Subject: Fw: Origins Begins .... Sauer wrote in message ... First Report from Origins ... Flower Show ran long ... Pre-Reg a mess, flowers & mulch everywhere .... 5pm events officially canceled. C.A.B.S. events went off at six instead... 18 playing AOR - 12 playing HOW - 5 playing Titan Arena - 16 playing Acquire. Many MANY more in open areas ... Biggest Wednesday night we've seen in Columbus. Many played the prototype "Battleline" from GMT. (Tuesday night C.A.B.S. members got to see another card game (not at liberty to say what it is) from GMT as Gene B. visited) Everything moved around ... nothing where it has been for the last few years ... Food Court a pile of rubble (literally) ...$5 a day parking lot gone ... Parking garage $15 a day .. (However if you wait till midnight the attendant leaves and it's only $5 to get out through the automated system) George Subject: Fw: ORIGINS 2000 - A One Day Diary (long) gnichols wrote in message <2rnd5.2$ks4.1008@news.itd.umich.edu>... ORIGINS 2000 - A One Day Diary A friend (Dave Richtmyer) and I drove down to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday (the 15th) to make our pilgrimage to gaming's Mecca - the 26th Annual ORIGINS. After a rather a leisurely 3 hour drive, we reached the Convention Center only to find it under construction on the north end where we had parked in the past. We ended up in an exterior lot on the southeast side of the center across from a Damons. It was a lovely morning for a walk so we weren't too disappointed. The parking fee was $5 for the whole day which when you live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, sounds like a good deal. We entered through the Hyatt and reached the first part of the con (the Avalon Hill Gaming area and Auction room), but we were looking for the registration area so we didn't spend much time there right away. The first problem we encountered was finding our way to the registration area. There were no signs directing us! There were a couple of maps on easels but they didn't have a "You Are Here" notation so they weren't terribly helpful. I ended up snagging a weary looking passerby and he helped get us around some interior construction and on our way. As we moved towards our goal, we passed an interesting collection of games. With someone standing there, both my friend and I rubber necked the stacks and I spotted a copy of TSR's "The Hunt for Red October" which I have been coveting for awhile. I asked the man how much he wanted for it and he replied, that these games were to borrow and not for purchase. A lending library! Great idea. All you need was a badge and an id and off you could go and try something new (or old). We thanked the man for his explanation and continued on our way. We entered the "Walkway" (a wide glass connector between the Hyatt and the Convention Center about 50 yards long) and observed all sorts of gamers mingling on the floors and at tables that lined both sides of the connector. Of course the youthful CCG gang was present at several tables but also the RPG people in their strange cloaks, sporting thick books were there too. A few boardgames were spread out (some homemade looking stuff) and some basic card games. The gamer aroma was ever present and it would have been nice to have some additional ventilation in the area. After passing through the walkway, we went down the big escalator into the belly of the beast. By this time it was about 10:30am, and the crowds were getting thick. We reached the registration area and the lines looked long. We sighed and got in the cue. I talked to gamer in front of us who attended my old college alma mater Eastern Michigan University. We talked of this and that and filled out our little registration sheets. I was dismayed at some of the information requested on the form. I was there for a single day and they wanted two phones numbers, a fax number and my e-mail address along with some data questions. I didn't fill much of it out as they just didn't need to know this and later at the desk, I was requested to give it. The line moved rather quickly but grew monstrously behind us. There were freebie bags next to the lines so I grabbed one. I got the usual promotional material but also found a pack of Pez and a Pez game card for some new money hungry CCG. The card looked silly but I figured the assorted fruit Pez would come in handy. I also found a black 20-sided die in there which is always nice to have (never know when a Formula De game might pop up). When I finally reached the registration desk, I was greeted by what was obviously local convention help. I asked a question about participating in the auction if I only bought a Visitor's pass and was met with a very blank stare. The woman wouldn't get an official person's assistance even