The Wednesday session of Origins is generally the roughest and is typically fairly light in terms of attendance. This year, that truism didn’t necessarily hold. While there were definite hiccups, with one of my sessions not happening due to the hosts not making an appearance and generics being a rare commodity for most of the day, attendance seemed through the roof. It was actually crowded in many of the RPG rooms and the board room ran at 2/3 capacity! To be clear, the customer service line was running beyond capacity for much of the day and the registration lines were massive (with the onsite registration line staying full right up until closing time), but once you crossed that hurdle, good times were found aplenty. Highlights of the day included:

  • The Board Room: Not only were there giveaways from Rio Grande Games, but Z-Man Games kicked in several freebies as well. Combined with the über-efficiency of the CABS crew and the board room started with a bang.
  • Trade Day: The first trade day event seemed a bit mixed, but the people who participated seemed to enjoy it (though I think most were a bit tired from spending much of the day perfecting their booths for tomorrow’s onslaught).
  • Looney Labs: Andrew Looney’s merry band has a fairly large space this year and the loons are out in full force, pimping the games and generally making sure people have a great time.
  • Giveaways: Origins has doubled up on the giveaways this year as part of their 35th anniversary. Tons of freebies running around at every table.