Origins Preview Part 2: The Things I Plan to Play and Possibly Purchase

In my last post, I discussed the specific breed of train game that I planned on learning and playing multiple versions of over the course of the convention: 18XX. This time I am going to talk about everything else.

As this is my first Origins, there is a lot that I want to see and do. I am not going to be able to do it all, but I hope to get a good 2/3 of it knocked out. The obvious thing is playing new games (to me). I have a rather large list of games that I would like to play over the five days that I will spend at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. A lot of the games I will simply not get the opportunity to play (or will opt to turn down) due to length; Here I Stand is a good example. However, as long as a game fits within my (depending on the game) 6 hour max, I should be good to go. My goal is to play a lot of fun games and explore the convention as a whole: emphasis on lot and whole.

Board gaming is simply a part of the Origins experience. There is also the option for role-playing games, miniatures games, painting tutorials, visiting the exhibitors hall, shopping for new games and accessories, and demoing new games. You may be thinking, "Caleb, you are going to be playing new games, why put demoing in a separate category?" It is quite simple, a demo is just that, a demo. Demoing games is a quick way to get a feel for a game without a real set time commitment. In this way, I can make my way through a number of games that I may not get the chance to play in full or may not see being played in the various open gaming rooms.

In addition to all of the tabletop gaming, there will be a set of Battletech battlepods at the convention. Now, my first experience with these was way back in late middle-early high school when I went to Startime arcade with my good friend Shane. My second experience was last year at DragonCon. The pods at Startime were good, but running a different software. The DragonCon pods were at the convention courtesy of MechCorps, a group of players that travel around to different conventions and assemble the pods for play by the masses. The MechCorps pods run the latest version of the computer game MechWarrior: MechWarrior 4. I do not recall if the pods were running the game with any of the expansions or not. Either way, the MechCorps pods are a far superior experience to the pods that were at Startime. The funny thing is, MechCorps actually went around to different arcades and bought up their pods to restore and improve. I may have been playing on a supped up Startime pod anyway!

So, enough of that! What games do I want to play the most?

First up is Star Fleet Battle Force. Star Fleet Battle Force is a card game based on the venerable Star Fleet Battles. This seems like a very interesting game to me. It is a card game that uses the Star Fleet Universe. You draw ships at the beginning of the game and then duke it out with the other players using a hand of action cards that act as your weapons. If the ship you are attacking with is armed with photon torpedoes, you can use that photon torpedo card you are holding in your hand. There is a little more to it than that, but those are the basics. This seems like a sort of Star Fleet Battles filler game. I like Star Fleet Battles a lot, so hopefully this will turn out to be a winner with me.

I already spoke of all the 18xx games that I want to play, so I will refrain from mentioning them again. Just know that they belong on this list.

Rolling Freight. Again, this is a game that I spoke of in the last preview. I will simply rehash. This is a train game using dice to give the player his or her actions for the turn.

Merchant of Venus. Merchant of Venus is a classic Avalon Hill sci-fi game of intergalactic exploration and trade. The players are delivering goods to different alien worlds while upgrading their ships and space ports in a race to reach a certain amount of wealth first. I have been trying to track down a copy of this one for a while. Every once in a while a copy pops up on ebay, but I generally don't have the cash to purchase the game with when it does (or I just don't want to purchase the game at the price it hits). I am very happy that I will finally get to give this awesome looking game a shot!

I will also be participating in a PitchCar tournament on the fourth day of the convention. I know that JJ is jealous of that. PitchCar is a racing game where the players build the track using different wooden track sections that are curves, straights, ramps, jumps, crosses, and other assorted pieces, and then race around it by flicking their cars (different colored discs) around the track. It is a quick, fun game with about four rules. Very glad I own this one!

Finally, a new game to my "try to play" list is Conquest of Nerath. This is a new D&D risk-style board game. Conquest of Nerath is a new game that is for 2-4 players. It is like a lot of other "dudes on a map" games (Shogun/Samurai Swords, Axis & Allies, Risk, Warlords of Europe) where the goal is to conquer a certain number of areas (or the whole map) or to score a certain number of points. There are both styles in this game. The short and medium length games are for a certain number of points and the long game is the first to conquer everyone else. The individual sculpts for the minis look really cool and the dungeon exploring for items is a neat twist. I am looking forward to trying this one and seeing if it is worth picking up.

Whew! That is just a sample, a taste of all of the games I hope to play at Origins this year. Perhaps I will bring some of them home with me and some of you will be fortunate enough to give them a try. I am very much looking forward to my trip that begins in four days. The convention starts in eight. I am giddy with excitement. As I mentioned before, I will be doing a daily post, with pictures, that sums up the day's festivities. Tune in and check out all of the fun that you will be missing out on!

Until next time, keep playing and keep winning!