Origins 2007 – Columbus, Ohio

The Origins International Game Expo is going on right now downtown at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Origins is one of the largest gaming conventions in the US and is owned and operated by GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association). The show is all about games, games and more games and is a blast to attend. I’ve gone for several years now since moving to Columbus and always have a good time. This year, of course, was my first attending as a retailer. So my focus was to meet representatives from as many game companies as I could, hand out my business cards and distribute flyers announcing the grand opening of Alley Cat in September. The con is my first real marketing push.

Overall the show felt smaller this year. It may be because two of the Big Dogs of the gaming industry, Wizkids and Wizards of the Coast, no longer show there, opting instead for Gen Con next month in Indianapolis (the largest gaming convention in the US and possibly the world. It’s huge!). Their absence is definitely felt. Wizkids had a presence, still, hosting a gaming room and had some upcoming products on display at Alliance Game Distributors booth.

I was at the show all-day Thursday and Friday, and will return for the final day on Sunday. Meredith had a wedding to shoot today, so I needed to stay home with Allie.

Meet Starro, the Star Conqueror. Starro is an old foe of the Justice League of America from DC Comics and is part of a special DC Heroclix program coming this Fall. Yes, that’s right, he’s a giant alien starfish. Don’t be too hard on ol’ Starro. He originally appeared in 1960. Wizkids will be running a world wide Starro Attacks event this fall at game stores. Players will be competing over the course of four or five weeks with the prize being the figure of Starro himself. Starro won’t be available any other way. As a big DC Comics fan, I am really excited about hosting the Starro Attacks event at Alley Cat in September.

I’m also really looking forward to the next DC Heroclix expansion: Justice League. This set looks to have a lot of great characters/pieces in it. Heroclix is celebrating it’s 5 year anniversary this year and is going strong! It’s one of my favorite games.

Mongoose Publishing was running demos of their new Battlefield Evolution miniatures game at their booth. BF:Evo features modern warfare set about 5-10 years into the future. It’s a really cool game featuring neat pre-painted army men (4 different factions), tanks, helicopters and more. Very cool stuff.

Rackham is moving their popular Confrontation to a pre-painted format this Fall. The ruleset is getting an overhaul and a new name: Confrontation: Age of the Rag’Narok. It’s not a move without contreversy, as many current fans of the game are pretty upset that their game is being changed. Having not played the game previously myself, I am very much anticipating the new game. I love their AT-43 sci fi miniatures game, and this one is expected to have similar mechanics. Plus, I am all about the pre-paints myself, and I think that feature will allow people with a more casual interest to get into the game as well, without having to worry about assembling and painting their forces.

Days of Wonder produces a variety of high quality boardgames. Their products really are top notch, and their latest game, Battlelore, is another game at the top of my favorites list. It’s a boardgame, a minatures game, a card game all rolled into one. It’s easy to learn, fast-paced, and just a lot of fun. Watch for lots of Battlelore at Alley Cat! The next two pictures below show Battlelore being played.

Sailpower is a game of combat in the age of sail and is written by Brian Carnes. Brian is a Columbus-area local and is at Origins showing off and demoing this very cool looking game. It looks like a lot of fun and we can’t wait to see it played at Alley Cat!

Of course, Pikachu watches over all at Origins! The Pokemon Collectible Card Game is still going strong, and next month sees the US release of the Pokemon Collectible Miniatures Game, which – heaven help me – actually looks really cool. The miniatures themselves look awesome, and the game features a unique spinning dial for resolving actions (think the spinner from Twister). Will we be carrying it? Absolutely!

Settlers of Catan is one of the most popular games in the world. It was first published in Germany in 1995. Over 11 million games in the Catan series have been sold! That’s amazing. In the US it is available from Mayfair Games. The version in the foreground is the deluxe 3-D edition which runs in the neighborhood of $400. But the basic edition of the game is only $38.00. There’s numerous expansions and off-shoot games like the sci-fi Starfarers of Catan and the biblically-based Settlers of Canaan. Settlers has a huge and growing following. I confess that I’ve never played it myself, but that’ll change soon. Hopefully I can demo the game when I go back to Origins tomorrow.

Mike Webb of Alliance Game Distributors ran an absolutely immense Star Wars miniatures game on Friday and Saturday. The terrain was spread out over four tables representing the town of Mos Eisley on Luke Skywalker’s home plane of Tattooine. Very, very cool. I took this picture before the game took place, so there’s no miniatures and no players, but when I went back that had changed!

So, that’s just a small taste of what’s going on at Origins right now. Plus I was able to take in some retailer seminars, hang out with some friends, talk up the store, try out new games and generally have a great time. I’m looking forward to going back tomorrow for the final day.

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