Today I checked in at Origins and picked up my admission badge and tickets.
At 11am, I played Steve Jackson’s Munchkin card game with three other adults and a child. As is typical for my experiences at conventions, the child won. Her prize was a Munchkin coin.
I spent a lot of the afternoon reading a book. I had wanted to sign up for some games, but didn’t really see any that interested me. The book I was reading (James Frey’s “How to Write a Damn Good Novel”) DID interest me, so I made a bit of progress with it.
At 6pm, I sat down with some others to play Fantasy Flight Games’ Middle Earth Quest. The game is based on the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien, and depicts a part of the story not seen in the books or movies. The game pits up to 4 players against a fifth player who assumes the role of Sauron. Sauron’s objective is to gain influence throughout the land, which allows him to advance his “plot” to the “finale”. The players are simultaneously trying to prevent that from happening and keep their own story advancing along. They do this by completing quests, collecting favor, and defeating Sauron’s minions. It took us about 4 hours to play through, with only a few short “bio breaks”. The pace of the game feels a bit slow, but this is primarily due to the amount of strategizing involved for both the “hero” players and the Sauron player.
On balance, I found it an enjoyable game. With a group of experienced players, I suspect it would be very challenging, though it feels like the game is weighted a bit toward Sauron winning. The artwork on the box, the cards, the board, and the plastic miniatures is all very beautiful and high-quality stuff… as I’ve come to expect from Fantasy Flight Games in the past. I’d definitely recommend checking the game out if you have the opportunity.
My brother Matt, who is also attending Origins this year, spent the evening playing Fantasy Flight’s Battlestar Galactica board game. Matt is very fond of the Battlestar Galactica board game. I believe he signed up for every available session at Origins 2010. I enjoy the game myself, though I wanted a bit more variety out of my experience this year, so I signed up for only one session of BSG.
The Exhibit Hall isn’t open yet. It kicks into full swing tomorrow from what I understand.
Several of the eating places in the Greater Columbus Convention Center near the gaming areas are also not open yet, which is understandable given that the convention is just getting started.
