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Countries

All the roles at First Contact: 2035 are designed to ensure every player will have an awesome day. Regardless of what role you play, whether it’s the leader of a country, a scientist attempting to understand the alien’s biology or a member of the press reporting on the day’s chaos, we expect you’ll have a fantastic time.

You can find an outline of the roles in most country teams below, and a full list of countries and their team sizes at the bottom of the page.

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Head of State

There are 27 country teams in First Contact: 2035 and each one needs a leader. Do you have what it takes to lead a team of players — and your country — through the inevitable issues that will strike?


If you’re good with people, enjoy negotiating and most importantly delegating responsibility to other players then this role could be for you.

You’ll need to make decisions with incomplete information that could affect your country, team, allies and adversaries and then deal with the inevitable consequences.

Do you have broad shoulders, the ability to bring other players on side, the capability to manage a team of people and your country’s budget? If you do, this role could be for you.

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Interior Minister

The Interior Minister, or Home Secretary, if you’re a member of the British Government, is primarily a diplomatic role that focuses on a number of sections of the game, including liaising with corporations, scientists and the press.


Interior Ministers will need to be able to successfully negotiate with non-state actors to gain access to resources and new technologies and put a positive spin on whatever your country’s leader just signed off on with the press.

If you like working with other people to accomplish your team’s goals, this could be the role for you.

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Foreign Minister

The Foreign Minister is the externally facing member of the government and focuses on ensuring trade deals are in place, making alliances with non-played countries on the regional maps and liaising with world leaders.


If you’re the type of player that enjoys making your own game, this role will be great for you. In addition to setting up trade deals with other played countries, you’ll want to keep an eye out for what is happening across the game and how it might impact your country.

You’ll obviously be guided by your leader in what they would do, but this is a more free-form role so you should be comfortable with being a self-starter and knowing how to get things done.

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Military Commander

Military Commanders will spend the majority of their game at the regional maps, representing their nation’s military forces. This isn’t a game of Risk, but you will need to bring your A-game to ensure resources are protected, your country’s interests represented on the world stage, liaise closely with your allies and potentially most importantly of all, find out what your adversaries are up to.


If you enjoy board games you’ll probably find this role to your liking. You will need to manage your military forces, make alliances with non-played countries on the regional maps, understand what implications your actions can have on the wider game and manage the interception of….weather balloons.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a 21st Century military commander? Sign up now, solider!

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UN Ambassador

The United Nations Security Council is made up of the five Permanent Member States (China, France, Russia, UK and USA) along with the United Nations Secretary General and discuss/vote on resolutions affecting the world.


If you enjoy putting your point across — and crucially — listening to others, acting as a UN Ambassador for one of the Permanent five could be for you. The United Nations Security Council has the power to intervene in global crises, sanction countries that are breaking international law and pass new resolutions that could directly impact the game.

This much power cannot be wielded alone in a multilateral world however, and you’ll need to ensure your allies and adversaries alike have reasons to vote with you, if you want your favoured resolutions to pass.

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Chief of Staff

Only three countries in the game — the United States, Russia and China — will have a Chief of Staff role that will report directly to the President. Because these three teams are larger than the others, the Chief of Staff will help manage everything that will be going on.


Are you organised and two steps ahead of your rivals? Can you quickly analyse a complex situation and distil it down to a short explanation and a couple of options? Do you enjoy managing large teams of people and acting with the authority of the President?

If the answer is yes to all these questions, then we’ve got the role for you. As a Chief of Staff you’ll be expected to help manage the team’s priorities, understand and collate information on complex, real-time situations and act as a bridge between the President and the rest of the team.

Teams

A Note About Israel & Russia

In every game we run, Melbourne Megagames tries to be highly attuned to player welfare - whether that takes the form of consistently offering an accessible concession ticket, considering disabilities, having a specific facilitator responsible for player welfare on the day, or in all the training we do for our facilitators to ensure that welfare is everyone’s responsibility. 

We recognise that the Israel & Palestine geopolitical conflict, the October 7 attack, and the continuing war in Gaza are both historically complex issues and presently deeply sensitive issues. With this in mind, we have recognised that attempting to maintain a “realistic” geopolitical context in First Contact ultimately doesn’t meet the welfare goals we’ve set for ourselves and is likely to be an unfun experience for players and facilitators. After extensively considering multiple options, we have decided to represent a more optimistic future. 

 

What does this mean for the game? First Contact will be set five years after the successful formation of a joint Israeli-Palestinian state, realised through the efforts of domestic, regional and international peacemakers. Israel-Palestine will have a system of cooperative, power-sharing government, not dissimilar to the way Lebanon, New Zealand and some other states guarantee multiple ethnic groups representation. Their objectives will reflect their unique position.

 

Everyone - from domestic actors, to regional states, to international powers - is invested in the success of this new state. Both other countries’ objectives and our facilitators will be oriented to ensuring that the Israel-Palestine state does not collapse or otherwise degrade to internal conflict, whatever its animus.

 

What does this mean on the day? Israel-Palestine sits among the complex dynamics of countries like the USA, Russia, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, providing for interesting expressions of soft power and play, whilst still maintaining the integrity of one of the most geopolitically complex, culturally important and geographically critical regions in the world. 

 

Treat Israel-Palestine players as you would any other team. Engage with them on the premise of your and their national briefing. If in doubt, remember that we’ve made this change to represent a more optimistic future. 

 

A note on Russia. While altering Israel was a choice Melbourne Megagames has made after considering many other options, we have chosen to retain Very Large Huge Game’s original alterations to Russia (e.g. a “post-Putin” politics) made in response to the war in Ukraine. 

 

These decisions are not endorsements of a one-state solution or of Russia, but rather, our attempt to foster a game environment that encourages strategic thinking, diplomacy and reflects the complexities of international relations, while also retaining a game experience that is fun for everyone.

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ALGERIA

Team Size: 4

Are the Algerians eyeing Libya or simply worrying about what Egypt has planned?

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ARGENTINA

Team Size: 4
Located in South America with a historic claim on the Falkland Islands. Does the UK need to worry?

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AUSTRALIA

Team Size: 4

The United States’ biggest ally in the Indo-Pacific. She’ll be right mate.

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BRAZIL

Team Size: 4

With the largest economy in South America, what does Brazil plan to do on the world stage?

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CANADA

Team Size: 4

America’s friendly neighbour that holds the world’s supply of maple syrup. Would you like a moose with that?

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CHINA

Team Size: 8

China is chasing the United States with the intention to overtake the country diplomatically and economically, but what about Taiwan?

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EGYPT

Team Size: 4

Worrying about Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile, will this great nation lose access to its precious water supply?

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ETHIOPIA

Team Size: 4

Ethiopia wants to finalise the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam but will its neighbours agree?

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FRANCE

Team Size: 6

Will their love of cheese cloud their diplomatic clout? Or will they fight for control of fishing rights in the English Channel?

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GERMANY

Team Size: 4

Europe’s most powerful economy, but how will the Chancellor use their capabilities?

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INDIA

Team Size: 5

The world’s largest democracy but surrounded by adversaries in Pakistan and China. What does the mid-century hold for this behemoth?

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INDONESIA

Team Size: 4

The world’s most populous Muslim country, right on China’s doorstep. Will the country lean east or westwards?

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IRAN

Team Size: 4

Kept down by the West, Iran potentially has its eye on restarting its nuclear power stations. Who will prevail?

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JAPAN

Team Size: 4

One of the United States’ biggest allies in the region and with a historic animosity for China that continues to burn.

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MEXICO

Team Size: 4

American’s southern neighbour and could be hoping to be the gateway between South and North America.

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NIGERIA

Team Size: 4

A full OPEC member, but are they eyeing the potential of renewable energy as the future?

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PAKISTAN

Team Size: 4

Will Pakistan end the game in control of Kashmir or send the region to nuclear hell?

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POLAND

Team Size: 4

A member of the EU and Russia’s neighbour. But do they trust the Russians?

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RUSSIA

Team Size: 8

Russia still wants to be a world-leader, but what does it have to offer apart from hydrocarbons?

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SAUDI ARABIA

Team Size: 4

The regional leader with massive hydrocarbon income, but do they have an eye on renewable energy?​

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SOUTH AFRICA

Team Size: 4

Being dominant African nation doesn’t always win you allies. But that’s what the United States is for…

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SOUTH KOREA

Team Size: 4

A technologically advanced country with strong ties to the United States, but historic issues with both China and Japan.

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TÜRKIYE

Team Size: 4

Strategically located as the bridge between east and west, will Türkiye continue to be NATO’s flakiest ally?

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UNITED KINGDOM

Team Size: 6

Home of King William V and winner of the tea-drinking championships. Just don’t mention Brexit.

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UNITED STATES

Team Size: 11

The world’s only superpower. How will they use such power?

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VENEZUELA

Team Size: 4

A pariah in the world - locked out by the hated United States and its western allies. Can it build new relationships?

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We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work, and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

 

Megagames are immersive storytelling events, and we hope to pay respect to the long traditions of storytelling that have existed on this land for thousands of years.

Copyright © 2023 Melbourne Megagames Incorporated

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