Origins 2011, Day 1
Yes, once again, I'll be trying to keep a nightly log of the day as I saw it. How successful will I be? Who knows...
So, here I am at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus-Downtown. It's been a long day for me, so we'll see how disjointed this gets (or doesn't get).
Alarm went off at 0400. Got up and got dressed as quietly as I could. Drank a 5-hour energy while I checked email and usual web stuff. F came out, asking why the hall light was on. I told him that I turned it on and that it was time to get dressed. He did so. I gathered the last few items and carried them up to the car (I don't like leaving electronics in the car overnight...too much temptation), then got the ladies up. Once I got everyone in the car, off we went. Stopped in Frederick at Sheetz to top off the tank, then on the road for real.
It was one of the best drives out I've ever had. Far and away. No weather or traffic problems. Unfortunately, mousecat0's arm was bugging her the whole way out. We arrived at the Zanesville Olive Garden about 1/2 hour before they opened, so we found a CVS, where we purchased a pillow to help support her head and neck.
Lunch at the Olive Garden was the usual: the unlimited soup, salad, and breadstick meal. It ain't the fanciest meal we eat, but it's tasty and gets us some veggies and makes for a nice break. From that point, it's a little over an hour to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. We arrived around 1315, parked the car, and went to get our badges.
Getting our badges and event tickets was a breeze. No line to speak of, though the location of the Pre-reg pickup was not immediately obvious. One hopes that there will be signage tomorrow. Everything was there, everything was right. We got our stuff and our swag bags (more on those in a few minutes) and went off to the MIB Zone to check in with The Powers That Be.
The place was packed, which is always good. We found a place to sit and relaxed for a while, since the hotel room wasn't going to be ready for about an hour. Found nukekitty, who came over and chatted for a while. Checked into the hotel with no problem, though I realized at that point that I had likely left my drivers license at the Pre-reg pickup booth. Cue cursing and gnashing of teeth. Loaded into the room and unpacked. F & I went back across the street to the convention to let mousecat0 and mouseling1 rest. We reclaimed my license, then headed back to the MIB Zone. We hung out there and chatted with folks until I called mouseling1 to have them meet us for dinner. Dinner ended up being Subway, as they are selling these Very Large Plastic Cups that can be refilled for $0.99. Hell, even if I keep it filled with water, it's worth it.
So, after dinner, the ladies went to a seminar on painting fleshtones on miniatures, while F & I checked out the Looney Labs Big Experiment (and also chatted with zyxwvut for a few minutes). Then back to the MIB Zone for a rousing game of "Monster Mash Munchkin", which is 4 sets of Munchkin in use (Star, Cthulhu, Bites, and Super) - you can draw from any deck. This led to one of the most Munchkinly plays I've ever seen:
(Note: I'm about to describe a play of Munchkin. You may want to skip this part. Or not.)
So, the player to my left has reached level 9. The only cards he has on the table are the Mutant and Investigator cards. Nothing else. He looks for trouble and plays a Level 4 Loggoth. No one bothers to read the card (this becomes important in a minute). Another player adds Ozathoth (Level 18). A third player offers to help, the original offers him all the treasure (since at the time, we were going to keep playing for second place). The first player agrees, then plays the "And it's clone" card on Ozathoth. Total levels: 40. The two players do not have enough levels to defeat it. The helper tries to run away; he gets away from Ozathoth and it's clone, but not the Loggoth. The original player does not get away from any of them. Because of this, the helper loses a level (from the Loggoth). It is then revealed by the first player that no helper can be offered treasure when fighting the Loggoth, so he wouldn't have gotten anything even if they had won.
Total damage: One death (to someone who had no items), one lost level, and the ego blow from being duped over the treasure.
(OK, done with the Munchkin crap now. Come on back)
Once done with the game, we came back to the room and crashed.
So, what's in the swag bag?
Not much. Bag is branded with Troll and Toad logo. Inside, we have:
Yep, that's it.
Well, whatever. I'll likely check out some of the games advertised.
Overall impression: Not a whole lot of people, but not surprising for Wednesday. What people were there were playing games and having fun. Maybe the most telling item is this: When we went to Subway for dinner, there was no line. This will be significant to those who have attended in the past.
OK, I'm really running down. Need to get some sleep. I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow.
So, here I am at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus-Downtown. It's been a long day for me, so we'll see how disjointed this gets (or doesn't get).
