by Armchair Dragoons PAO, 14 July 2024
As we wrap up Origins 2024 (with the caveat that we still have a giant gallery of the exhibition hall to come yet), let’s take some time for a deep dive into the operations of the Wargame HQ and address some detailed performance info, overall suggestions, and some lessons learned from this past year.
Prep & Planning
Building off of a lesson we learned several years ago, and refined over the past few events, we built our table layout an entire year ahead of time. This was quite a bit of work, since we were doubling the size of our area from 20×40 to a 40×40 space, and we didn’t yet know what all the events were going to be.
We did have some success in previous years with a few concepts that we retained, however:
- Visually attractive games to the corners to maximize walk-by traffic exposure
- CPX / Kriegsspiel table in the middle
- Admin table co-located with the CPX table for access to the power cords
- 5×8 table for the big running game
- Several tables set aside for specific companies to run their own schedule / control their own events
With this as a starting point, we built out the following booth layout, with a set of 5×8 tables down one side of our area, and a set of 5×6 tables down the other. The open ends of the game area were the 2-1/2 x 8 tables set aside for specific companies, with the ‘big’ table in the middle.
As always we had way too many chairs. Some of those were offloaded to nearby booths who needed more, but we kept about a dozen of them that we linked together to form a pair of ‘benches’ in the middle of our area that kept spare chairs close at hand, while not having them wander around like stray cattle. It gave people somewhere to sit that wasn’t at a specific table, potentially impacting an upcoming event.
We labeled our own tables internally for our record-keeping, but for the past 2 years, Origins did not label specific tables in the event schedule, and instead simply located our events in our booth where we would redirect the players to the proper space. This year, however, they did apply table numbers to our events, and of course they were a mis-match to where our events were held.
To be improved for 2025: provide Origins with both the list of events, and the specific tables on our layout where they are to be held.
Finally, we programmed a full 3-day schedule for the Origins War College (and hope to expand that next year), but despite close coordination with both the War College area coordinator and the Origins event crew, we still had to fix this schedule after it was initially placed.
To be improved for 2025: ensure Origins event crew are notified well in advance of the “Dragoons” room at the War College, and maintain the integrity of the schedule we provide them.
Overall, we had far more advance prep work done well ahead of time, and simply needed to plug event names into preset times/tables on the schedule. There were a few mix-ups along the way, but overall this was a much smoother and more organized approach to our booth layout at scheduling than ever before, especially for the volume of events we had.
Our Events
At a certain point, we are dependent on volunteer GMs to run the Wargame HQ, and that does inherently limit the types, titles, and quantities of games we have available to us. That said, we’ve got a great crew with a variety of interests that’s willing to adjust their games each year to ensure we’re giving the audience a wide variety of games to choose from.
Back from previous years
- The CPX
- The Kriegsspiel
- PicoArmor Panzerblitz
- One of GMT’s ’40-x series games (this year was Normandy ’44)
- Some form of rolling monster game
- Space Empires 4X
- A split-table COIN game
- Three companies with their specific titles (Catastrophe, Fort Circle, Invicta Rex)
New this year
- A dedicated minis table
- Another company showcasing some pre-publication games
- Another designer showcasing his pre-order game
And around both of those, we were able to add another handful of games, like Air & Armor, Nevsky, Twilight Struggle Red Sea, and We Are Coming, Nineveh. A late addition to our program this year were a pair of games with Doc Cummins from Decision Games, who had a pair of titles he wanted to show off.
Overall, we ended up with about 100 events in the Wargame HQ, plus the ones in the War College.
When we list our events in the Origins program, we list everything as “Armchair Dragoons Presents:____”
We do this to make it easier to find our games in the event program when sorting/filtering by game title, and to clearly mark out which ones are ours and in our area. The Origins staff knows this, also, and it does help them with event placement. Unfortunately, with a character count in the event title, this format takes too much away from the actual game title.
To be improved for 2025: shorten our part of the event title just to “Armchair Dragoons:___”
We don’t normally schedule too many games on Wednesday, but this year had several full events for that day. Moreover, we almost never schedule anything for Sunday, but with a bunch of game still going on all over the game hall, including a couple of our own pickup games, maybe we need to. Finally, we got a half dozen folks show up for a Star Fleet Battles game on Saturday night, so that one’s definitely going on the schedule for next year.