though she was standing 5 feet to her right. Instead, she whispered to her friend posted next to her who in turn asked the woman. Strange but true. As my badge was being printed, I asked them if I were to receive the official program for the con and she said well they were strewn about here and there. I smiled. She turned to a youth sitting next to her (a brother?) and sent him out to get some books. I think having books next to the badge area is sort of a fundamental for cons and a patron shouldn't have to point that out. With my visitor's badge swinging from my neck by a long chain of white (sort of Marti Gras like) and a program tucked into my shoulder bag, my friend and I headed out. I wanted to catch the wargames auction and by the time we got out of the registration line, the 10am to Noon auction was down to its last 20 minutes. We got there and hung out but nothing caught our eyes. I spied lots of neat stuff sitting on the shelves just waiting for my money (my friend kept commenting as to how he could have bought all these games when he worked at a hobby store 20 years ago for $7 each and now they fetch $45 in the Auction!) but they would have to wait because when the Noon hour came in so to did the RPG stuff and out we went. Next stop was the GMT/Columbia/Gamers gaming area. We wanted to see the demo set-up for the Gamer's upcoming release of "Circus Minimus." Well it wasn't hard to find as it was outside the main gaming room with a few other tables but no one was about. We stared at it making some comments but without assistance, a game wasn't going to happen. So we went into the main gaming room and started shuffling through. It was lovely to see several block games set-up and people pushing blocks and rolling bones. I saw "Pacific Victory", "Bobby Lee", and someone's hand drawn "Quebec 1759" map (?). GMT stuff was also around including a very cool oversized "Tigers in the Mist." Imagine if you will, a map maybe 5x8 feet! With blown-up counters mounted on foam at about a 2x2 inches in size. I wanted to push those babies around the minute I saw them. But we kept on and headed for the playtesting area along the back wall and ran smack into QED's "Blue vs. Gray" designer Evan Jones. We introduced ourselves and had a friendly talk and Evan described some of the projects sitting there in front of us. Evan has an infectious passion for gaming and a sparkling intelligence that makes for a dynamic person. We finally moved down the table to our real target, GMT's soon to be released "Battleline" created by legendary German game designer Reiner Kniza. The cards looked great even in mock-up stage as the were printed in color with great looking Rodger MacGowan/Mark Simonitch artwork. The game has a theme of warfare during the age of Alexander the Great. Elephants, Cavalry, Phalanx, oh my! There are troop cards and wild cards. The play has some poker elements and some mathematics and logic. It 's sort of a capture the flag (5 of 8 or 3 in a row) as the 8 flags sit between the two sides. The game looks to a great lunch hour game for the wargamer. Evan did a demo play with Bill Alderman, Events Coordinator for GMT. Bill was hacking off large pieces of Venison sausage from a fat tube with his over-sized Swiss army knife while playing and holding a conversation with us. The game looked fun (we were ready to pre-order on the spot) but the aroma of Bill's venison sausage finally got to us and our gamer tummies told us it was time to eat lunch. After saying our goodbyes, we headed towards our lunch destination across from the convention center - Frank's Diner. On the second floor of a quaint renovated warehouse to the west of the center is a great little diner. I had an out of this world Patty Melt (good rye bread, American cheese and a touch of thousand Island dressing on a ½ pd beef patty). My friend had an open face beef sandwich which he devoured in record time. The place had only a few gamers for patrons and that was their loss. After lunch was a wonderful almond crescent cookie from the downstairs bakery and then back to the center. After making the harrowing trip back across High Street (we were game and avoided crossing at an intersection), we re-entered the center and stopped by the Jolly Roger miniatures setup. Imagine if you will, about a 100 sq. ft. area with the four corners serving as ports. The port towns have people and docks and one includes a fort. Between all this are ships. Lots of ships. Sail models sitting atop what looked to be plastic poles bobbing on an imaginary sea. In the middle was a wind gauge indicating direction and intensity. This was an amazing setup with lots of people buzzing about. People were actually photographing it as it did look spectacular and the group has obviously put years worth of