Travis Reynolds: Basic Training – Origins 2008

When I was in college, there was a class that had been created by several members of the faculty and been made a core requirement. The class was named “Origins” and was about the history and origins of man. The textbook was full of neat information and I rather enjoyed the class. This column, however, is not about that class.

Each year, I attend the Origins Game Fair – a recent name change to presumably attract more attendees – along with a good number of my West Virginia crew. Everyone is always excited as it approaches, and the event has yet to disappoint. While some things have been said about declining attendance and fewer vendors being in attendance, I’ve yet to see any of that lessen my Origins experience.

Origins has also come to serve as an annual reminder that it’s time to put the proverbial nose to the grindstone for CharCon, which I organize. So while I am always exhausted come the Monday morning after Origins, I also find myself energized with lots of things to do and plenty of good memories to talk about.

There’s not much in the way of wargames this month, but I will give one lesson regarding Origins: The North Market is heaven on earth. Eat there.

Da’ Board Room

Without question, the unrivaled highlight of Origins has become The Board Room. I can’t say enough about what a fantastic job CABS does of organizing and running this room. They have a huge game library available to everyone, plus the CABS members will gladly help find you players or teach you a game. Their members commit massive amounts of time to setting up and manning this event, and it is their dedication that makes it such a success. Added to that set-up this year was a massive flux of new ribbon holders, so let’s just say I am a fanboy of the fine job CABS does.

On top of everything else, this year all ribbon holders received two free games thanks to the ever-increasing generosity of Jay Tummelson and Rio Grande Games. This gift was in addition to him buying a free drink for Origins attendees and once again for the whole room Saturday night. Jay seems to really get it, and I think Rio Grande is great for the hobby. His efforts with the Board Room took a great event and pushed it over the top. Kudos to Jay!

And now, on to the games!

Tinners Trail: I got to play this game twice thanks to my buddy John Daniels (thanks John!), and I really like it. Some games have random elements that, given the right circumstances, can totally ruin a play for someone. (I really like Stone Age, but I have been on the short end of really bad rolling in that game and had no chance!) The random elements in this game, however, only serve to make it more playable. Thanks to the way goods are randomly distributed and the fluctuating value of ore, this game can be different every time you play it. I think it does take one play to really get how everything works and how things move from the board over into victory points, so don’t worry if you don’t do well the first time you play.

My only complaint with this game is the investments (victory points) chart. I would like to have seen you get more return for a large investment than you do for two smaller investments that total the same, but as it stands all the returns are standard. Still, this is a great game and I look forward to playing it again.

Nefertiti: This game really clicked for me. The auction mechanic and strategic placement options within the markets made it an instant favorite for me. I played it three times. Unfortunately, I think we played something wrong each time. That seems to happen a lot at board game events, as one person gets one little thing wrong when teaching a game and that passes on from game to game. I am used to this though, because someone in our group is notorious about getting a rule wrong, but we forgive it because he is otherwise a great game teacher. Regardless, it didn’t lessen my experience and I highly recommend this game. (BGN preview: )

Wits & Wagers, the game show: As has been mentioned time and again, this event is a blast. The North Star Games crew does a great job running this and everyone seems to enjoy it. I don’t recall who won, but I know we finished tied for dead last having only the two chips you can’t lose left. We were “coulda been contenders,” as we bet heavily on two of our own answers that were over the correct answer by 1 both times and lost lots. In the end it didn’t really matter, because we all had a great time.

Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age (prototype): I had previously played this dice game at The Gathering of Friends and really enjoyed it. Some minor tweaks had been made since then, and the FRED guys were actively looking for feedback from people who had played it before. I had mixed feelings about some of the changes, liking some and not liking others. When all is said and done, I think this will be a really good dice game when it is released.

