Gen Con 2022

Indianapolis, IN

megagame coalition

2022 Gen Con Event Schedule

The Megagame Coalition is proud to present nine events for Gen Con 2022!

Click the images in our schedule below for more info!

Looking to have some fun and get a free Con badge? Click here to learn more about volunteering!

Thursday
August 4th

Friday
August 5th

Saturday
August 6th

Sunday
August 7th

Full Game Descriptions

Watch the Skies: New Materials

Player Count: 41
Thursday 9am – 3pm (
6 hours)

Join over 40 other “humans” to rise up & defend “your” home planet against a mysterious, otherworldly menace as a Head of State, Scientist, Ambassador, General, Journalist, CEO, or [redacted].

Watch the Skies, the UK megagame classic by Jim Wallman, returns to Gen Con for the fifth year! A new scenario is created for each Watch the Skies! game, making sure the gameplay is varied and will always keep players on their toes!

This New Materials variant of Watch The Skies has new mechanics and systems, as well as a new mysterious alien mission.

You’ll love Watch The Skies if: 

  • You’re a fan of the geopolitics or high-stakes sci-fi movies like Dr. Strangelove, Independence Day, or WarGames
  • You like your paranoia extraordinary, and your conspiracies zany
  • You ever have been suspected of being extraterrestrial in origin

Red Planet Rising

Player Count: 16 – 36
Thursday 5pm – 11pm (6 hours)

Red Planet Rising is a science fiction economic and political megagame for 36 players, set in the ruined husk of Mariner Valley, once Earth’s greatest colony on Mars.

12 teams of three players each will compete and collaborate to secure their futures on the hostile red planet. Each team consists of a team lead, a resource lead and a map lead. Players will explore the devastated surface of Mars, compete for control of territory, trade resources, form governments, and investigate the mystery of what caused the colony’s collapse.

You’ll love Red Planet Rising if: 

  • You enjoy 4X mechanics like those of Civilization
  • You think post-societal collapse settings just are not as action-packed as during-societal collapse settings
  • You want freedom for Mars now and are willing to work with the sports hooligans to blow up the central district’s only power plant to achieve said freedom.

Player Count: 20 – 43
Game #1: Saturday 9am – 3pm (6 hours)
Game #2: Sunday 10am – 4pm (6 hours)

It is the 27th Century. After a catastrophic attack on humanity, one battleship and a few civilian vessels must fight to survive, govern themselves and maintain order, as they flee from their pursuers. Den of Wolves is a game about difficult political, military and survival choices in a long-term crisis scenario.

Players will take on the roles of starship captains, officers, and engineers, as well as politicians and military personnel. The game has a focus on managing resources, as well as various units and assets – however, talking and negotiating with other players will be crucial in order to achieve success. The game also seeks to represent political and military systems, and their decisions, and so players should expect some political simulation.

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.

As Thou Commands

Player Count: 16 – 66
History But Inclusive Edition: Saturday 5pm – 9pm
(4 hours)
Fantasy Edition: Saturday 9am – 1pm (4 hours)

In As Thou Commands, component Medieval Duchies are procedurally generated to craft a whole Kingdom of content!

As Thou Commands mechanically functions like a multi-tier version of the smash-hit board game, The King’s Dilemma, by Horrible Games. Except the script is not pre-written, and the crises players will face will derive from their own crafted content. Overall, the game is as much a worldbuilding exercise as an emulation of medieval power politics. 

Two versions of the game will be run at gen Con 2022:

  • History But Inclusive Edition focuses player’s content creation along realistic lines (i.e., no magic)
  • Fantasy Edition allows for the content creation of fantastical elements (i.e., Magic! Griffins! Flying Machines!)

You’ll love As Thou Commands if: 

  • You love the intrigue of the Great Houses across the Seven Kingdoms of Game of Thrones or the universe of Dune
  • You love crafting interwoven narrative content with friend and frenemy alike
  • You enjoy a healthy dash of role-play and a dollop of LARPing in your megagame latte.

Player Count: 25-60
Game #1. Saturday 3pm – 5pm (2 hours)
Game #2. Saturday 6pm – 8pm (2 hours)
Game #3. Saturday 9pm – 11pm (2 hours)

Inspired by the hit Megagame, Den of Wolves, this space saga centers around Earth’s expansion into the stars in the near future.

Play either a starship captain or one of the top leaders of your nation. Work as one of 6 teams attempting to grow your nation to become a space-based superpower. Compete with your other nations but beware of potential alien conflict. Battletech inspired ship building systems.

Receive as Loot – Gear, equipment or resource cards for the STARSHIP HORIZONS Bridge Simulators (see the GenCon catalog for these separate events)

Receive as Loot – a LAND GRANT certificate to claim a plot of land within our little corner of space.

This megagame leans more towards the mechanical or boardgame style vs. other more freeform megagames.

You’ll love UberSpace if: 

  • You lean towards board games on the ‘board game-LARP spectrum’
  • You are hungry for the megagame experience but have a tight Gen Con schedule
  • You love starbridge simulators but would rather lead a whole fleet!

VOLUNTEER WITH MGC @ GEN CON

Volunteering with the Megagame Coalition is a great way to experience Gen Con while enjoying some sweet perks! 
Check out the volunteer benefits below. 

Once you’re ready to orchestrate some narrative chaos, sign up to volunteer here.  
All tiers include our gratitude.

Recruit

<8 Hours Volunteering

We can’t financially support volunteers at this tier, but it’s a great way to get further into the scene.

Recruit Tier Rewards
  • Meeting rockstar individuals passionate about megagames
  • Experiencing a megagame from the other side
  • Access to the MGC Chill Space throughout the Con
  • Access to the MGC AirBnB
  • The warm fuzzy feeling from helping facilitate amazing experiences for your fellow gamers!

Apprentice

8-14 Hours Volunteering

Apprentice is a great tier for those with other Gen Con commitments.  Welcome to the community!  

Apprentice Tier Rewards
  • All previous reward tiers plus…
  • Free Gen Con badge ($125 value)
  • The endorphin high of creating 8+ hours of awesome for fellow megagamers!

Journeyman

15-21 Hours Volunteering

For those passionate about bringing megagames to the people!

Journeyman Tier Rewards
  • All previous reward tiers plus…
  • Housing reimbursement (post-convention)
      • $100,  or $150 if you stay at the MGC AirBnB! (spots limited)
  • A veritable glow from facilitating too much fun.

Master

22+ Hours Volunteering

Especially great for those who have seen Gen Con before and are looking for a more rewarding experience than that of a pure consumer.

Master Tier Rewards
  • All previous reward tiers plus…
  • 2x the Journeyman housing reimbursement ($200, or $300 if you stay at the MGC AirBnB)
  • A Transcendent Aura

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!