Tabletops
Welcome to North America's ultimate board and tabletop game experience! No convention on the continent offers more board games and tabletop games in one weekend than the Origins Game Fair.
From kid-friendly beginner games to intensely detailed and competitive games, from traditional classics to the latest releases, from casual party games to tremendously competitive tournaments, Origins brings them together into the ultimate play experience that every board gamer wants.
Last year’s launching of the Board Room was a huge success, and we anticipate it being even larger this year. Mayfair Games is hosting its famous Ribbon Quest again, with tons of games in the Mayfair Room. There are dozens of tournaments and hundreds of opportunities for fantastic competition.
Here are just some of the Tabletop events that we have at Origins this year:
Catan Tournament
The World comes to the U.S. this year, and that means that Origins will host not one, but TWO The Settlers of Catan World Qualifier Tournaments! On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Mayfair Games will hostthe qualifying rounds for the Sunday semifinals and finals to attend The Catan World Championship. On Thursday, Origins will have a special Catan Masters Tournament! Any player who earned a spot in the World Qualifier semifinals over the past 3 years can play in a special one-day tournament on Thursday, with the winner immediately getting a ticket for the World Championship! Details and the submission process will be available soon (check at the MayfairGames website for information as it is released)!
The Mayfair Room
We’re back and better than ever! Mayfair will be hosting an all-day game room in Concourse E where you will many Mayfair events and more! If you want to try a new game, look for our Learn It! events in the room. If you have an hour or two, stop by for a pickup game! And, if you’re ready to play Big Board Catan or any of our other games, find us at the north end of the convention center and join us for some fun!
Mayfair Ribbon Program
The popular Mayfair Ribbon program is back for 2008! Earn resource ribbons by playing in Mayfair Games events, demos in the Mayfair booth, or seminars about our games. Collect one of each and head back to the Mayfair booth to redeem them for coupons, raffle tickets and more! Check the Origins onsite book and the Mayfair booth for more details on how to earn your way to being a Knight of Catan!
Fluxx 3.1 Tournament Finals
Winners of all the preliminary Fluxx 3.1 rounds advance to this World Championship game. Claim a spot in this Fluxx World Championship by winning a prelim. Championship Medallion awarded to the winner! By Looney Labs.
Wits & Wagers Game Show – Play the Year’s Hottest Party Game!
Wits & Wagers is now the most award-winning party game in history! Play the trivia game you can win without knowing any trivia. How? You can bet on answers provided by other teams. So gather your team for the party-style trivia game that brings out the excitement and cheering of a Las Vegas casino! Expect prizes for the top-finishing teams, the best team names, and especially for making people laugh. New players are welcome – we teach the game at the beginning of each event. By North Star Games.
The Big Experiment
The Big Experiment is a corner of Origins where you can hang out and play Looney Labs Games with Mad Lab Rabbits from all over the world. One low admission cost (the Big Experiment Ribbon) allows you to take part in everything going on in The Lab (D233-234) from Tournaments to Crafts and Seminars to playing with Giant Pyramids! Hang out and learn a new game or twelve, have a ton of fun, and maybe take home a prize! Medallions awarded to Tournament winners (and some finalists). Fun for the whole family – come check it out!
Puffing Billy Tournament
The Puffing Billy Tournament hosted by the Train Gamers Association (TGA) is for both the casual and the die hard train game fan. All of the events in the Puffing Billy Tournament are games with a railroad theme. Come play the entire weekend, just a single game or anything in between. There are many sub-tournaments including the Empire Builder International, 18xx, Ticket to Ride, Euro rails, Silverton, Rail Baron, Express, Union Pacific or Railroad Tycoon Tournaments. If tournaments aren’t your style, then just come by and play a game with us. Games will be taught all weekend long. The Puffing Billy Ribbon will allow play in all TGA events.
2008 Ticket to Ride Mid-West Regional Championship
Join Days of Wonder and the Train Gamers Association for the 2008 Ticket to Ride Mid-West Regional Championships at Origins. In a few short years, Ticket to Ride has become one of the world’s most popular board games. Are you a master of the long routes... a Destination Ticket hero... or a vicious route blocker? Here is your chance to show off your Ticket to Ride skills and prove you are the Mid-West king of the rails.
Ilium and Portobello Market Special Events
Playroom Entertainment is premiering Ilium at Origins and will also be running a huge Portobello Market special event:
Troy, 1870: The famous archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, has discovered Iliumī, the ancient city of Troy, and now collectors from around the world have rushed to send their archaeologists to excavate the area. Go from dig to dig to try to retrieve the best collection of artifacts. Careful planning and timing are necessary, as the further down a site is uncovered, the more valuable the antiquity. Taking an artifact too soon will leave you with a relic of little value. However, if you wait too long to claim a treasure, you may end up with nothing!