labor into this project. Long live that kind of enthusiasm. From there we made a commitment to go through the Dealer's area. Now to fully do this you have to spend about 2 hours time. It's huge. For the gamer, it's like being a hog in hog heaven with one catch - nothing's free not even the mud. We made our rounds to our favorite boardgame companies. Columbia Games had a modest setup with plenty of their boardgames and a few of their card games. No discounts which became a theme for the show. They had "Pacific Victory" front and center and the pieces looked very nice. I can't say that I've gotten into any of the victory line. I do have all of their 19th century themed games. The fellow there said he had been packaging PV right up until show time with different parts coming in from across the country. He also said that their American Revolution game was developing slowly. GMT had a decent sized booth that was long and narrow. They had a fair inventory on the table and did have a discount going on their older games but nothing on the new ones (though I believe they were giving out coupons at events and demos). Austerlitz had a nice location sporting it's 1,000 plus counters. I'll never play a game with that many counters but it's lovely to look at. The Gamers booth seemed a bit cramped and out of the way. I only own one of their games from the CWB series and though most of their games don't appeal to me, I do like their coverage. Plus, they are going to publish an update of "Circus Maximus" called "Circus Minimus" so I was looking for any info on that. Again, no deals that I spied. Avalanche had a nice site with plenty of room. And they had one of the most interesting pre-production products at the con as far as I was concerned: "Rome at War I - Hannibal at Bay." This is a beauty. The counters are a wonderful combination of miniatures and wargame chits. Some counters consist of a top down view of a line of troops plus modifiers. Flip it over to the reduced side and you see fewer troops and new modifiers. The board looks to be a sort of plain desert sand with area squares to move in. Counters are large and medium in size and some are very colorful. This looks to be a very playable system, the same one used in their Napoleonic series. And it will have mounted boards! A nice fellow at the booth did a good job explaining some of the play elements and other aspects of the system. This should be out by late summer or early fall. Avalon Hill/Hasbro had a huge area adjacent to the Wizards of the Coast mega-area. I got to meet Richard Borg and chatted with him for a moment between his teaching of "BattleCry." He was using a 25mm miniatures setup that was quite nice. I believe it was his own that was used in a gaming group that developed the core of this game system. He was a very nice chap. When asked about other games using this system, he shrugged and said that there's no firm commitment yet. I take it Hasbro needs to sell another 100,000 before they feel they've got a winner. Also at this booth was a copy of their new version of "Cosmic Encounters." Stunning is the word that comes to mind when looking at this setup. A spiral galaxy board complete with separate appendages. Colorful plastic pieces were everywhere. It's gets a ten on the eye-appeal scale. A group of four had some how wrangled the demo copy and was actually playing a game when I was there. There was a box for an upcoming "Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit." Looks BattleCry-like with detailed plastic miniatures and boards plus a card management system. The theme is the recent Star Wars Episode I movie and Gungens etc. Could be a fun time for the Star Wars gamer. I stayed clear of the WOTC main area. I didn't want any of that Magic Madness to rub off on me. But their area was huge. Big blown up cards were hanging from the ceiling. Decipher was situated next to them and they had Young Jedi everywhere as well as their older Star Wars game. I picked up a couple of Young Jedi playmats which were free when asked for. The autograph area was busy as Spike from the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series was there doing the signing thing. Not to many vampires present but certainly some odd looking types. The actor must get a kick out of seeing some of these get-a-life folks. Lots of small publishers and miscellaneous distributors speckled the large area. Old Crazy Igor was present with his "You've got to be kidding me" prices as usual. He is distributing Hillary's Toy Box products including a neat looking card game called "Pirate's Plunder." The huge room was packed with people and other assorted creatures. People in cloaks were floating around. Star Wars costumes were here and there. I saw one fairly attractive young woman in a bikini