Origins '97, July 17-20, Columbus Ohio

It's been two years since I last attended Origins. And this time I don't know if the 10 hour drive by car was worth it. I think my biggest problem is that Origins is produced by Andon Unlimited which is owned by WoTC, and WoTC biggest thing is CCG's. I guess I'll never get into ccg's. Of course the biggest push was Magic: The Gathering, still there was plenty to do.

Though role playing games weren't as numerous there were a fair amount of events to play, even some Living City and Living Death events. I of course got into a Living City event and played my Living City character Adrian Songswallow, a bard. We did pretty good even if my character was only 4th level and we actually go to finish the event, a rarity.

The dealers room was very large and had most of the major gaming companies. TSR was there but they only had a demo booth set up. Which for an avid AD&D player like myself it was rather disappointing to not find any new products available. WoTC had a rather large booth and demo area. In fact the crowd around it just for some samples was rather distracting and unruly. They dealers room was shared by computer games but I didn't get a chance to go over and take a look. It did seem like a nice set up.

The biggest disappointment about the dealers room was the last day of the convention. Dealers were packing up at noon and the dealers room didn't close till 5 p.m. I did mention this in my comment card to Andon/WoTC. I realize that it's the last day but hey I still like to shop and perhaps BUY something

The auction was an area I think I spent most of my time. If you want to get rid of that board game Origins is the place. Role playing games were not in much demand, I suggest take any role-playing items to GenCon, I think you'll receive a better price for any first edition AD&D games. The staff was for the most part friendly and seemed to know a good deal about war/board games. Be prepared though, there were a few dealers with deep pockets that were buying up out of print and rare games, if you don't have deep pockets, you might as well kiss that game you want good by. I tried unsuccessfully to bid on a 1936 edition of Monopoly and was outbidded by a dealer who will probably mark up the price when he gets it back to his store. Also be prepared for a long period of sitting though other games until the one you want comes up. I was lucky I had a tag team partner and that provided some quick rest room breaks.

The Columbus Convention Center is rather large so be prepared for alot of walking. The dealers room was on one end of the building and the auction hall on the other with just about everything else in between. One of the nice features was the food court located in the front section of the center. That was a saving grace instead of having to purchase food inside the center itself, talk about highway robbery. The nice thing was that you could take your food items into the con and not get harrases about bringing in outside beverages.

My only complaint is with the pre-registration packet. There was no indication as to where the hotel was located. After ten hours in a car, I really didn't appreciate having to drive around downtown Columbus looking for our hotel. We did get lucky since my co-pilot spotted the hotel on the second drive around. I did find one tiny problem with Columbus and that was streets usually ran in the opposite direction I wanted to go.

Origins had several special guests. Among them were: Tom Clancy, Larry Bond, Bruce Campbell, and Jerry Doyle. The last two guests really kept the interest of my other half and left me to wonder around the dealers room or just take a seat in the auction. If you ever get the chance to get to Origins, I'd say take it. While it may not be Gen Con at least you won't be disappointed.

NOVAGcon 97

I really didn't have a chance to play, much less look around at this con. Which this article may not do it justice. But in all fairness at least I can report what I did see.

Novagcon 97, August 17-19, Tysons Corner, VA. For those of you who are into military miniature this is a con for you. I can't remember seeing so many military figures except at a larger convention such as Origins. If you had this weekend free and needed a military miniature fix you didn't have to look hard for an opponent.

As for the dealers area it was rather small and crammed in with the gaming area something I don't like especially when I'm looking for some great buys. It was a bit crowded in this area with games going on not more than five feet away from a dealers table. So if there was a great buy available I missed it.

Perhaps next year given more time and a little more advanced warning I can cover this convention a little more clearly and with more opportunity to join in on a game or two.

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