Post by Whiterook on Sept 24, 2022 11:02:58 GMT -5
Back in 2007, I went to my first-ever board gaming convention — the Origins Games Fair, which was pretty epic, to be honest! I’d never been to anything like it… lasting near a week at the Columbus Convention Center in Ohio, it was wall to wall boardgaming, wargaming, miniatures gaming, LARPers, CosPlay, seminars, a massive Vendor’s Hall, and a LOT or walking!
What was it like?
Well, I played in an Axis & Allies Miniatures Tournament, coming in first or second place (…can’t remember). And a Memoir ‘44 Tournament for the recently released Pacific Expansion Pack, hosted by the designer, Richard Borg himself, who I got to talk with several times…I won a placing and a free expansion pack. Plus got Richard to autograph it to me! The third most notable experience was meeting a guy named Glen (as I recall) who hosted a miniatures game of Stargate SG-1 of his personal creation and use, and was the catalyst for my designing my own. The fourth notable experience was meeting Carlos D’Este, a favored American military historian and biographer, author of several books, especially on World War II. He autographed several books for me an we’d corresponded for several years. The fair has many options in attendance, and you buy badges for what types of events (boardgaming, miniatures, tourneys, etc.) you want to participate in. I played a LOT of games, and bought a LOT of games!
Afterwards, I went back to origins in 2008, and then after a somewhat long hiatus, about five years ago I started going to different Advanced Squad Leader tournaments, and to the Compass Games Expo twice. Great times and super learning experiences. I recommend your trying to get to something like this — games convention, games fair, tournaments, and expos — at least once. I’d love to meet you there!
In this thread, I’ll be highlighting different ones to check out… there’s lots of them!
What was it like?
Well, I played in an Axis & Allies Miniatures Tournament, coming in first or second place (…can’t remember). And a Memoir ‘44 Tournament for the recently released Pacific Expansion Pack, hosted by the designer, Richard Borg himself, who I got to talk with several times…I won a placing and a free expansion pack. Plus got Richard to autograph it to me! The third most notable experience was meeting a guy named Glen (as I recall) who hosted a miniatures game of Stargate SG-1 of his personal creation and use, and was the catalyst for my designing my own. The fourth notable experience was meeting Carlos D’Este, a favored American military historian and biographer, author of several books, especially on World War II. He autographed several books for me an we’d corresponded for several years. The fair has many options in attendance, and you buy badges for what types of events (boardgaming, miniatures, tourneys, etc.) you want to participate in. I played a LOT of games, and bought a LOT of games!
Afterwards, I went back to origins in 2008, and then after a somewhat long hiatus, about five years ago I started going to different Advanced Squad Leader tournaments, and to the Compass Games Expo twice. Great times and super learning experiences. I recommend your trying to get to something like this — games convention, games fair, tournaments, and expos — at least once. I’d love to meet you there!
In this thread, I’ll be highlighting different ones to check out… there’s lots of them!