of silver chain mail. She was sporting a thong under the bottom piece and maybe some band aids on the top. It certainly was the attention getting outfit of the room. After a couple of hours in the dealer's area (and no purchased booty to show for - where are all the bloody discounts?!), we headed out to the playing areas in search of some dice rolling. First, we grabbed some cokes at a Hyatt shop and then we went back to the Gamers area and settled down to the demo version of "Circus Minimus." The rules were laying there so we scanned the board, gathered up some counters and looked to get into it. Thankfully, a nice young French fellow sat down and as he had played it yesterday, was willing to explain the game to us. In a broken English, he went through the mechanics and just as we were about to get some chariots moving, a Belgium friend of his sat down making our group a foursome. Well we played for a couple of hours and the group had a good chemistry with lots of laughing and ribbing of each other. People were knocked off chariots and running around the track and spine. The French fellow eventually was killed as my friend ran him over while he was attempting to jump on his chariot. I also lost it in a corner but made it to the spine and ran the distance to catch the chariots at the final turn. I jumped on my friends chariot and through him out and rolled on to victory. It was a wild two lap race. I saw Dean Essig observing for a few moments. And though we had a good time, it was mostly due to the French fellow keeping us playing properly and the chemistry of the group. The game itself is not all that different from AH's "Circus Maximus" and that's not a good thing. The game could use some additional work to trim the mechanics down. There's a bit too much fiddling. Roll here and check a CRT there. Check another CRT and roll some more. My friend suggested card play be brought into the system and that might help it as it still feels like it is weighed down with too much chrome. Following that, we headed off to catch some more of the auction before leaving for dinner. The auction room was humming and stuff was moving at a furious pace. I spied a few Columbia block games coming up so I prepared myself and won out on a shrink-wrapped copy of "Sam Grant" for a paltry $24. I also caught a copy of TSR's long out of print "The Hunt for Red October" for only $9. I was satisfied with my purchases and as the auction moved into the 8:00 hour, the Collector's stuff started to get into the queue. Well we were pretty hungry by this point and thought it was time to head out. We staggered out of the Convention Center and back to my car. We headed down to the German Village for some terrific beer and sausages at Schmidt's. Fine German food (Bahama Mama Sausages!), Polka music, and a festive atmosphere is what this place is all about. And no meal is complete there without a huge dessert. We both had the Coconut Cream pie which was the best in all the lands. Good gaming to all, Greg Nichols http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gnichols/glg/index.html Subject: Fw: Origins? wadcutter@my-deja.com wrote in message <8kvfge$1qi$1@nnrp1.deja.com>... I went down on Friday for the day. Since I have such a variety of gaming interests (including L5R CCG), my post will probably not be too informative. I got to see the US version of E&T and was unimpressed by the components. The tiles seemed much thinner than I remember in my import version and artwork didn't do anything for me. Everything seemed brighter (the board included). I prefer the more subdued colors (and higher quality tiles) in the original. Cafe Jay was kind enough to dig out a copy of Hera and Zeus for my buddy and I to try (thanks Jay!). With the card back color problem, I think he was reluctant to leave it out in the demo area for general demonstrations. I liked H&Z a lot. My friend less so. We did stumble a bit on Argus and are still not sure what his purpose is on the table. (I won when I pulled Argus from his hand with my Pegasus) Cosmic Encounter (never played, but understand it's a classic) looked great. Lots of neat components. I didn't talk to Hasbro about availability. Had a great time playing WotC's Major League Baseball Showdown. If you like baseball, you owe it to yourself to try this one out. They borrowed heavily from APBA and SOM, but the game is not nearly as mechanical as those games became and is loads of fun. Lots of luck (20 sided dice) and cool strategy cards (my pitcher is In The Groove) make it a winner. My 10 year old daughter has begged me to play it the last couple of days. The highlight for me was having Matt Wilson (artist) sign some of my L5R cards. He's one of the best in the industry and has drawn some of my favorite personalities in