London, 1901: Shopkeepers gather at the world-famous Portobello Market to set up their stalls in the most lucrative places. Build your shops in the most profitable districts to draw in the wealthiest customers and snatch your opponents’ best lanes. The Bobby determines where stalls can be built, but with a little effort you can put there Bobby where you want it to be!
KA:BOOM
Welcome to the Bangtown Police Departments elite bomb disposal unit. It’s a high-pressure job,
with a quick burnout...and blow-up, rate. Your team has been called in to defuse a time bomb with Ten Seconds left! Grab your tools and get to work, your only hope is to delay the timer and defuse the explosives. Collect the most pieces of the bomb mechanism and your team will call
you Sir Screw up, and they’ll be collecting pieces of you! Don’t miss your chance to play this riveting new game from Bionic Zombie Studio with its’ creators at its Origins 2008 debut!
The Killer Bunnies Quest 2008 National Championship Qualifier Tournament
Playroom Entertainment will also be hosting the Killer Bunnies Quest 2008 National Championship Qualifier Tournament! The winner of the tournament will take home a gorgeous Killer Bunnies trophy and a guaranteed seat in the 2008 World Championship Tournament!
Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter Convention Unveiling!
In addition to the KB Tournament, Playroom is running Killer Bunnies Quest events and the first ever Official Killer Bunnies Jupiter events with the just-released game! In celebration of the release, Playroom will be hosting a signing by the inventor, Jeffrey Neil Bellinger!
Oh My God! There’s An Axe In My Head- The Game of International Diplomacy
GENEVA, 1920 The League of Nations. As one of the Great Powers, you must conduct international business while escaping the mad, axe-throwing clowns the Swiss mistakenly invited as entertainment. Please join the creators of this heady mix of decorum & violence at their Origins debut for a round of a most absurd and engrossing backstabbing game. From Atherco.
Star Fleet Universe
The crew from Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. will run their assortment of space combat events as they have every year at Origins since 1983. Come join the Federation in defeating the evil Klingons, Romulans, and ... well ... everybody else! Included will be the National Championships for the new fast-playing Federation Commander starship combat game and the annual Gold Hat championships for the classic Star Fleet Battles tactical space combat game (Winner of the 2006 Origins Hall of Fame trophy). Don’t miss the massive 96-hour strategic space game Federation & Empire; last year the Klingons conquered the Tholians. A new offering this year will be a series of multi-player scenarios for Star Fleet Battles players who aren’t interested in tournaments. Remember that ADB, Inc., has always released its biggest products of the year at Origins, and this year will include Star Fleet Battles Module X1R and Federation Commander: Orion Pirates.
Dragon Lairds
Have epic fun on a dragon scale! Dragons Rule in this board game that mixes German-style strategy with American humor and player interaction. Manage your clan’s corner of the empire by managing your nobles, commoners, resources while using the Havoc of dragon magic to thwart your rivals! Game designed by James M. Ward and Tom Wham and published by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. Game rules taught at the table.
Uber Chrononauts
For those who are wild and crazy enough to combine the timelines of Original Chrononauts and Early American Chrononauts, here’s the game for you. Travel through time, and don’t blow up the universe!! Unless of course you’re just too crazy, then 13 paradoxes is your key to success. This is the game that can combine dinosaurs, the Mona Lisa and Shakespeare without breaking a sweat. Come play and don’t get lost in time! Another Looney Labs original.
RISING: The Board Game
In the year 2018 the world is involved in a terrifying new war. The enemy never sleeps, they always hunger, and they recruit the dead. A disease has spread across the globe turning its victims into flesh hungry zombies. You and your task force have discovered a hidden bunker below a radio transmitter broadcasting an SOS signal. Your mission is to extract as many survivors as possible and eliminate any hostiles. Be one of the first gamers to play the new game from Zombie Buddy Productions in this special pre-release event. By Zombie Buddy Productions.
Mwaha-ha-ha
Mwaha-ha-ha! is a card game of mad scientists and global domination for 2 to 5 players. You assume the role of an evil genius who builds a criminal empire and constructs a doomsday device with which to cow a trembling humanity. But you’re not the only one with grand machinations. Other players rival you for absolute mastery. He who completes his device first and collects the highest ransom is declared the winner — and ruler of the world. A White Wolf Productions game.
Cowpoker
Cowpoker lets two to four players become ranchers, rustling each others’ cattle and hiring away each others’ cowpokes. Recruit the wacky characters into your Ranch for points and bonuses, and collect them in tricks from the roundups and shootouts. Once all the cards are taken, make poker hands to score additional points! Every card can be used at least two different ways, so there’s strategy as well as luck. From Steve Jackson Games.