More Perfect Union (prototype to be published as Founding Fathers): I also got to play this prototype about the building of our Constitution. It is in early development and will likely see many changes before the final version – we saw some take place while we were playing – but it was very enjoyable. This quick-paced card driven game has players working together and competing amongst themselves to have the most impact on the forming of the Constitution. It has a nostalgic feel due to the cards being tied to historical figures and this adds to the experience. I suspect that Jason Matthews and Christian Leonhard, who designed 1960, will have another hit on their hands when this is released. I know Jim Dietz is very excited that Jolly Roger Games will be doing it. Can’t wait!

Park Builder: I have set a personal goal for myself to play more prototypes by designers that I do not know, which is how I ended up playing Park Builder by Ken Armstrong. This game is a light card game in which you are building competing zoos. Players place a gate to start the game and build from there by adding concession cards or animal enclosures. Each animal enclosure is part of a set of 2-4 cards that, when completed, will score points for that zoo at the end of the game.  Incomplete enclosures do not score. Card placement requires some thought because the game has space restrictions, which can get you into trouble if you place a card in the wrong place. Players obtain new cards via a draft mechanism that involves six face-up cards. If a card is up that you really need, you can get it but you may have to pay a stiff amount if it is very far from the active card. You can also block your opponent from finishing an enclosure by taking one of the cards, but this costs you even more. Finally, some special cards allow you to do things like take an enclosure from your opponent or rearrange some of your already placed cards.

Ken had three different themes with animal enclosures to match arctic, aquatic and jungle. He also has rules that allow you to combine different sets to play a bigger game and create different types of zoos. I know Ken was shopping this game at Origins, but I’m not sure whether he had any luck. I certainly enjoyed playing it, and I think it could be a very successful card game for whoever picks it up. Ken also had a two other games (including a tile placement wargame called Barbarians and another I didn’t get a chance to see), and I wish him the best of luck in getting them published.

KA:BOOM and Oh My God! There’s An Axe In My Head: I didn’t get to play either of these at Origins, but I did see a lot of people having a ball playing OMGTAAIMH while I was teaching games for Jolly Roger in the tabletop game hall. I did speak with co-designer David Fooden about the game and he gave me the low down. Basically players represent a country at the very first meeting of the League of Nations. Switzerland proudly hosts this meeting and arranges for its very finest axe juggling troupe to perform for the delegates. Unfortunately the entire troupe goes insane midway through the performance (I hate it when that happens!) and starts hurling axes into the crowd. The players then have to try to survive, while at the same time negotiating with other players on behalf of their country. Again, I didn’t get a chance to play, but the folks who were playing looked like they were having lots of fun. Plus, congratulations to Dave and Chris Adams as they were successful in their efforts to land a publisher for this game! Bucephalus Games will be doing it and has set a November 2008 release date.

I brought home a copy of KA:BOOM that was apparently a limited print run David and co-designer Drew Nolosco did under the name Bionic Zombie Studio. In this game players are members of the Bangstown Police bomb disposal unit and have ten seconds to diffuse the bomb by playing cards which cut the wires leading to it. Fail to play the right cards and time comes off of the clock. When the clock runs out – let’s just say that’s gonna hurt in the morning! I will be sure this gets played and reviewed in more detail.

The Exhibitor Hall

Yes, the hall did seem to have fewer vendors than in past years, and yes, some big companies who attended in the past were notably absent. As I mentioned above, I think Origins is trying to counter that loss by allowing the public in to shop on Saturday and Sunday for only $3. I haven’t seen anything about whether or not this change was successful, but the vendors I spoke with seemed to be having a good show.

Something else I noticed: While there may have been fewer vendors overall, it sure seemed like the hall had a higher concentration of board game companies. I didn’t see as many companies pushing a new collectible card game or fantasy RPG. I also didn’t see as many of the one year wonders who are taking the risk of paying big dollars to promote a game that has a high chance of failing. There was a bathtub fitter on hand, which was pretty darned odd. (We all know everyone at a game convention has the highest hygiene standards, so what were they trying to say?) There was also a booth selling footpads, which probably made you feel a whole heck of a lot better after walking around on that concrete. Finally, a masseuse had set up near the front and seemed to do pretty solid business.

