Origins Board Game Convention - 2007

Summary: Had a lot of fun - played a lot of games, DaveK joined me for Friday-Sunday.

Here are the games I played:

Wits and Wagers
Werewolf
Tide of Iron
Oceania
Seismic
Hermagor
Treehouse
Illuminati
Grave Diggers
Hacker
Poker
Memoir '44
The Great Space Race
Awful Green Things from Outer Space
Battle Cattle and Car Wars

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Got back last night...here's my raw journal. I wrote it in reverse chronological order (like a blog), so you'll have to go to the end to read it correctly. Sorry about that.

==================== 7/8/07 ====================

1:47a After dinner and a nap, I went to play a team game of Wits and Wagers (a different WW! - a trivia game) with Dave. We tied for the win vs. eight other teams! Then I played a couple games of Werewolf, and had my second dinner. :-) Life as a fat American is very good.

==================== 7/7/07 ====================

4:38p Just finished a three-hour game of "Tide of Iron" - it just came out, and there's been a lot of buzz, so I wanted to try it. It was a bit too "fiddly" for me...fatigue markers, suppression rules, morale even...

Before that, I played the tile-exploration game Oceania (which I've been wanting to try for YEARS, mainly due to the fact that it's a quick (10-30 minutes) game that is one to two players). It was a tie. It's probably worth buying, as cheap as it would be (given that Molly might like playing it).

Dave and I tried out "Seismic", which is a clever tile-laying game with a San Andreas tile at the center, and random periodic earthquakes emanating from that point.

I'm still a little worried about my car...visions of wheel boots, towage, and stealage dance through my head.

8:44a Having Dave in the room has allowed me a little more down-time in the morning (while he showers, etc.), so I was able to do a little Tai-Chi. Feels good to stretch those legs! Pretty soon, it's off to breakfast!

Hard to believe that it's all over tomorrow! Which isn't QUITE true, since there IS Sunday morning gaming...

Which reminds me...I'm thinking of taking my newly won copy of "Crime Lords" with me this morning to see if I can scare up a game. Nah. Since I own it now, I'm sure I'll play it sometime.

2:10a Two games of Werewolf, after a mid-night snack of some sort of asian dish - the rest of which I'm eating right now. And for now...off to bed...

==================== 7/6/07 ====================

10:42p In the room to take our meds, Dave and I just finished a 2 1/2 hour game of Hermagor (a merchant commodity-selling game). It's the second (and hopefully last, since I am so bad at it) time I've played. I also showed him Treehouse (and just barely won), and watched a little "Cow Poker" by Steve Jackson Games.

We're shortly going back out (for more food, then WW).

3:54p DaveK will be meeting me in the lobby about 6pm. He is riding the Greyhound into town. I played Illuminati (and won - a prize of "Crime Lords") this afternoon, then a new game by Reiner Knitzia called "Grave Diggers" (where they gave me a free copy of "Say What?" - which is a party game, and bought two games: Treehouse and "Ten Days in Asia" (completing my series of all the "Ten Days" games).

Interestingly, Twilight Creations (the maker of "Say What?") sold the name via a lawyer in New York to an unknown buyer for an "unreasonable" amount of money. What's in a name? Apparently, cash.

10:47a Jut got up. The battery on my cell is running low; and you really need a cell at these conventions. I'll have to remember to bring my charger next time. Actually, there's a lot I kinda forgot this year. My personal WW cards for one (but I haven't really had a chance to use them anyway), and my satchel (that's man-speak for "purse").

I can see the "Nationwide" insurance building across the street. It's pretty big. I wonder if it's their HQ. Having played so much DoA, anytime I think "HQ" I think of destroying it. Maybe the games are warping my mind too much...warp warp.

1:25a Played "Hacker" by Steve Jackson Games (where you try and hack into computer systems), then Poker (a Texas Hold-em Tournament) using Ice House pieces as chips, followed on (of course) by six games of 15-person Werewolf (from 9:30p to 1:15a). At about 11:30p I linked up with Sean (a GTF bud), and we hung out and played WW together. He's a nice guy with children my age (but his younger is a boy).

==================== 7/5/07 ====================

3:25p Played in a tournament of Memoir '44 (a simple WWII simulation of the Pacific theatre - Guadalcanal, in which I came in the middle of the pack). Also played The Great Space Race (a game I own - my parent's bought it for my B-day last year), but I don't get to play it much. I lost that one.

Now for a little nap...

8:36a A fitful night's rest (waking every hour to the sound of a screaming toilet). Thankfully, it only lasted a few seconds each time.

12:14a Played "Awful Green Things from Outer Space" (lost), then Treehouse (a 3-D pattern matching game which I will later buy a copy of), then two hours (three games) of Werewolf (won one of them, as the Wolf). Now I'm set for bed.

==================== 7/4/07 ===================

6:07p Napped, coffeed, dark chocolate covered almonded. Now back into the groove. Oh BTW, did I mention that it is freezing cold in my room? Apparently, the hotel doesn't have the heat turned on "this time of year." 66.7 deg (even cooler than at home!). Also, I forgot to bring aspirin (always needed).

4:47p Back in my room now, having played a mixture of Battle Cattle and Car Wars (simple card games where you attack the other person's car) with 11 other people. It might have been tolerable with 4, but 12 was WAY too many.

I also tried to sign up for the games I want to play tomorrow. Everything was full, so I got my second choices: are two Memoir '44 tournaments (one in the Pacific Theatre).

Full were: The Great Space Race tournament, and Monty Python Illuminati.

2:15p Happy Fourth of July! I'm sitting high atop the Hyatt (actually, eighth floor) as I right this in beautiful? downtown Columbus, OH about to embark on the gamefest known as Origins.

Sorry that you don't get to see this "in real time", but that would cost $10/day, and given the fact that I'll park five blocks from the hotel to save a couple bucks a day, there's little chance you'll see this blog until the weekend is done.

The parking lot I choose didn't have any other cars in it, and is self-pay. It was a little scary. I hope my car is there when I get back. I also hope I have insurance. Hope springs eternal.