To be improved for 2025: add events for WED/SUN, plus Star Fleet Battles.
Also, while our publisher-managed tables will likely stay in place, it seems like we’ve got enough pre-publication games being offered in our area that we might want to designate a table or two for our own wargame version of the UnPub room, which would unify those games into a single event track.
To be improved for 2025: explore the designation of tables as a dedicated wargaming UnPub program.
While Origins does require us to turn in our event slips for each game, along with either the player tickets or a record of the walk-up players, we also kept our own record of attendance for those games so we wouldn’t have to wait until October for our attendance numbers.
Overall, we had 300 players show up for 102 total events, with a total per-seat fill rate of 64%.
Two particular sets of events kicked our fill rates in the tookus.
- We set our Kriegsspiels for 16 players, and had 8 in each.
- We set our CPX Bootcamps for 10 participants, and never even hit half that for any of them.
Now, our overall fill rates weren’t necessarily helps by some lower-than-expected turnouts for the rolling monster game, minis table, or pre-pub games from 10K, but fill rates vs available seats will continue to be one of those magic ratios that we’ll have to continue refining over time.
To be improved for 2025: aim low for ‘big’ events and over-fill them if needed.
Player Feedback
Each year, we ask for feedback from our players to help us improve the Wargame HQ for the following year.
Tabletop.events gives us the ability to email anyone who was registered for an event with us. However, we don’t have a good way to capture the walk-up players after the convention is over.
To be improved for 2025: have the survey ready before Origins so we can point players to it while they’re at the convention, probably with a QR code.
Some of these questions are the same as previous years to allow us the ability to “benchmark” the trends over the years.
We ask players for feedback specific to the event they’re ranking (1/lo to 6/hi) and any comments they might have. We pass this info over to the GMs, as well.
We also ask players for feedback on the Wargame HQ overall (1/lo to 6/hi) and any comments they might have on our overall operations. For folks that play in multiple events with us, you’d like to think the rankings for the Wargame HQ overall would be consistent from them, we don’t track email addresses or URLs to know either way.
We also ask how often they’ve gamed with us before at Origins, and whether they’re regular visitors to our site.
click images to enlarge
Of the games that had at least 3 ratings from the players, here are they are, ranked by the highest value.
- 5.75 –– PicoArmor Panzerblitz
- 5.67 –– Night Witches
- 5.50 –– Votes for Women–Play w/ Designer
- 5.40 –– Halls of Montezuma
- 5.33 –– Normandy ’44
- 5.33 –– US Army Tank Destroyers in WW2 (War College talk)
- 5.25 –– Space Empires 4X
- 5.20 –– Nevsky
- 4.50 –– Arabian Struggle
- 4.50 –– Brazen Chariots
Also, the overall 1-6 ranking of the Wargame HQ was 5.251 , compared to 5.32 in 2023 and 5.473 in 2022.
This was the first year we ever had a “1”, and based on the game feedback, it appears as though it was someone who got into a Brazen Chariots game that wasn’t 100% sure what they were getting into.
As we get more people replying, the overall ranking seems to be dipping a bit. We’ll have to go back and look at the specific comments over time to see what’s changing.
Some of this year’s specific comments from players included the following:
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And this one
As always, gaming with the Dragoons was a joy. The people are friendly, the teachers are solid, the games are fun. It’s one of the biggest, if not the only, reasons I go to Origins each year. I can get lots of gaming in with friends locally and at other local cons (CinCityCon, AdamCon), but my wargaming is usually online except for when I’m at Origins.
I’m so glad that the Dragoons have continued to grow year after year. I’m so glad that people like David Thompson are showing up because his games are a great introductions to wargames that aren’t charts on top of charts with die modifies etc. He’s bringing more people into this corner of the hobby than probably anyone else.
And getting Jason Carr from GMT to show up is fantastic since GMT is one of the leading companies keeping that corner alive.
Adding to that having Fort Circle and other companies represented, you’re not just growing the hobby, you’re growing the business that keeps the hobby alive.
What The Wargaming Community Needs to Take Away From Origins 2024
We are never going back to the days when wargaming was 75% or more of the Origins events programming and the exhibit hall was all wargame publishers. Those days are gone.
