Origins: Questions and Who's Going?

[Crothian]

I love the Origins Dealer room. It is easier to demo games, there is space to sit down and chat with people. It's great. Also, Crazy Egar is no longer going to be at Gen Con because of the price hike. At Gen Con Last year he said he was going to have a larger presence at Origins so if you like out of print games like I do thast will be a great place to look around.

 

[guivre]

I've never seen official numbers, everything I hear is from people that heard it from someone that heard it from someone. But the numbers I hear at around 25k-27k.

Those are waaaay off. Origins attendance is less than 15k, less than 14k last year.

25-27k is more likely to be Gencon attendance.

 

[guivre]

I have several board/card games I'd like to bring, in order to play. So, at least they dont' have to teach new people.

One of the biggest motivations is going because Evil Hat is going to have a decent presence there - so the opportunity to play SotC/DFRPG/Penny For Your Thoughts would be very much the incentive (that and picking up my copy of the DFRPG!).


These questions are of interest to me. I don't have a car, so hotels close by would be a good rundown; the site doesn't really mention which hotels are CLOSE.

Is attendance anywhere close to DragonCon (22k), or is it smaller? Wiki says it's the "Second biggest gaming con".

Gencon is the biggest, Origins has about half the attendance of Gencon.

DragonCon isn't usually considered a gaming convention, even though gaming goes on.

Evil Hat is at Gencon as well. In general you're not going to find any companies at Origins that aren't at Gencon. There may be a few minor ones here or there but if a company has to choose it's in their interests to choose Gencon. On the flip side you will find major companies that do not bother with Origins at all, even if they could afford it.

Origins is worth going to, it is a good con, it's just not Gencon (or DragonCon if you include it) calibre.

 

[Crothian]

Those are waaaay off. Origins attendance is less than 15k, less than 14k last year.

25-27k is more likely to be Gencon attendance.

Where are you getting those numbers? I don't doubt you like I said mine were not from credible sources.

 

[guivre]

Where are you getting those numbers? I don't doubt you like I said mine were not from credible sources.

The Wargamer | For All Your Strategy Gaming on the 'Net

That talks about 2008, in 2009 attendance at Origins was down somewhere between 16 and 20 percent. IIRC it was closer to 16 but I'm too lazy to dig it up.

 

[Iceman]

Numbers - I know someone who volunteers for the con... attendance has been over ten thousand at times but never reached twenty.

Hotels - The Hyatt is attached and has a great bar. It's not terribly expensive, but more than the red roof. Beyond those and the drury, there's a Hampton Inn, a Crown Plaza and a few others fairly close by. Reserve now though, rooms are disappearing fast.

Food - There's a food court in the hyatt. Lots of decent selection.
A number of great sit-down restaurants are close by too - BD's Mongolian BBQ, Buca di Beppo's, Barley's brew pub, Japanese Steak House, and a ton of stuff north of the con site on High St.

Games - I've always been happy with the amount of RPGs going on. Lots of demos and small groups offering unique stuff (Amorphous Blob games comes to mind), plus rpga stuff and independent shared-world gaming.
There's a ccg and board game hall and a minis hall. All are pretty busy, though the ccgs are not what they used to be.

The layout of the con center is fairly linear (you start with the food court and ballrooms in the hyatt and head north from there), but not to the point where you have to trek back and forth all the time (or even that much, depending on what you play).
I do find the atmosphere more relaxed than GenCon, but there is, tbh, less going on. Still, it's a lot of fun and I go every year.

Cheers.
-VIC

 

[Rechan]

OMG. I am running a Con Game at Origins. My first con game. With a system I've never played. WHOO BOY.

Rechan: Dresden Files Crashtest Dummy! Coming to Origins near you (if you live in the Columbus, Ohio Region).

 

[Rechan]

So, a few questions:

The Con goes to Sunday. But, does anything really happen on Sunday? Have most folks left/con really winding down, or is it one of those "Go to the last minute baby!" cons?

Do games/etc still occur after 6pm? I've been to a few cons where most of the activities pretty much end around 6 (Dealer's room closes, scheduled panels/events go off). There are some evening events (comedy shows, etc) but for the most part it's 'go get dinner and socialize'.

I'm running a con game. What TIMES should be avoided? (Don't play on sunday, most people are leaving! Don't play at noon, folks are more likely at lunch! If you start past 2pm, you'll miss x or y by the time the game's over!)

Are there panels at the con?

Is there a forum or a group somewehre to post room/ride shares?

 

[Crothian]

Sunday is less actuive then iother days. I don't schedule Sunday games because it's the day I've had DM's not show up fopr the game. After three years of that I stopped doing it.

Games usually go to around midnight or so. There is less gaming that goes on at that hour but is still happens. Some things go all night long like the Paranoia LARP and a group that runs Are you the Werewolf?

I would not run games at the 8am or 9am slot. That's the time when I've had games canceled because lack of people. They just don't show up. I wouldn't worry about scheduling around lunch or dinner, people eat at all hours.

There are panels. THe Guests of honor has many and there is a wide variety of things people talk about. I have no idea about looking for a room.

 

[Mark]

Thanks to everyone adding info to this thread. I am definitely going to get to Origins as soon as I can. Sounds like a lot of fun that I have been missing.