Origin Awards

[Jack of Shadows]

Hey All,

I didn't see anyone else post this so my apologies if I missed it. In any case, here are this year's Origins Awards winners:

Best Play-By-Mail Game
Enlightened Age Entertainment
Fall of Rome

Best Historical Board Game
GMT Games LLC (925)
Sword of Rome

Best Historical Miniatures Line
Brigade Games
WWI: Western Front 28 mm

Best Historical Miniatures Game
Clash of Arms Games (929)
Dawn of the Rising Sun: The Russo Japanese War 1904-1905

Best Board Game
Days of Wonder (421)
Ticket To Ride

Best Miniatures Game
Ad Astra Games (425)
Attack Vector: Tactical

Best Miniature Line
Dark Sword Miniatures, Inc.
Elmore Dragons

Best Collectible Card Game
Z-Man Games, Inc. (104)
Seven Masters Vs. The Underworld

Best Traditional Card Game
Atlas Games (420)
Cthulhu 500

Best Role Playing Game
Atlas Games (420)
Ars Magica: 5th Edition

Best Role Playing Game Supplement
Wizards of the Coast (721)
Eberron Campaign Setting

Best Fiction Publication
Guardians of Order (1116)
Path of the Bold

Best Non Fiction Publication
Steve Jackson Games (420)
Pyramid Magazine

Best Game Accessory
Steve Jackson Games (420)
Cardboard Heroes Castles


Vanguard Award

All Wound Up
Twilight Creations, Inc.

Flames of War
Battlefront

Fire as She Bears! 2.1
Starboard Tack Press

Pirates of the Spanish Main
WizKids, Inc


Gamers’ Choice Award

Legends
Harlequin Games

Desert Rats – British in the Desert
Battlefront

Axis and Allies D-Day
Avalon Hill

A Call to Arms (Babylon 5)
Mongoose Publishing

VS System
Marvel Origins and X-Men VS The Brotherhood
The Upper Deck Entertainment

Cthulhu 500
Atlas Games

World of Darkness Storytelling System Rulebook
White Wolf

Betrayal at House on the Hill
Avalon Hill


Jack

 

[Crothian]

I'm a little suprised Ars Magica won. Not that it isn't a really cool game, but it just doesn't seem to be as popular as the other games in the category this year.

 

[Jack of Shadows]

I was a little surprised by that too. It made me wonder what they had done in the 5th edition that was so special. I've always thought Ars Magica was a great system but I've never cared for the Historical Europe with Magic setting.

Maybe I'll have to see about adding this to my library.

Jack

 

[Crothian]

I'm not that familar with the older version to say what changed mechanically, but visually the book is stunning. THey really made a great layout with great art and the presentation of the book is magnificient.

 

[Krug]

Got me really curious about Cthulhu500...

 

[danbuter]

Ars Magica fixed a bunch of combat problems, specifically that an naked guy with a stick had a huge advantage in combat over a guy in full plate, shield, and war sword. Not anymore...

 

[Crothian]

Got me really curious about Cthulhu500...

Its a fun game. I picked it up at Gen Con last year and while we haven't played it a lot there are some great Cthulu things inside for racing...

 

[Wombat]

Heck, I've always (well, since 2nd ed ... didn't know about it before) loved Ars Magica, but that kinda goes without saying around here

As for "Why Now?", I wouldn't hazard a guess. Yeah, the rules are substantially the same, although there has been a lot of tweaking with them to make them more consistent. The combat system is still weak, just as it has always been, but AM is not what you would call a combat-centric rpg.

Still, after all the hard work David Chart has put into the line, I am glad to see his efforts are being rewarded. The playtest process for the current edition was long, exhaustive, and led to many changes, but ultimately produced an excellent product.

OTOH, if you just want a taste, the 4th edition is still available as a free download both at the Atlas website and at RPGNow.