Benefits/Event Hours Calculations

   Game Masters and Event Organizers can earn benefits for their contributions to the show. In fact, Origins is widely recognized as having the most generous benefits package for GMs of any major show in the country.

   GMs who run at least 16 Event Hours will earn a free Game Master Badge for the year they are running events. Those who commit to those hours ahead of time* will automatically qualify for their GM Badge before the show. Those who have already purchased a regular badge to attend the show will qualify to have their fee refunded (either before or at the show).

    GMs who run at least 32 Event Hours not only get a free GM Badge, but may also choose from one of two other benefits. They can opt to get a slot in one of our Volunteer Hotel Rooms (sharing with three other GMs or Volunteers) or they can take $60.00 in Vouchers

   The Origins Vouchers are good for food at all the vendors in the Convention Center; almost all of the restaurants in the surrounding city area; and merchandise at many exhibitor booths in the Exhibit Hall.

    GMs who qualify for benefits beyond badges must indicate which benefit they wish to receive before the show.

   Clubs and organizations that submit events can collect the total number of Event Hours and accept benefits as a group. The breakdown is exactly the same, though hotel assignments are handled as whole rooms instead of "room slots." Every 128 Event Hours = a hotel room that can be shared as the group sees fit; alternately, that same 128 Event Hours can be applied to a set of Vouchers worth $240.00, to be split up and shared by the members of the group.

   GAMA does, on rare occasion, make special arrangements with some volunteers concerning their service details. If you have a special request, please make it; but also please know that it is highly unlikely that we will go outside of policy. If you know of someone else who has a special arrangement, that arrangement is not a precedent. There are likely multiple things going into that situation and it is so complicated as not to be something that we can make a policy about.

   If you have any questions or need to confirm what benefits you plan to claim, contact Joby Miller, our Events Coordinator. 

_{* - GM's with a history of failing to show for their games may be subject to needing to pay for their badges up front, only receiving a reimbursement if they fulfill their obligations that year at the show. The Event Management Team reserves the right to deny Benefits to any Game Master for violations of policies or failure to run their games.} 

   Last year’s Event Hours formulas were highly successful, and we’ll be using essentially the same system this year. Some adjustments have been made based on your feedback. The following schedules are used in calculating Event Hours for Origins 2008.

   In using the schedules, the total hours of an event are applied to a multiplier based on the number of potential people served by the event. These Event Hours can be divided up for a team of Game Masters running or facilitating a single event, so long as all of the GMs are participating in running the Event. The person listed as the primary GM is responsible for making these assignments. For C&O participants, this will only be important for internal accounting.

 

(Event Duration) x (Multiplier) = Event Hours

Note that the “Multiplier” is determined by the Category of the Event.

 

Example 1

An RPG event with an 8-player Maximum runs for 6 hours. That counts as 6 Event Hours [(6)*(1)=6].

 

Example 2

A LARP that can handle up to 40 people and runs for a total of 18 hours over two days earns 108 Event Hours [(18)*(6)=108].

 

Example 3

A Miniatures game that has a 12-player maximum runs for 7 hours. That counts for 21 Event Hours [(7)*(3)=21]. If it runs three days in a row, the GM will earn a total of 63 Event Hours.

 

RPGs

NUMBER OF PEOPLE	MULTIPLIER
1-4	.5
5-10	1
11-20	2
21-30	3
31-50	4
51-100	5
101-200	6
201+	7

 

MINIATURES GAMES

NUMBER OF PEOPLE	MULTIPLIER
1-4	1
5-8	2
9-12	3
13-20	4
21-30	5
31-50	6
51-100	7
101+	8

 

TABLETOP and TRADITIONAL GAMES

NUMBER OF PEOPLE	MULTIPLIER
1-2	.5
3-6	1
7-12	1.5
13-20	2
21-30	2.5
31-50	3
51-100	3.5
101+	4

 

COLLECTIBLE MINIATURES and CCG/TCG TOURNAMENTS

NUMBER OF PEOPLE	MULTIPLIER
1-4	.5
5-8	1
9-16	1.5
17-32	2
33-64	2.5
65-128	3
129-250	3.5
250+	4

* - Collectible Miniatures Games (ex: HeroClix and Star Wars Miniatures)

 

LARPS

NUMBER OF PEOPLE	MULTIPLIER
1-6	1
7-12	2
13-18	3
19-24	4
25-30	5
31-40	6
41-50	7
51-60	8
61-80	9
81-100	10
101-150	12
151-200	14
201+	16

 

Open-Ended and All-Day Events

Generally, these will be modeled after the category they most closely resemble, and will use the Maximum number of players that can be served at a given time for the “Number of People” column and 12 as default number of hours. In some cases, however, an arbitrary number of Event Hours may be assigned based on various factors (ease of administration; number of props; actual 24-hour game play; etc.). The Event Staff reserves the right of final judgment on Event Hour calculations for all Events.