Megagaming is my number one hobby.
I’ve been megagaming for over 5 years now, and have designed and put on four different runs of two different megagames. By the end of 2019 I’ll have gone to 66 megagames, with 13 in 2019 alone – a low year for me, due to hen dos and weddings clashing with some I’d originally hoped to get to!
Tim and I calculated that we probably spend at least £1000 a year each on megagames – including all travel, accommodation etc, and that’s despite being able to stay with friends for an awful lot of them.
So I guess you could say it’s a pretty important part of my life.
But when I first heard about megagames, I thought it sounded weird as hell. I had no interest in going along, and it was only lots of badgering from Tim, a game that appealed to my interest in the Tudors, and the promise of a kickass female role that got me through the door.
And from the moment I arrived, I never looked back.
But what hooked me into megagames so firmly? It’s not just one reason – a bunch of different things feed into my love of this crazy hobby.
The settings are cool
From the Cathar Crusades to the distant planet of Rosal. From Westeros to the high seas to modern-day America. The settings of megagames are as varied as the people running them (so getting more and more varied by the day). If you don’t like the sound of one megagame, chances are there’s a different one that will make you clap your hands with glee.
As I mentioned above, I would never have come along to a game if it hadn’t been on a topic I found interesting. It was lucky for Tim that I was hooked on the Tudors at the time. Nowadays I tend to say yes to the game first and ask more about the theme later.
They’re immersive
I’m a massive fan of immersive gaming, over most other types of gaming. I can often give-or-take video games, and while I enjoy a good board gaming or roleplaying session, I absolutely adore immersive games. Escape rooms, immersive theatre with a gaming element, you name it. I haven’t enjoyed a lot of the LARPs I’ve done, but I believe that’s more down to the ones I’ve done than anything else.
Megagames throw you into the world of your game, and the more you can get inside the head of the person you’re supposed to be, the better the game will be for EVERYONE.
Learning new things and gaining context
Okay. Confession time. Prior to megagames I thought WW1 and WW2 were basically between us and Germany. I genuinely had no idea why they were called World Wars. I was taught stuff in school… but I didn’t get it. And I definitely didn’t know about the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, or any of the European wars before then (except maybe that there was a person called Napoleon at some point?).
I had vaguely heard about the Cold War, but I never connected that my parents had been alive during it – during the Able Archer exercise that nearly saw the end of the world, though they wouldn’t have known it at the time.
Now, I’m still no history buff like Tim, but I know a whole lot more. Not only that, but I have context. Washington Conference shed a light into why China views the Western world so cynically. Undeniable Victory helped me learn about the foundations of the situation in the Middle East.
And it’s not just historical games. For example, Crisis in Elysium gave me some insight into the pressures on governments dealing with terror (I was the Governor of a VERY terrorised Mars).
Talking
I am a MASSIVE extrovert. Spending an entire day talking to people is an amazing energy boost for me. It’s also a game form that benefits from being really good at talking your arse off, which happens to be one of my skills.
That’s not to say that introverts won’t enjoy megagames – speaking to some of my friends from the games, plenty of them are introverts and they really enjoy megagames due to the massively welcoming nature of the games. They’re just a bit more knackered by the end of it 😅
I’m good at them
I take a massive amount of pride from the moments I really succeed in doing something at a megagame.
What I take even more pride in, is that the amount that happens seems to be increasing. I am getting better at them the more I go to them. As I get more confident, as I meet more of the people I’m gaming with, as I get to understand the settings more, and as I get to understand how other people work more, I improve as a megagamer and am more likely to achieve my objectives.
Or to fail completely but still manage to have a good time at them 😉
(I took this opportunity to have a look at how many megagames I’ve failed at most of my objectives and it’s probably at least a third of them 😂)
The people rock
This is the big one. I have met so many amazing people through this hobby. For a start, it’s because of megagaming that Tim and I got close again and are now getting married. So that’s definitely something of a win.
But then there’s everyone else! I often sign up to a megagame that I’m not that enthused for, just to see the people who will be going. Going to the pub after the game is a really great part of the entire megagaming experience for me, not only because we get to discuss everything we’ve been up to, but also because it’s really fun to hang out with so many of my friends at once.
Why I Megagame: summary
Megagaming has brought so many amazing experiences and people to my life. I had no idea what impact it would have when I first headed over to Anerley to play in Renaissance and Reformation, and to be honest I still have no idea what my future with megagaming will hold.
But I’m sure it will be excellent, EXCELLENT fun.
Why do you megagame?
