Origins 2023 Recap

boardgamequest.com:

Origins is one of my local cons, but I hadn’t made it down to the Greater Columbus Convention Center for Origins since 2019. My usual game plan for Origins, and conventions in general, is to load up my schedule beforehand with preplanned gaming sessions. I occasionally sign up for a few official con events, but generally, I fill up my time with games found on the “What are you bringing? What are you playing?” geeklist on BGG. This year, however, I opted to leave my schedule open and decide which games to play on-site.

Quite a few aspects of Origins were different this time around. For one, the game library provided by the Columbus Area Boardgaming Society (my local game club) was free and open to all badge-holders this year. Previously, you’d need to buy an additional ribbon to access the library of over 1300 games and to grab a table within the large, dedicated open-gaming area, previously called the Board Room. It seemed that they’d increased the space in the open gaming section, and there was plenty of room between tables. This area did get pretty crowded on Friday and Saturday during the heaviest times, but our group managed to find a table for gaming whenever we needed one. While I have access to the CABS library on a weekly basis, I’ve used it less and less lately as my group owns too many games that we haven’t gotten around to playing yet. For Origins, though, we relied on the club’s vast selection and frequently stood in front of the game cabinets playing the “what are we going to play?” minigame, which supports 1-4 players and plays in about 15 minutes. So, this con was a chance for me to get in a few games that I’ve been interested in over the last few years, but hadn’t gotten around to trying out.

Origins is