# Megagame **Domain:** Ludic systems **Doc Type:** Canonical Concept **Maturity:** Developed **Collection:** [[collections/Gamification|Gamification Collection]] ## Definition A **megagame** is a large-scale, multi-team simulation combining board-game rules, role play, negotiation, hidden information, and an umpire or **Control** layer. Dozens or hundreds of participants may inhabit different offices, receive unequal reports, and act on timelines that no player can fully observe. ## Why it matters Megagames make institutional complexity playable. Their Control staff interpret rules, inject events, adjudicate ambiguity, and preserve overall continuity while local teams pursue incompatible objectives. They are useful models for [[wiki/Partially Observable Stochastic Game|partial observability]], [[wiki/Tiering|tiered participation]], and [[wiki/Tournament as a Symbolic Administration Layer|symbolic administration]]. ## Boundary A megagame is an authored exercise. Political movements may acquire megagame-like role differentiation without having a central designer; resemblance does not establish authorship. ## Sources - Jim Wallman, [Megagames: what they are, and why we play them](https://www.megagame-makers.org.uk/what-is-a-megagame) ## Routes [[wiki/LARP Structure|LARP Structure]] · [[wiki/Kriegsspiel|Kriegsspiel]] · [[wiki/Playable Systems Literacy|Playable Systems Literacy]] · [[wiki/Alternate Reality Game|Alternate Reality Game]]