Firstly, you really should have been there. The GAMERS BOYZ own the show. Wherever we went, the seas parted. When we stepped on the elevator, everyone else either got off, or plugged their ears. When we were at the booth, or demo-ing games, the Non-Believers fell onto their knees and shouted "Hallelujah!" It was nothing short of a tent revival.

At right, Dan Cicero, Max Workman (closest to camera), and John Reed (standing) playing Thunder at the Crossroads. The fourth player is unidentified.

Dean won a Charley award for "Best Graphics" for GD'41. I thought for sure Hube's was going to win "Best WW2 Game," but, check this: Wave of Terror won that category.

Perry, as Dan mentioned, was non-stop. He always had enough energy to show people Semper Fi. He cycled through at least twelve people in as many scenarios. I, having been initially lukewarm to the idea of tiny, itty bitty TCS maps, became an avid believer after only one game of the Fox Hill scenario. Lee has done an excellent job, and Perry almost single-handedly whipped up a frenzy among gamers to get it released as soon as possible. There's no doubt this one will be a winner. There was even a 13-year-old Europa player who wanted to learn how to play TCS. Perry showed him the way. Perry also had plenty of time to come over to games Chris and I were playing (DAK and Black Wednesday) to tell us what we were doing wrong, and we teased him unmercifully for it (I just wish Perry would have told me and not Chris).

Where's RC?

As you might have expected, everyone was asking where RC Marine (Ronald Chacon) was. The only reason we could think of for him not showing up was that he couldn't afford all the beers he would have had to buy for us, or he was scared to death of losing Leros as the Germans. We set up post over at the pub across the street in case Ron showed his face, but it never happened.

The real reason we all game becomes clear at Origins. There were some models walking around with really small clothes on. Max Workman spotted one woman in an extremely efficient bathing suit covered with see-through chain mail. I think Max asked her if she wanted to get in on a game of TATC. He told me that if she kept walking around like that, he knew he was going to get flanked sooner or later.

At right, Jim Daniels smoking Will Volny in Black Wednesday

The SCS tournament was a little sad. Only three people showed up. Mike Lochtefeld got a little disappointed by the lack of interest and has asked for more support next year. I wonder if some of you who have played in tournaments before could give us some advice on how to drum up more interest. Not to beat a dead horse, but the best thing about the tournament I could see was that Chris, my favorite brother, suffered a most humiliating defeat. When interviewed, he said, "It's an embarrassment to Mankind," and "Undoubtedly, it is the worst ass-whuppin I have ever received." Kudos to the unnamed hero who put him in his place. [get from e-mail]

I talked with a few other game companies. They all said this year has been pretty good. CoA had their best Origins ever. Avalanche, having merged (mergers occur even in the gaming world) with GamesUSA is doing quite a business with their consistent releases. They said The Great War at Sea is still their best seller. Beth Queman, of map-drawing fame and ADG representative, took her life into her own hands and joined the GAMERS BOYZ for dinner one night. She told me later that the dinner was the highlight of Origins for her. If you've ever seen Dean and gang at a restaurant, you'll know what she meant.

Lou Zocchi, long time gaming presence, wants to sell his Gamescience company and go into retirement. Apparently, he's never missed an Origins. If you're interested in purchasing the company, give ol' Lou a call.

The best part of any Origins is the gaming. Most of us had to pull a lot of booth duty this year, which is great fun. But, after the convention doors closed for the day, we'd head up to the gaming area and start playing. Dan Cicero, being an effective salesman, almost got me to buy a copy of World Killer. He and I were playing it until almost 2 am one night. I must admit, I had a blast playing that game.

At one point, we board gamers had set up some of our games in a "contested area." When we came back from lunch we came into the room and found that a bunch of Fantasy/Roleplayer dudes had taken down our games! We were self-righteously outraged. Jim Daniels. Mr. Smooth-talker, ended up talking with the Andon people to get the situation fixed up. Take my advice: next year, before you take all day setting up a game, make sure it's in a "boardgaming" area. (I still can't believe a roleplayer actually touched my Black Wednesday counters).

Bottom line is: you gotta go.