L5R. In article <3973303B.7A3B@volcano.net>, >The Maverick Anyone go? ;-) > >the Mav > >--"Never give up -- never surrender!" Commander Peter Quincy Taggart > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. Subject: Fw: Origins? Hunter Johnson wrote in message <8kvq3c$ajr$1@nnrp1.deja.com>... In article <3973303B.7A3B@volcano.net>, > The Maverick Anyone go? ;-) There were a lot of people there, as far as I could tell. :-) I was there as a Cheapass Games Demo Monkey, manning the booth, showing off the new Button Men (Fantasy, art by Larry Elmore) and Brawl (Club Foglio, art by Phil Foglio), and helping with a few of the life-size events (Kill Dr. Lucky, Deadwood, and Devil Bunny Needs a Ham were all given the life-size treatment this year). I also ran a Cheapass Money tournament (players get to play games like Ben Hvrt, Renfield, and Starbase Jeff in a freestyle format, most money at the end wins), but it really needs more participants. I think it's going to be run again at GenCon, although it's not in the prereg packet -- so do me a favor and sign up if you like James's money games (which I think are his best). I didn't play in anyone else's tournaments, but I did walk the dealer room a couple of times and checked out some of the boargaming events. QED was in the boargaming room demoing Blue vs. Gray and Gods vs. Goddesses as well as a mock-up of a WWII game in development using the basic Blue vs. Gray mechanics. Looking forward to that. I checked out Hasbro/Avalon Hill's display copy of Cosmic Encounter, and it is stylish. Never having played the EON version myself, I'm not too concerned with which ruleset they used as a basis, and it's on my to-get list. Didn't really buy much this trip. Picked up a copy of the English edition of Through the Desert, a back issue of GMT's C3i mag (Paths of Glory issue), the Buttonmen from Studio Foglio, and the Apples to Apples expansion. The parking bill turned out to be my biggest expense. :-) -- Hunter Johnson < Games for sale/trade: http://www.donet.com/~jhunterj/gamesale.txt Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. Subject: Fw: Origins? G Bailey wrote in message <20000717183526.28531.00000070@ng-fp1.aol.com>... >>Anyone go? ;-) > >Yup. Smart ass. :) But then, I was going to say nearly the same thing: "Yep". But I resisted when I first read this thread. I went all four days, and as usual, I expect more than I get out of a gaming convention. But I picked up some things in the dealers room that I wouldn't have be able to at my local stores. Some of my disappoints stem from: having dead time of no gaming, no GM and by the time this is realized it's too late to get into another game, having a time slot where there is really nothing I want to play especially after I've gone through the dealers room, having to choose between 2 events (games) that are only going to be played once and at the same time (grrr), noting the lack of my favorite games that I used to play especially in regards to rpgs (no Traveller, 1 Runequest, 1 Champions). I played in a couple of demo games. One was Command at Sea (WW2 naval, usually with miniatures) and this is about the only time I play this type of game. Someone else manages all the tables so all I have to do is pilot my ship and shoot, they figure out if I hit and how much damage. The other was Fighting Wings from J.D. Webster, a new WW2 air-to-air combat game similar to Over the Reich. I really dislike how slow these games go. A 10 minute air battle takes 3-4 hours to play. Come on guys, air battles should be quick; although that might be from way too much non-game chatter that occurred in this event. (it was 3 Japanese Petes - scout planes - vs some US Avengers and Dauntlesssess until the Zeroes and Corsairs came in. I had my Pete close right in and get targetted by Dead-Eye Avenger Gunner, first shot took out my gunsights and two rounds later splash. *sigh*) I also played two games of Advanced Civilization but already posted about that in another thread. I only played in the second one because a GM didn't show for another game I wanted to play (Full Thrust - space ship combat). I watched a demo of Great War at Sea by Avalanche Press. My impression of that game is: move (slowly) into firing range and start throwing dice. I'd like to find a game somewhere between this and Command at Sea for playing out naval battles. I talked to the designers/makers of a new CCG game based on Age of Empires and has the same name and permission from Microsoft. Looks interesting and may play more like a war game than the usual CCG fare. One of the pamphlets you got was a partial conversion rule set that converted AD&D characters to the new D&D 3rd edition game. More skill oriented and I might get into it, especially after I get to play in a demo game that