Games
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
- Posts: 864
- Thank you received: 1083
Forum Login
×
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)
Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.
×
Any events, cons and meetups can be posted here. There is a link to our Member Map in your PROFILE menu.
Origins 2018
17 Jun 2018 12:42 - 17 Jun 2018 12:44 #275615
by hotseatgames
Replied by hotseatgames on topic Origins 2018
I have returned from Origins 2018. I did and saw a lot, so this will be a big post. TLDR... Origins is great fun, and you should give it a go if you are more interested in playing games than buying games. I would skip Gen Con to go to Origins if it was one or the other.
Wednesday
The dealer hall isn't open until Thursday, so Wednesday is kind of a non-day at Origins. You sign up for events, etc. I signed up to play the cooperative Cowboy Bebop game from Lynnvander studios. The best part of this was that the game was designed, and the event was run by, Josh Derksen. He did the graphic design for SEAL Team Flix. It was great to finally meet him. The game itself is kind of like Elder Sign without dice; each character has a hand of cards that provide symbols. The symbols you get have a lot to do with your character, so for example, Spike has the most combat and Edward has the most hacking. My favorite part of the game was that there are bounties you can go after to get rewards. All of them are from the series, and I kind of wish that the bounties were even a bigger focus of the game.
Thursday
The Wizkids booth was front and center in the dealer hall. The placement could not have been more perfect. I was there at 10 (when it opened) and immediately walked up to the demo table. There was a placard on the table advertising my appearance at the booth the following day, and the guy asked if I had heard of the game. I pointed at the sign and said "I'm that guy"
The Wizkids staff were all super nice. I got this picture, which is one of my proudest moments, ever.
My friend and I did our annual Monster Mash event. This is basically a D&D miniatures battle royale in which every player gets a random monster and fights to the death. I got the Otyugh. I lived longer than I ever had, but I was backstabbed by this guy who I had been helping out the entire game. No big deal, but fuck that guy.
My friend purchased Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, so we (there were 4 of us) sought out the open gaming area. It used to be down in the action and easy to find. Now it's way out of the way, so much so that no one would find it by accident. We first played a game of SEAL Team Flix. I was hoping that this would attract the attention of random people, but again, the gaming area was practically hidden, and no one seemed to care. The game went great, we all died.
Next up was Betrayal. This plays mostly like the original game, but it's smoother and less wacky. The haunt took a long time to trigger (it's a bit more controlled in this version of the game) and then proceeded to overstay its welcome. Based on one play I would say it's a fine game if you wanted D&D flavor instead of haunted house, but for my money I'll stick with the original.
Friday
This was the best convention day I have ever had in my entire life. It started with me demoing STF in the Wizkids booth for 2 1/2 hours. I ran at least 5 groups through mission 1, and EVERYONE loved it. They enjoyed their successes, they enjoyed their failures. It was really great meeting people and sharing the game. Everyone was really cool. No one immediately got up and bought it, but I can't blame them much... the game weighs a ton and I had carried it around on Thursday for about 8 hours.
Later that day I really stepped out of my comfort zone and did an interview with BGG news on their Origins live stream. You can find this on twitch, I'm the second Day 3 clip, around 22 minutes mark. It's super hard to locate or I'd link it directly here. I think it went really well and I'm pleased with my performance.
After the dealer hall shut down, I went with Jim Felli and his friends to Condado, which is an excellent taco place far up in the Short North. It's a walk, but we killed 2 pitchers of margaritas and had some beer as well. On the way back we stopped at a cigar bar and played his latest prototype, which was a lot of fun! I will let him spoil what he wants to spoil about it, but I can say that it is not an adventure game but it takes place in the world of Shadows of Malice.
Saturday
I snagged a copy of Duhr: The Lesser Houses from Jim Felli, and also got a copy of The Mind before they all sold out. That was by far the hottest game of the con. I played it later with my girlfriend and we both liked it. It's barely a game, but it's super easy to understand and you can play it with anyone.
I got to demo the new Plaid Hat joint, Starship Samurai. It's a light area control game in which every player controls some ships and 2 samurai mecha. Each mecha has unique powers. You fight over areas, gain influence, etc. There are no dice. It's a very clean, efficient design. I liked it, and I'd say it's definitely on the lighter side.
