Monthly Archives: June 2014
Origins 2014 – The Photos
Wrapping up the key Origins coverage of Origins 2014, here are several photo collections, covering gameplay, the exhibit hall, the minis room, and the GrogHeads Central Command.
There are some some interviews with people from Origins coming up later, but the coverage of the show itself pretty much wraps up here. We hope you’ve enjoyed our look at a great game convention and that you can join us next year at the GrogHeads Wargaming Central Command at Origins 3-7 June, in Columbus OH.
Click photos to enlarge. Photos by either Corinne Mahaffey or Brant Guillory
GrogHeads’ Central Command
with the Staff Wargaming team (man, we gotta get a better name for them!) and the organized wargaming events for Circle of Fire, Orange Crush, Sergeants! Miniatures Game, Julius Caesar, Spearpoint 1943, and Test of Mettle.
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Prosciutto – Hamming it up with the di Parmas… Part Six-and-Twenty
The di Parmas roll on as Oberto’s death rattles the family. And now…?
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In Part 25 Duke Oberto died in an accident at the Emperor’s Grand Tournament, his son Benvenuto became head of the family but the di Parma lands were split amongst two other brothers. In Part 26 Benvenuto must appease the brothers or seek other diplomatic means to bring them to heel, calm the uneasiness in his vassals and bring stability to the region.
Benvenuto’s first action is to try and imprison Count Chiaffredo of Taranto. He is heading a faction to try and install a bishop within his land as Count of Salerno, and thats Benvenuto’s title. Its a risky move, if it fails and Chiaffredo rebels there will be a war fought Benvenuto can ill afford. In the end it pays off and the traitorous git is thrown into the dungeon
Here we go, the first brother, Buonconte challenges Benvenuto and starts a family civil war.
Origins 2014 – Surviving Origins with Kids
Dispatch from Planet Parent.
Your family plans to go to Origins with your kids…and if you ever want to go again, everyone needs to enjoy your four days of gaming.
Corinne Mahaffey, 25 June 2014
With many thanks to all the parents I spoke with, especially Kristy, and the Kids’ Room supervisor.
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Begin with solid preparation. The first thing you should have done is pre-register, because there is no way your kids should be sitting in the registration line for 2 hours. You get a kid’s badge free with an adult badge. If you haven’t, get there early (by 7 am if you arrive Saturday). The last place to open is the Exhibit Hall, at 10 am. In the meantime, whoever isn’t in line can walk around the convention with your kids and the map from the convention book, and start scouting out the games you and your kids might be interested in, see the cosplayers, and locate essentials such as the Kids’ Room, the food court… and, of course, coffee.
The second key part of preparation is to book a hotel within very easy walking distance of the convention. Look for an in-room fridge, free breakfast, and coffee. Yes, it is much more expensive than that distant hotel that you and your friends used to split costs on before you had kids. But being close has all kinds of advantages beyond not having to try to get comfortable in a chair while your friends snore. When the kids get tired and cranky, or over-stimulated, you have only a short walk back to naps, free coffee, and the hotel pool. If you or your co-parent (meaning your spouse, or partner, or significant other, or the adult(s) who attend the convention with you and is/are helping with the parenting) is staying at the convention for a late, late game, you don’t have to coordinate transport. We found that a two room suite with a fold out couch for the kids worked very well.
Ah Wednesday morning… the “no crowd” version of the main hall. This is the best time to check in for badges.
The third key part of preparation is packing properly. If any of your children use a stroller or carrier, even just sometimes, bring it. You can try out demos, play games, and eat while they sleep in it, and they, and you, will be more cheerful if they are not dragging around the convention, exhausted from walking. Pack more of the essentials than you think you’ll need: diapers, wipes, snacks (especially snacks!) and everyone’s medications, because you don’t want to run out some late evening after the Kids’ Room is closed and you can’t ask their advice on where the nearest grocery is (North Market, across the street, btw) or the pharmacy (CVS, in the strip mall at the intersection at Neil and Collins). Add some headache medicine and Pepto Bismol for the adults. And more snacks for the kids.
Tuesday Screenshot – Shield of the Prophet
This week, we take a look at Graviteam Tactics Shield of the Prophet in the Tuesday Screenshot.
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Image: Jarhead
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Origins 2014 – Reports From The Grogs
There’s always something cool to see at Origins. Here’s what stuck out for our team…
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Barthheart: Well, this was my first ever Origins and my first con of this size. WOW! 5 days whizzed by… but maybe because I had such a great time with the GrogHeads and GM’ing games of Sergeant’s Miniature Game. I managed 5 games in total and all the people who came to play were great sports and had fun… not hard when SMG is a fun game to play. Husband and wife teams, father and son teams, old, young just great people out to have a fun time. The people from Lost Battalion Games, makers of SMG, were very helpful in starting our games, gave us some fantastic prizes to hand out and also gave me some very nice swag for GM’ing their game.
I also helped some of the vendors setup. We were helping Decision Games setup and it was hard to not start shopping right then. I wandered by their booth later on and they remember who I was and asked if I was interested in play testing a new tactical space game they were working on. We played for about 2 hours. Fun game, nice people. They took my name and email and are going to set me up with a printed play test copy when they get them.
I managed to not break my wallet and only bought RAF and some extra soldier minis for SMG. Decision Games released their new monster Atlantic Wall for the con….. REALLY nice looking game with a huge map, 11+ sheets of counters… only $240 at the con…. so tempted but it would have never gotten played only taken out and fondled every few years.
Overall, great fun with great people. It was nice to be able to put faces to the screen names at GrogHeads.
Hope I get invited and can attend next year.
The GrogLoot that some of our folks came home with ~
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- Dog not included. And yes, ninja dice came home with a few of us.
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- The Pokemon cards were for #1 son. Not pictured: the My Little Pony for the daughter.
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- Not sure where the greeting cards were from, but there’s a lot of game there.