will occur locally (Ft. Lauderdale) once the game comes out. They had the Players Handbook in a plastic case with hand holes so you could page through it, I didn't bother. Downsides to this year's Origins: They used new software to register for events and thus the line to get tickets was the longest. They know this and will try to make changes. Be wary at Gencon. I bought a bunch of generics and used them throughout the con, the only problem someone mentioned was trying to get into popular rpg games. I had my pre-registered ticket for the only Runequest game and good thing I did. As usual, some GMs didn't show up to run games. A friend reported about 20% no-shows. This is not good. Please, future con GMs, at least try to notify the con that you aren't coming. To con organizers: I hope there is a number than GMs can call to say they cannot make it. Upsides: Picked up some old space ship miniatures. There weren't many available, though. The booth babes at Hero Games/cybergames.com booth. 'nough said. :) I love looking at the miniature games with all the terrain and figures. Lots of them to see; thanks to those who set them up. And I didn't spend the fortune to have it. :) Everyone is so spread out that you don't ever have to see any of the other types of games that you may not like. I'm not a fan of CCGs, except for an rpg one (Dragon Storm), so I didn't have to bother with any. Although I did walk into the CCG event room and it had this "funny" smell. :) I didn't stay long (1 minute). Dragon Storm games were played elsewhere, too. Thank Elethay (a DS diety). :) enough for now... Glen Subject: Fw: Origins? William Nace wrote in message <3975036C.355D3B6F@cmu.edu>... The Maverick wrote: > > Anyone go? ;-) > > the Mav > > -- > > "Never give up -- never surrender!" Commander Peter Quincy Taggart Oh, yeah! Cons are my only real outlet for playing due to time constraints -- I'm limited to lurking here and playing vicariously. So I really enjoyed my time at Origins this year. I went down Wednesday and got in line early, which was a _VERY_ good thing. Due to stupid software (can you believe registration computers were hooking to a WOTC server over phone lines??), reg and event tickets took forever. Luckily I got good tickets for Thurs and Friday and then never went back for more. By then I had discovered Jay's Awesome Tables of Games (Hi, Jay!) and spent Saturday playing all the RioGrande games I could. All in all, I played 22 games from Wed evening to late Saturday. Some highlights: Being taught Battle Cry by Richard Borg on his big 25mm setup. It was even better in that I got 2 bombard cards and blasted my way through to Winchester. How's that for subtle and superior tactics :) The scenario was one of 3 or 4 in a special scenario booklet released as a give-away at the con. Chinatown -- what a great trading game. I'm not a fan of trading in games. I'll put up with it as part of a game like Settlers or Civ. But I never expected to enjoy a game that is basically nothing but trading. (By the time I figured that out about Chinatown I was way too committed to back out). Playing the life sized version of "Kill Dr. Lucky." The map was taped on the floor and the murderers (attempted, at least) walked around the mansion. The cheapass people who ran it did an excellent job, though I hope Dr. Lucky gets his voice back soon. Andromeda -- Great game, nuff said. An excellent miniatures demo based on the Baker Co. rules. Simple to teach and play, and the GM was really a treat to fight against. 4 players had a couple of squads each and our mission involved going through a road cut in the bocage of Normandy. Boy did the scenario simulate the hesitancy to be the first guy to stick his head around the corner. Watching a miniatures setup where RAFM (I think) had some beautiful terrain built for the cliffs at (Omaha?) beach on D-Day. Several times a day, a dozen participants would simulate the next wave of unlucky GIs landing on the beach. The state was saved, so they ended tripping over the dead bodies of the guys who simulated the last wave. Great terrain and a fantastic concept. I hesitate to include mention of the card game Pornstar by Freak Factory. But my group had an absolute blast. You play a producer who needs to find enough (ahem) stars to fill the production requirements of the latest adult movie. I found myself making some pretty slimy deals and doublecrosses that would get me exiled from my gaming group (if I had a gaming group). And I won with the largest amount of money any of the staff had ever heard of during a game ($715), so I must really be the king of smut. Eeeewwww, did I really say that? War College lecture on strange weapons of the Luftwaffe. I don't know the lecturer's name, but he really knew his stuff. Talked about lots of planes I had never heard of and debunked some pretty common myths. Bohnanza, Union Pacific, Taj Mahal, Lunch Money, Corruption, Once upon a Story, Shogun, Pacific Victory, Through the Desert.... Can't wait for next year. Bill Nace Subject: Fw: Origins? Doonemd wrote in message <20000718215317.16532.00000359@ng-da1.aol.com>... >Anyone go? ;-) This was our gaming group's 2nd year in attendence. Registration was horribly slow even the pre-reg. Other than the food court being no where to what it was last year due to construction in the the convention center, but all in all I think it went well. Tried almost all of Rio Grande's new games- great job Jay and Nick in the demo area!