originslogo.gifDay two of Origins opened with a bang on Thursday, with the show starting up in full steam (word to GAMA – I like having the conference open a day longer, but make Wed. more worth our while!). All of the major events started today, including the TerrorWerks event (check out our coverage later for an overview of this Origins staple). With the exhibition hall open, Origins has a ton going on today, including:

  • Medieval combat tutorials (using bopper LARP weapons of course)
  • The Exhibit Hall itself – home to move vendors than you can shake a stick at, selling everything from new releases to old classics (I tool a pretty serious look at some early 80’s Games Workshop games I’d never heard of before…)
  • New game releases, including
    • Dominion: Intrique – the standalone expansion to last year’s hit release (and current Spiel de Jahres nominee
    • Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs. Imperium – the long awaited expansion to to RtfG that brings direct player conflict to the game
    • Formula D: Map Pack 2 – Bringing the streets of Valencia and the famed Hockenheim Ring tracks to the game
    • Steam – Martin Wallace’s sequel to Age of Steam
    • Starblazers the RPG – the massive epic RPG from Mongoose based on the classic British scifi property [edit for my own Japanimation bias!]
    • Tales of the Arabian Nights – Z Man Games’ massive storytelling game
    • Battletech Strategic Operations – the newest extension of the retooled Battletech rules
  • The Dice Tower Dinner – Tom Vasel’s annual trip to Max & Erma’s open to boardgamers near and far
  • The Board Room Wits & Wagers Tournament – a massive team game of Wits & Wagers held in the Board Room

All of this is of course in addition to open gaming with board games, miniature games, CCGs, CMGs, RPGs and LARPs!