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Origins Game Fair

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Origins Game Fair
GenreGaming
VenueGreater Columbus Convention Center
Location(s)Columbus, Ohio
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1975
Attendance15,938 in 2015[1]
Organized byGame Manufacturers Association
Filing statusNon-profit
Websitehttp://www.originsgamefair.com/

Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was chartered to serve gaming in general, including wargaming and miniatures gaming.

Registration area of Origins

Origins is the site of the annual Origins Awards ceremony. For many years, the Charles S. Roberts Awards for historical boardgames were presented at Origins, but these are now presented at the World Boardgaming Championships. Board games, trading card games, LARPs and role-playing games are also popular at Origins.

Origins Game Fair was formerly known as the Origins International Game Expo. The name was changed in the summer of 2007.

History

Exhibitor's Hall

Origins started in 1975 with a gathering of game players in Baltimore, Maryland. The Interest Group Baltimore, a local wargaming club, worked with the Baltimore-based Avalon Hill game company to put on the first show that year at Johns Hopkins University.

Avalon Hill produced the first commercial war games back in 1958. In a nod to Baltimore's position as the home of Avalon Hill and the birthplace of the commercial wargame hobby, Don Greenwood, a game designer with Avalon Hill and founder of the convention, suggested calling the show "Origins". Over the next few years, both Avalon Hill and SPI (another wargame company) ran the show. As the show continued expanding, the Game Manufacturers Association assumed management in 1978.

In each of 1988 and 1992, Origins and Gen Con joined forces to hold a single convention in Milwaukee.[2][3]

Venues

Year Dates Location
1975[4] July 25–27[4] Baltimore, Maryland
1976 July 23–25[5] Baltimore, Maryland[5]
1977 July 22–24[6] Staten Island, New York[6]
1978[7] July 13–16[7] Ann Arbor, Michigan
1979[8] June 22–24[8] Chester, Pennsylvania
1980[9] June 27–29[9] Chester, Pennsylvania
1981[10] July 3–5[10] San Mateo, California
1982[11] July 23–25[11] Baltimore, Maryland
1983[12] July 14–17[12] Detroit, Michigan
1984[13] July 5–8[13] Dallas, Texas
1985 June 27–30[14] Towson, Maryland[14]
1986 July 3–6 Los Angeles, California
1987 July 2–5 Baltimore, Maryland
1988 August 18–21 Milwaukee, Wisconsin (with Gen Con)
1989 June 29 - July 2 Los Angeles, California
1990 June 28 - July 1 Atlanta, Georgia (with DragonCon)
1991 July 4–7 Baltimore, Maryland
1992 August 20–23 Milwaukee, Wisconsin (with Gen Con)
1993 July 13–16 Fort Worth, Texas
1994 July 7–10 San Jose, California
1995 July 13–16 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Columbus, Ohio

"Alan Smithee" (the man in the gaudy jacket) consulting with his helpers at the 2007 Smithee Awards at the Origins International Game Expo

Throughout the first half of its life, Origins migrated from city to city, until in 1996, GAMA decided to anchor Origins in a single location. After considering a number of possibilities, GAMA chose Columbus, Ohio.

Year Dates Attendance (Unique)
1996 July 4–7
1997 July 17–20
1998 July 2–5
1999 July 1–4
2000 July 13–16
2001 July 5–8
2002 July 4–7 10,500 (approximate)
2003 June 26–29 12,600[15]
2004 June 24–27 13,980
2005 June 30 - July 3 15,061
2006 June 29 - July 2 11,852
2007 July 5–8 11,104
2008 June 26–29 10,110
2009 June 25–28 10,030[16]
2010 June 24–27 10,669[16]
2011 June 22–26 11,502[16]
2012 May 30 - June 3 11,332[16]
2013 June 12 - June 16 11,573[16]
2014 June 11 - June 15[17] 12,902[18]
2015 June 3 - June 7[17] 15,938[19]
2016 June 15 - June 19 15,480[20]
2017 June 14 - June 18[17]

References

  1. ^ Nicole Bunge (June 10, 2015). "Origins Attendance Up Over 23%". ICV2. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Laws, Robin D. (2007). 40 Years of Gen Con. Atlas Games. p. 72. ISBN 1-58978-097-3.
  3. ^ "The History of TSR". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
  4. ^ a b "1974". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  5. ^ a b "1975". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  6. ^ a b "1976". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  7. ^ a b "1977". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  8. ^ a b "1978". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  9. ^ a b "1979". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  10. ^ a b "1980". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  11. ^ a b "1981". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  12. ^ a b "1982". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  13. ^ a b "1983". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  14. ^ a b "1984". Charles S. Roberts Awards. Alan Emrich.
  15. ^ "14,000 To attend Origins Game Expo at Greater Columbus Convention Center". Press Releases. Experiencecolumbus.com. 2004-06-22. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Facebook Post from Convention Management after 2013 event". 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  17. ^ a b c http://www.originsgamefair.com
  18. ^ "Facebook Post from Convention Management after 2014 event". 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  19. ^ Nicole Bunge (June 10, 2015). "Origins Attendance Up Over 23%". ICV2. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  20. ^ "Origins Attendance Report". June 20, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
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