Alarm went off at 0400. Got up and got dressed as quietly as I could. Drank a 5-hour energy while I checked email and usual web stuff. F came out, asking why the hall light was on. I told him that I turned it on and that it was time to get dressed. He did so. I gathered the last few items and carried them up to the car (I don't like leaving electronics in the car overnight...too much temptation), then got the ladies up. Once I got everyone in the car, off we went. Stopped in Frederick at Sheetz to top off the tank, then on the road for real.
It was one of the best drives out I've ever had. Far and away. No weather or traffic problems. Unfortunately, mousecat0's arm was bugging her the whole way out. We arrived at the Zanesville Olive Garden about 1/2 hour before they opened, so we found a CVS, where we purchased a pillow to help support her head and neck.
Lunch at the Olive Garden was the usual: the unlimited soup, salad, and breadstick meal. It ain't the fanciest meal we eat, but it's tasty and gets us some veggies and makes for a nice break. From that point, it's a little over an hour to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. We arrived around 1315, parked the car, and went to get our badges.
Getting our badges and event tickets was a breeze. No line to speak of, though the location of the Pre-reg pickup was not immediately obvious. One hopes that there will be signage tomorrow. Everything was there, everything was right. We got our stuff and our swag bags (more on those in a few minutes) and went off to the MIB Zone to check in with The Powers That Be.
The place was packed, which is always good. We found a place to sit and relaxed for a while, since the hotel room wasn't going to be ready for about an hour. Found nukekitty, who came over and chatted for a while. Checked into the hotel with no problem, though I realized at that point that I had likely left my drivers license at the Pre-reg pickup booth. Cue cursing and gnashing of teeth. Loaded into the room and unpacked. F & I went back across the street to the convention to let mousecat0 and mouseling1 rest. We reclaimed my license, then headed back to the MIB Zone. We hung out there and chatted with folks until I called mouseling1 to have them meet us for dinner. Dinner ended up being Subway, as they are selling these Very Large Plastic Cups that can be refilled for $0.99. Hell, even if I keep it filled with water, it's worth it.
So, after dinner, the ladies went to a seminar on painting fleshtones on miniatures, while F & I checked out the Looney Labs Big Experiment (and also chatted with zyxwvut for a few minutes). Then back to the MIB Zone for a rousing game of "Monster Mash Munchkin", which is 4 sets of Munchkin in use (Star, Cthulhu, Bites, and Super) - you can draw from any deck. This led to one of the most Munchkinly plays I've ever seen:
(Note: I'm about to describe a play of Munchkin. You may want to skip this part. Or not.)
So, the player to my left has reached level 9. The only cards he has on the table are the Mutant and Investigator cards. Nothing else. He looks for trouble and plays a Level 4 Loggoth. No one bothers to read the card (this becomes important in a minute). Another player adds Ozathoth (Level 18). A third player offers to help, the original offers him all the treasure (since at the time, we were going to keep playing for second place). The first player agrees, then plays the "And it's clone" card on Ozathoth. Total levels: 40. The two players do not have enough levels to defeat it. The helper tries to run away; he gets away from Ozathoth and it's clone, but not the Loggoth. The original player does not get away from any of them. Because of this, the helper loses a level (from the Loggoth). It is then revealed by the first player that no helper can be offered treasure when fighting the Loggoth, so he wouldn't have gotten anything even if they had won.
Total damage: One death (to someone who had no items), one lost level, and the ego blow from being duped over the treasure.
(OK, done with the Munchkin crap now. Come on back)
Once done with the game, we came back to the room and crashed.
So, what's in the swag bag?
Not much. Bag is branded with Troll and Toad logo. Inside, we have:
- An ad for Golden Rune Miniatures
- An ad for Mage Wars
- An ad for Alien Frontiers
- An ad for Ogre 6e
- An ad for Strategy&Tactics Press and Decision Games
- GenCon Poker Chip
- A d6 from Crystal Caste. This is the usual d6 to go with the commemorative set; this years colors seem to be a smoke/purple combo that I like.
- 3 small uninked 20 sided d10s (0-9 x2) from GameScience.
- A keychain/bottle opener from Mayfair Games.
Yep, that's it.
Well, whatever. I'll likely check out some of the games advertised.
Overall impression: Not a whole lot of people, but not surprising for Wednesday. What people were there were playing games and having fun. Maybe the most telling item is this: When we went to Subway for dinner, there was no line. This will be significant to those who have attended in the past.
OK, I'm really running down. Need to get some sleep. I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow.