First Contact: 2035 - What to expect on the day
The exact definition of a megagame has eluded scholars and ludologists for hundreds of years, but in broad terms it’s a mixture of a board game, a live-action roleplaying game (LARP), and the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange on fancy dress day. There are 200 player roles in First Contact: 2035, with another two dozen or so facilitators who will be helping keep things running, which is at least three times the size of a normal megagame.
In other words - while it’s brilliant fun, it’s also A Lot. But don’t be intimidated - the megagame community is very welcoming, and the First Contact team are committed to making the experience as fun and inclusive for new players as possible. Here’s a taste of what to expect from
First things first
It all starts a month or two before the big day. We’ll send you a casting questionnaire in which you tell us what team you’d like to be on, which role you’d prefer to play, and any friends you’d like to play with. We can’t guarantee you’ll get your first choices, but we’ll do our best to ensure you playing a role you’ll enjoy - and you can find out more about all the various teams and roles here.
We’ll be in touch once we’ve cast everyone, and we’ll send out rulebooks and briefings a few weeks before the game. There are quite a few rulebooks, though most people only have to read a couple of them to understand how to play their own roles. We’ve tried to make them as concise as possible, but there will be a fair amount to read. It can be a bit daunting, so we’ll get this stuff to you as early as we can to give you the time to read it all.
The Big Day Beckons
Doors will open probably around 9:30, though the design team and the facilitators will have been at the venue for a few hours, setting up, sweating, panicking and so forth. The venue is Cecil Sharp House, which is in (fairly) central London, a five-minute walk from Camden Town tube station.
You’re welcome - nay, encouraged - to wear appropriate fancy dress. People often like to come dressed as a national stereotype, which is great - but do try to be culturally sensitive…
There’ll probably be a fair old queue building up by the time we open the doors, but when we do there’ll be people to welcome you, give you name badges, and direct you to the rest of your team. Feel free to mingle at this point, but if you’re here for your first time there’ll be someone whose whole job it is to welcome new people and answer questions. It’s a good idea to hook up with the rest of your team, open your team packs, and maybe even start discussing strategy at this point.
The briefing starts at 10, even if we’re waiting for stragglers - so don’t be late! At this point, the designers will stand up and welcome you all to the game, point out fire safety muster points, and explain where the facilities are. Maybe there’ll be a pre-game surprise. Maybe there won’t. Who can say?
At 10:30, we begin.
Is this thing on?
When the starting bell goes, it’s game on. And the game stops for no-one. Turns are 45 minutes long, split into various phases and sub-phases. We’ll make sure you know when the turns and phases tick over, and we’ve tried to make sure you have enough time to get things done, but when 200 people are all trying to do different things at once, things get hectic.
First turns usually start a little slowly as people get up to speed, but there are no brakes on this train and you’ll quickly get caught up in world events. There’s a five-minute press broadcast at the end of each turn, in which intrepid reporters will try and make sense of the bedlam.
Some people sometimes find it a bit overwhelming - you should always feel free to take time out if it’s a little too much. If on the other hand you feel like there’s not much going on, collar one of the facilitators - it’s their job to ensure you’re having a good day, and they will be able to make something happen. In our experience though, these things go at breakneck pace - and your biggest risk will be sore legs from rushing around too much.
We’ve built in some additional time in turn three for people to go out and get lunch. You’re welcome to bring a packed lunch, though the venue asks people not to eat inside. Refreshments should be available, however.
And then, the pub
The game will come to an end around 5pm. Who knows what the world will look like by then - but we’ll have a debrief at the end to find out. Tradition dictates that we go around the room and ask representatives from each team about what they did that day - there’s so much going on that you won’t know what happened on the next table, let alone on another continent. This is a really fun part of the day, when you discover what was up with all the weird rumours you kept hearing about a space elevator in Germany but had been too busy to investigate.
At that point, we pack up (help gratefully accepted) and head to the pub for the real debrief.
THIS SOUNDS FUN, HOW DO I PLAY?
You’re in luck - we’re selling tickets now. You have several options. You can sign up on your own - individual players are very welcome - or as a group of four friends for an automatic 10% discount on tickets. Don't worry if your friends prefer to sign up individually, because we'll still be able to group you together if requested. Act fast though, as tickets are going quickly.