- and we have already have orders in for Taj Mahal, Web of Power, Vino, Aladdin's Dragon's. A little disappointed WOTC didn't take more interest int he Robo Rally events this year but GB7 did an okay job with the tournaments. Also had a great time playing the Cheapass lifesize events. With the demo areas and most events being open enough to use generic tickets there wasn't much down time for board gaming a major plus. And the best part meeting a lot of great people from all over! Lorna Subject: Fw: Origins? Bob Martino wrote in message ... In article <20000718215317.16532.00000359@ng-da1.aol.com>, doonemd@aol.com (Doonemd) wrote: > A little disappointed WOTC didn't take more interest in the > Robo Rally events this year but GB7 did an okay job with the tournaments. This was my biggest disappointment with the con. I always enter the roborally "World Championship" tourney. It was well run, creative, and had cool prizes for lots of the players. All seats were choosen randomly. All games were identical. Final rounds always included fun surprises (Like last year, when the robots played "King of the Mountain" on a specially made 3-D board). My experience with the GB7 roborally was TERRIBLE. All of the registered players were sitting around at tables looking at each other. Someone came by, passed out boxes, and said "play." We had to set up our own games (number of players, boards, flags, etc.), decide on our own rules (time limits, turbo wrenches or not, what options to allow or exclude, etc.). When it was over, we all left. I won the game in my group, but didn't get into the second round of the tournament. Why not? Because I didn't know there WAS one! There was no guidance at all. Nobody said where or when the next round would be (or even that there was one at all). When our game ended, there was nobody to tell that I had won. Nobody could even tell me who was in charge of the "tournament", where he was, or when he would appear. I had a _LOT_ more fun in years past LOSING the game than I did this year when I WON. Overall, Origins was VERY poorly run this year. So much so that I may not go back next year. It cost a lot of money to go, and I had a pretty bad time. I could understand if this was Wizard's first year running it, but come on now! The con has been in the same place, run by the same company for several years. Aren't you supposed to IMPROVE with experience? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Martino "I look up to the heavens Assistant Director but night has clouded over Perkins Observatory no spark of constellation no Vela no Orion." http://www.perkins-observatory.org -Enya Subject: Fw: Origins? orwell wrote in message <3B4C1FF6475F9DD8.3115E1E1980E87EE.10FDFE021F74C663@lp.airnews.net>... In article , martino.6@osu.edu (Bob Martino) wrote: >>Aren't you supposed to IMPROVE with experience? I have to agree with you.... I was in that roborally "tournament" as well. It left a lot to be desired. And the overall convention organization was lame. Where is this game? "Uh, I THINK it's in that room. Go in there and see if anyone has a copy...that's probably the spot." Of course, that's IF the gamemaster showed up at all. And the computer system was incredible. According to them, this was my first Origins.... Guess I dreamed the five or six others I've been too... I wonder if I'll get two (or more!) pre-reg books next year for having two different ID's. And sales at the art auction were a pain. An entirely new system....and no one ever bothered to train the staff. God, I miss the days when it was in Baltimore where there are more flights, more hotel rooms within 3 blocks, larger facilities and you could actually find restaraunts open past 5 p.m. on a Saturday. I definately rate this Origins the worst of the bunch I've attended. orwell From: GerryGamer@aol.com Subject: Origins Virtual & Real For me, best points were 1. Playing Hammer of the Scots. If Columbia releases it, it will be worth buying. Lots of fun. 2. Exhibit hall and checking each booth to see what's new in all genres. Will report back in a newsletter to gamers in the