A common format is one which combines the political and operational, providing a political framework in which any combat will be resolved. In the US, most active designers stem from the board game scene and their designs are reflected in their origin. Several have designed highly mechanical megagames with rigid rules that don't differ substantially from very large board games. Within the community, there has been debate about whether these new megagame-board game hybrids are actually megagames (and thus eligible for broad community endorsement and support). These typological debates are not unique to the Megagaming Community and are likely to continue into the future. The awareness of megagames within gaming communities grew following the original run of Jim Wallman's "Watch The Skies" megagame on 17 May 2014. The game was filmed by board game reviewers Shut Up & Sit Down and then shared on their website. They then followed up with a further documentary on a large version of Watch the Skies   In the game teams of three to six players represent nations of the world reacting to the arrival of an alien race. Players take on diplomatic and military roles in their dealings with other teams, the room being divided into separate tables for each country, and others for a world map or the United Nations and alien team(s). In some versions corporate entities will also be added to the player teams. Much of the gameplay comes from the players reacting to the unfolding events and actions of the different teams in the scenario. The game has been compared to a Model United Nations activity "but there are aliens and everyone has all these tanks, itching for a fight". "Watch The Skies" remains the most popular megagame in the world, having been run on every continent. Several different variations exist, including Jim Wallman's original design, his updated "Lite" design and a design by the MegaGame Society of New York. In July 2017, the first Wide Area Megagame was held. "Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos", designed by Jim Wallman, and took place simultaneously in 11 different locations in Europe and North America. The game setting was a zombie outbreak across America, with each physical location representing a different state. Over 600 players took part. There is a growing community around megagaming, with organisations being formed around the world, including the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Megagames are often run at board game conferences, with the MegaGame Coalition organizing multiple megagames at the Gen Con board game convention each year. A key designer throughout much of this period has been Jim Wallman, one of the primary megagame designers in Megagame Makers and a professional game designer consulting with the British military on simulating conflict scenarios.