By Other Means

Quick Navigation:

Cardiff 12/04/25: Game Details - Sign Up - Pay - Cast List

Game Description

The galaxy has been locked in debilitating war for decades. The resources of the great nations are largely spent, many planets are all but destroyed, and civil unrest swells. Can the tired nations bring a graceful end to war, without sacrificing too much of what has been gained?

Tension reigns as the great Huangdi Empire and their militaristic allies sit across battlefields and negotiation tables with their former vassals and political allies, as well as mercenaries, traders, raiders and rival Kingdoms.

***

By Other Means is a megagame of high-level diplomacy, negotiation and conflict designed by Ed Silverstone.. Players take on the role of senior officials and diplomats from the major galactic powers. The game involves a small amount of grand strategy and military operations, but the majority of time and attention will be focused on negotiation and discussion.

The majority of the game is about negotiation. The game is divided into four conferences, each with a mandate to negotiate post-war borders in a sector of the galaxy, as well as legislate on the controversial issue of cybernetic technology. In addition, the Imperial Senate will also be discussing critical issues and ratifying key decisions.

Players will be in teams of 2-4, so most players will face a dilemma over which conferences to attend themselves versus where they can rely on their allies to represent them instead.

During the planning phase each turn, teams will decide when and how to deploy their fleets to try and apply pressure and gain a negotiating advantage, while also managing ever-growing debts and internal tensions.

What kinds of roles and teams are available?

If you are interested in the game, you can look at the Roles Guide to find out team sizes, as well as learn more about the different playable roles so you can determine which is right for you.

Where can I play By Other Means?

South West Megagames are running By Other Means in the following locations. If you want to know when new games are announced, email us and ask to be added to our mailing list!

By Other Means - Cardiff - 12/04/25

The game will be held at Cathays Community Centre (36-38 Cathays Terrace, Cardiff CF24 4HX) on the 12th of April 2025. The game will run all day from about 10:30am to about 4:30pm.

Reservations are currently open to reserve a place in the game - to sign up for the game and secure you or your team's spot, go to the Reservation Page.

Bookings are currently open to pay for your place in the game - tickets are £30 per standard player, and £5 for Control.

To see the list of roles and all the provisional player assignments, you can go to the Cast List.

You can also join the Facebook group for more information and updates.

You can also follow our Facebook Page or Twitter to be notified of new developments:

Cardiff

Can I run By Other Means?

By Other Means is the Intellectual Property of its creator, Ed Silverstone, and as such cannot be directly licenced by SWMG. Feel free to reach out to me at contact@swmegagames.co.uk for advice or more information. If you are interested in running megagames, or similar kinds of games yourself, you can find all of my available design packs on the 'Games for Sale' page.