Richmond, VA area. 3. The North St. Market. One block behind the brewpub. Anything you could want to eat at non-Hyatt prices. GGG Subject: Re: [consim-l] Origins: Real & Virtual From: Robert M Titran On Thu, 13 Jul 2000 15:09:52 -0400 Scott Holmgren writes: > For those of us who have never been, I ask those who have: What are > we missing? What's the best way to enjoy it? > > I'd really like to go next year and take my 9-year-old son. Scott, I'm not sure what you or your son are into, but I'll toss some things out for you. You may also want to take a look at the on-line version of the pre-reg book at the origins website - Historical Boardgames - GMT, The Gamers, Columbia and Hasbro had near continuous demos of various sorts going on. I played or at least watched Circus Minimus, Galaxy, Pacific Victory, Down in Flames, plus I got a sneak peak and some upcoming releases (SOPAC, Hammer of the Scots, Army Group North), and saw several games I dream of playing someday set up and put into action. While there are some tournaments going on (particularly for a lot of AH games, largely run by the CABS folks), this is largely a "show and tell" vs. "competitive" event. Euros - Rio Grande had almost everything they sell out for demos. I bought tickets to a few, I'd imagine you could just walk into one easily enough. Miniatures - Historical (ancient, gunpowder and modern eras), SF, fantasy. Again, lots to chose from and lots of room for walk-ons. Auction - Board, card, computer, role-playing games, both old and new. Just listening to the auction staff describe the stuff your bidding on can be entertaining. Live action games - if you're into the Vampire thing, grab a cloak and some fake fangs and have at it. Art show - didn't go myself, but it's there. Seminars - Both by the game companies as well as the War College series on various aspects of military history. Computer games - a bunch of PC's set up to play networked shoot 'em ups. Seemed pretty popular, though not my thing. RPG's and CCG's - more than you ever knew existed. If you're into D&D, Magic, or Pokemon, this is the place to be. Open Gaming - all matter of things being played on whatever horizontal surface folks could find. Special Guests - no one I'd really heard of, but they were there and drawing crowds. How I "did" it - I reserved my hotel room early, preregistered early (saved a few bucks) as well. Stayed at the Hyatt on site with 3 friends, so the room cost me about $130 for 4 days after taxes. Parked at the Hyatt as well, pricey but convenient. We got into Columbus around 3, got our room squared away by 4, and got into the registration line a little after 4. The line was about an hour long, but that was all the waiting I did for 4 days of gaming. A friend of mine arrived about 7:00 that evening and said the line was less than half an hour by then. I think the temporary closing of the food court at the convention center may have been the best thing to happen to us. We discovered the North Market and several great places to eat within a block of the convention. All in all, a good time! Bob Titran rmt66@juno.com last played - Circus Minimus, Galaxy, various miniatures (all at Origins) _______________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. Subject: Re: [consim-l] Origins: Real & Virtual From: Robert M Titran On Wed, 19 Jul 2000 08:39:02 -0500 "Tim Allen" writes: > So, how did you like GMTs GALAXY? From what I've seen on there > website, it looks like a very fast&fun card game. > > ttyl > tim Well, I walked into the demo on the spur of the moment Sunday morning. Lots of folks were packing up shop, and I didn't get a lot of rules explained, so don't take any of this as gospel. Based on what I do know, the game seemed like fun, probably lasts about an hour, and has enough depth to make replays worthwhile. Each alien race has a special power it bestowes upon it's owner, and each card you "bet" has a special power as well. Getting familiar with all this can take a few playings. It seemed like a lot of our plays were of the "screw your buddy" variety - possibly because this is an obvious move to folks like us unfamiliar with the game and it's nuances. The few nuances that became appparent to us were univerally greeted with approval - the more we learned, the more we liked what we saw. It seemed to me a step or two more involved than your average eurogame - more in the multiplayer game category (Comic Encounter, Illuminati, etc.) than in the Settlers of Catan camp. I don't do a whole lot of this kind of gaming these days (too bad for me, really), but I would like to play this one again and get a better feel for it. Bob Titran rmt66@juno.com last played - Circus Minimus, Galaxy, various miniatures (all at Origins) ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.