Perspectives on Origins 2016 - Thursday 16 Jun

Keith Ferguson and I drove to the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday 16 June.  Most of what I recorded at Origins manifested in the medium of tweets.  What follows are a few highlights, and as the opportunity arises, I may elaborate on some of them.

I arrived with a wishlist of 31 candidate games to consider in the vendor hall.  I was glad to be secure the first item on my list, The Networks (designer Gil Hova, publisher Formal Ferret).  I'd playtested it at UnPub 5 over a year ago, and loved it.  I also picked up a little two-player co-op game called The Ravens of Thri Sahashri (designer Kuro; artists Hanbaagu, Rapan, and Romannu; publisher Osprey) based strictly on W. Eric Martin's description in his Origins Game Fair 2016 Preview.

I haven't played Pokémon since my sons were much younger, so its presence at Origins would have been insignificant to me - if it weren't for the giant inflated Pikachu that served as the universal landmark of the Main Gaming Hall.  The open gaming area was immediately behind the creature, so the unofficial meeting call for pick-up gaming turned out to be "behind Pickachu's butt."  If you were wondering about that hashtag on your Twitter feed, that's where it came from.

Pikachu at Origins 2016.  Photo by Wasabi Anime®

I love it when a game surprises me.  One of the surprises out of Origins was Oh My Goods (designer Alexander Pfister, artist Klemens Franz, publisher Mayfair), which I played in open gaming with Charlie Hoopes, Roger Hicks, and Keith Ferguson.  The engine building in this solid little card game provides a variety of tactical and strategic options.  I hope to get a chance to explore them more in the future.

Charlie Hoopes, Roger Hicks, and Keith Ferguson playing "Oh My Goods" on a table
cloth protecting us from one of the many atrociously damaged and splintered tables
in the Origins Main Gaming Hall

Continued in Part 2 - Friday 17 June