Here are some of the other notable things I saw:

Conflict of Heroes: I wrote about this game back in April, and designer Uwe Eickert and Academy games made their much anticipated debut at Origins. The game was very popular and everywhere you turned, someone was playing it or carrying a copy – which led me to be concerned about them hurting their backs, since it weighs like seven pounds!!! The components are super high quality, the graphics are top notch, and the game play is everything that was promised. I look forward to doing a full review on this game very soon. Congratulations to Uwe!

Valley Games: I saw the new Titan and it looks super (although I don’t think it was a finished copy).

Say Anything: Origins also saw the pre-release availability of North Star’s new party game, Say Anything. I have heard this game described as Apples to Apples mixed with Wits & Wagers, and that is pretty accurate. It is lots of fun to play and creates the magic element that all party games need: lots of laughs. The game says 12 and up, but I played it with my family which included my eight-year-old daughter and other than maybe asking what a word meant, she had absolutely no problem playing. We all had a great time! This is going to be another hit from North Star and a big hit at your next party. Plus, it has a start player rule that I will refer to as Satish’s revenge. Congrats, guys! (BGN review: )

FRED Distribution: These guys have so many things on the horizon that I can’t possibly cover them all. I played Ice Flow, which FRED is distributing in the U.S., and it is a fun brain burner with super nice components. I mentioned Roll Through the Ages above. The cards for the soon-to-be-released reprint of Money were also on hand and they looked sweet. Both Money and Roll Through the Ages will be in the new Grypon Games line, along with Worm Up!, For Sale and High Society. Good looking line up for Gryphon Games.

Finally, I talked to Sean Brown at length about the future of Railroad Tycoon. As has been mentioned on BGN, Rails of the World will be released and will provide everything that is needed to play, for example, Rails of Europe. Once you own the base game, you can just pick up any further expansions, such as Rails of the Eastern U.S., that will be released and use the components from Rails of the World to play. My understanding is that if you already have Railroad Tycoon, you will be able to use the hardware from that game as well to play any of the new Rails of... expansions that come out. I think this will prove to be a very flexible system and allow for lots of different versions of this game to be released, which is only good for all of us!

Flying Frog Productions: Flying Frog had both the new expansion for Last Night on Earth, which is named Growing Hunger, and the soon-to-be-released A Touch of Evil at its booth. Designer Jason Hill seemed to be constantly doing demos of A Touch of Evil and everyone seemed to enjoy the game. From what I understand players can team up and play cooperatively or set out on their own in their efforts to combat the growing evil. If it has the same fast paced adventurous fun that Last Night on Earth has, it’s bound to be another hit.

Campaign Coins: I know this isn’t a board game, but it’s common among board game enthusiasts to substitute poker chips for money or victory points when playing certain games as the switch makes the game easier to manage, which means everyone has more fun. Well, let me tell you that Campaign Coins offers a great alternative to that. They produce high quality, super-nice metal coins in a variety of denominations and values. They feel nice in your hand and the look of them on the table will add to any game. Poker chips are nice, but this is the way to go – not to mention all the others uses, such as with RPGs.

And that about does it for my Origins wrap up. I am sure I forgot about something as I always do. If I remember, I will mention it next month. If Origins isn’t on your list of conventions to attend, hopefully this helped sway you towards attending. It really is a blast. Plus, you get to eat at the North Market. Oh, wait, I think I already said that…

Empires in Arms

Finally, some game stuff not related to Origins. Last month I wrote about my looming game of Empires in Arms. Well, it has begun, and I am playing Turkey. We have had only one session so far (once per month minimum is our plan) and I think it went fairly well. Some of the new players were immediately introduced to both how combat works and how important the diplomacy phase can be. Best of all, our Russian player got so mad I thought his head might explode. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was hilarious. You can find a detailed session report over on the Geek. I plan to keep doing those as the game progresses and give updates here each month.

Thanks for reading and good gaming!

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