fair economy. Come to Deephaven! Build a new home for all Dwarves!

The Miners delve deep to find arcane metals and discoveries never seen before!

The Shapers forge legendary weapons, armor, and new inventions.

The Architects build awe-inspiring structures and massive fortifications.

Merchants handle foreign trade, Farmers feed us, and Brewers keep us, uh, well-hydrated!

The venerated Cartographers maintain the Grand Map and the Inkbeards chronicle discoveries, announce oaths, grudges, and important events.

The Guardians keep the peace, and the Legion leads us to war!

And while each group has its royalty, we rely upon the wise Council to enact decrees and manage a fair economy.

Come to Deephaven! Build a new home for all Dwarves!

Lights in the Sky: Cold War Conspiracy

Player Count: 65
Sunday October 6th: 9AM – 4:30PM (w/ lunch break)

Lights in the Sky: Cold War Conspiracy is a twist on Jim Wallman’s masterpiece megagame, Watch the Skies, which has been run at SHUX since it’s founding.

Lights in the Sky combines the tropes of first contact movies like Independence Day, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Arrival with the paranoia and intrigue of the Cold War. Who can you trust?

Set in the 1980s, players take on the roles of politicians, diplomats, generals, spies, and [redacted] at the height of the Cold War. Communist States, Capitalist Democracies, Non-Aligned nations, and [redacted] vie to convert others to their networks of alliances and economic trading blocs. But beware, with [redacted] rumored to be walking among us, who can you trust?

You’ll love Lights in the Sky if:

  • You’re a fan of the geopolitics and tone of the megagame Watch The Skies, or the movies Dr. Strangelove, and WarGames
  • You like your paranoia extraordinary, and your conspiracies zany
  • You ever have been suspected of being extraterrestrial in origin
  • If you like your megagames with a side of 80s Synth and New Wave

Megagame volunteering @ SHUX

We’re looking for

EMPATHETIC,

QUICK-THINKING,

OR OTHERWISE AWESOME

NERDS

to join the Megagame Volunteer Corps @ SHUX 2019!

Volunteer for two events and get fun perks!  Including:

  • A free SHUX badge (normally $150 USD)
  • Free food, drink, and merriment!
  • The endorphin rush of being the one who actively brings joy to people’s lives
  • Experiencing megagames & SHUX from the other side
  • Meeting and hanging out with a bunch of super cool people!
  • Our eternal gratitude

Words from previous volunteers

I LOVED being part of the team at Gen Con, everyone was so welcoming and friendly and awesome, and getting to see the games being played and talk to the designers/control players before, during and after the games was a fantastic insight.

What a great first time experience!  
 
Also as a transgender person I wanted to say, experience has led to a place where even just basic civility is a pleasant surprise in large social spaces. 
 
I hope I get the chance to work/play with you all again in the future.

It was an awesome time!