But you know what? They’re gone not just for Origins, but literally every other convention of significance out there.
What’s the percentage of tabletop wargaming at GenCon, KublaCon, PrezCon, BGG.con, WashingCon, PaxU, LibertyCon, GameOn/WW3 Con, HistoriKC Fest, MACE, CharCon, GameHoleCon, or any of the Strategicons4?
WBC still attracts a good number of wargamers, especially for the tournament format, but look over last year’s tournaments and count the non-wargames on offer.
What’s the total attendance count for CSW Expo? Compass Expo? SDHIST? BottosCon? Even Buckeye Game Fest, with its dedicated War Room, maxes out at about 45-50 total wargamers over the weekend, and had fewer than 15 wargame events in the program (though there were a great many more played). Both SDHIST East and CircleDC have to cap attendance because of facility capacity. WinterFest tops out around 50 players.
Note: we’re not counting Historicon or Adepticon, since those are minis-focused conventions and not in the same space that we’re operating for Origins.
We just put over 100 wargaming events in the main gaming hall at Origins, and pulled in about 300 total player sessions, for an event that wargamers insist isn’t for them.
We had games running from 8am–midnight, with at least 4 tables in use at all times between 10am–10pm.
Enterprise Games’ sales grew for the 4th consecutive year, and bearing in mind that we help un/load them in & out of the exhibit hall each year, they’re packing up fewer and fewer boxes for the trip home. We consistently have enthusiastic players who leave our tables and want to buy the games we’ve played and . . . can’t, because the publishers (Compass, MMP, Nuts, even Fort Circle & Catastrophe5) didn’t have a retail presence.
There are damned few conventions of any kind, let alone wargame-focused ones, that put 100 separate wargame events on tables6, plus another dozen or so pick-up games that fit in around our schedule.
There are damned few conventions of any kind, let alone wargame-focused ones, that put 300 player sessions into a long weekend, never mind playing in front of potential wargaming converts.
And we’ve got at least 2 GMs who have been with us in the past planning to come back next year. We’ve got at least 2 other publishers that have approached us about adding games to our program for them. We’re increasing our programming at the Origins War College, to add even more designer panels and company updates & presentations. The wargaming footprint is expanding, and while it’s not a dominant percentage of the program at Origins (and never will be) it’s still bigger than just about any other wargame-focused or wargame-exclusive convention out there right now.
So to the middle-class publishers out there in the wargaming space – Legion, Worthington, Revolution, Columbia, LPS, Clash of Arms, Avalanche, and the rest – it’s time to put Origins on your radar. You might not break the bank your first year there. It might take 3 years before people are expecting you to be there and specifically looking for your events in our space, and shopping at your booth. But there’s a large and growing contingent of wargamers that have colonized Origins and brought wargaming back to what was once a premier wargaming convention, and its continuing to grow.
Hop on board and let’s see who quickly we can get to a 40×80 wargaming space, with co-located retail booths and over 250 events in the program.
Wargame HQ Staff Comments & AAR
One Sunday morning before the raffle, we do round up our staffers that haven’t hit the road yet. Some of this discussion gets to a bit of rambling, but we manage to capture some solid notes for future planning & execution purposes
Some things to sustain for next year
- Admin support for the GM team, with a dedicated non-GM for handling event slips, signage, raffle tickets, etc.
- Event variety by game type, historical era, event length, etc
- Multiple live social media hits throughout the day
Some things to improve for next year
- Integration with the Origins War College (signage, schedules, handouts, etc)
- Welcome station / more obvious ‘info booth’ for player questions
- Consolidated daily schedule for reference
- Walk-up-and-play wargame table with something very light for quick pick-up play
Our signage has waxed and waned over the years. For the past several years, our pop-up banners have definitely helped people locate and ID the Armchair Dragoons area, but with the expansion in size in our space, they’re no longer sufficient coverage.
To be improved for 2025: new signage that is Dragoons-specific but taller / more visible from a distance, and easier to stake out our specific area without interfering with visibility for walk-by traffic.
What We Told Origins In Our Survey Replies
Origins sent out a survey for attendees in the week after the convention. Here are some excerpts of things we specifically mentioned to them. