Watch the skies
Watch the Skies was first created and run by Jim Wallman in the UK. Wallman drew inspiration from classic science fiction novels and movies, such as "Mars Attacks!" and "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" to create a game that simulated a global crisis caused by the arrival of extraterrestrial beings on Earth.
The first run of "Watch the Skies" was held in London in 2013 and was an immediate success, with over 50 players participating in the event. The game received positive reviews from players and critics alike, and soon gained popularity around the world, with events held in the UK, US, Canada, and other countries.
Over the years, "Watch the Skies" has evolved and expanded, with new factions, challenges, and gameplay elements added to the game. Other designers and game masters have also created their own versions and spin-offs of the game, such as "Watch the Skies: Second Sight" and "We Are Not Alone" each with their own unique rules and gameplay elements.
Game Description
The story behind the game is that we are in the real world of the year 2025, just a few years from now. In this game, the conspiracy theories about the existence of aliens and UFOs are in fact true – though the people of the world do not know that yet.
As the Governments of the world, deciding when to admit publicly to the world that aliens are real will be an important question for you all to discuss right from the start. You, as the players, represent important government leaders, Prime Ministers, Presidents, Diplomats, Generals and Scientists. You will, during the game, have to deal with real world crises such as wars and earthquakes – BUT – at the same time deal with an increasing UFO menace without creating world-wide panic and terror.
Game Contents
Summary sheet of
the starting forces for the alien team
A3 sheets for tracking the alien science
developments
Cards representing the outcomes of alien
research
Player briefing for the alien team
members
Army and Navy unit counters for the main
game map
A3 Map for each human player team to
refer to
Player briefing for the military players
Brief guidelines for the Control Team
A general description of the megagame for
participants
Items collected by aliens from earth
Player briefing for the foreign minister
players
Game money – 'Megagbucks'
The guide to setting up the game (this
document)
The guide to how the game works and how
each turn goes
Player briefing for the team leader
A3 sheets for tracking human science
developments
Human intercept cards
The master map for the game
A list of the forces each human team has
WTS Game Preparation Guide
Brazil national team briefing
China national team briefing
France national team briefing
India national team briefing
Japan national team briefing
Russia national team briefing
UK national team briefing
USA national team briefing
Sample nobel prize certificates
Specific press team briefing
Cards representing science credit
Player briefing for the scientist player
Main map counters for the alien UFO and
human SIF interceptor units
Cards allowing players to do extra things
The A2 sheets for each national team
table
Items of alien stuff collected by the
human teams
Counters for the main map showing UN
activity
Also counters showing locations of
outbreaks of disease etc
A collection of international issues that
the UN will be dealing with during the game
Role labels designed
for generic badge holders
Mentions
Shut Up And Sit Down review Watch The Skies
MEGAGAMES
A megagame is a type of large-scale live-action game that typically involves dozens or even hundreds of players taking on the roles of different characters or factions. Megagames are designed to be highly immersive and often feature complex rules and gameplay mechanics, as well as a mix of tabletop-style gaming and live-action roleplaying. Read more.
play the Game
Read our guide on how to play Watch the Skies
Download the game here