I also did a True Dungeon event. That was fun, as usual. I always have to laugh at the people who take it way too seriously.
And that concludes my convention experience; I had a great time and can't wait for Gen Con!
One more thing.... I think Wizkids sold every copy of SEAL Team Flix they took.
Wednesday
The dealer hall isn't open until Thursday, so Wednesday is kind of a non-day at Origins. You sign up for events, etc. I signed up to play the cooperative Cowboy Bebop game from Lynnvander studios. The best part of this was that the game was designed, and the event was run by, Josh Derksen. He did the graphic design for SEAL Team Flix. It was great to finally meet him. The game itself is kind of like Elder Sign without dice; each character has a hand of cards that provide symbols. The symbols you get have a lot to do with your character, so for example, Spike has the most combat and Edward has the most hacking. My favorite part of the game was that there are bounties you can go after to get rewards. All of them are from the series, and I kind of wish that the bounties were even a bigger focus of the game.
Thursday
The Wizkids booth was front and center in the dealer hall. The placement could not have been more perfect. I was there at 10 (when it opened) and immediately walked up to the demo table. There was a placard on the table advertising my appearance at the booth the following day, and the guy asked if I had heard of the game. I pointed at the sign and said "I'm that guy"
The Wizkids staff were all super nice. I got this picture, which is one of my proudest moments, ever.
My friend and I did our annual Monster Mash event. This is basically a D&D miniatures battle royale in which every player gets a random monster and fights to the death. I got the Otyugh. I lived longer than I ever had, but I was backstabbed by this guy who I had been helping out the entire game. No big deal, but fuck that guy.
My friend purchased Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, so we (there were 4 of us) sought out the open gaming area. It used to be down in the action and easy to find. Now it's way out of the way, so much so that no one would find it by accident. We first played a game of SEAL Team Flix. I was hoping that this would attract the attention of random people, but again, the gaming area was practically hidden, and no one seemed to care. The game went great, we all died.
Next up was Betrayal. This plays mostly like the original game, but it's smoother and less wacky. The haunt took a long time to trigger (it's a bit more controlled in this version of the game) and then proceeded to overstay its welcome. Based on one play I would say it's a fine game if you wanted D&D flavor instead of haunted house, but for my money I'll stick with the original.
Friday
This was the best convention day I have ever had in my entire life. It started with me demoing STF in the Wizkids booth for 2 1/2 hours. I ran at least 5 groups through mission 1, and EVERYONE loved it. They enjoyed their successes, they enjoyed their failures. It was really great meeting people and sharing the game. Everyone was really cool. No one immediately got up and bought it, but I can't blame them much... the game weighs a ton and I had carried it around on Thursday for about 8 hours.
Later that day I really stepped out of my comfort zone and did an interview with BGG news on their Origins live stream. You can find this on twitch, I'm the second Day 3 clip, around 22 minutes mark. It's super hard to locate or I'd link it directly here. I think it went really well and I'm pleased with my performance.
After the dealer hall shut down, I went with Jim Felli and his friends to Condado, which is an excellent taco place far up in the Short North. It's a walk, but we killed 2 pitchers of margaritas and had some beer as well. On the way back we stopped at a cigar bar and played his latest prototype, which was a lot of fun! I will let him spoil what he wants to spoil about it, but I can say that it is not an adventure game but it takes place in the world of Shadows of Malice.
Saturday
I snagged a copy of Duhr: The Lesser Houses from Jim Felli, and also got a copy of The Mind before they all sold out. That was by far the hottest game of the con. I played it later with my girlfriend and we both liked it. It's barely a game, but it's super easy to understand and you can play it with anyone.
I got to demo the new Plaid Hat joint, Starship Samurai. It's a light area control game in which every player controls some ships and 2 samurai mecha. Each mecha has unique powers. You fight over areas, gain influence, etc. There are no dice. It's a very clean, efficient design. I liked it, and I'd say it's definitely on the lighter side.
I also did a True Dungeon event. That was fun, as usual. I always have to laugh at the people who take it way too seriously.
And that concludes my convention experience; I had a great time and can't wait for Gen Con!
One more thing.... I think Wizkids sold every copy of SEAL Team Flix they took.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Moderators: Gary Sax
Time to create page: 0.206 seconds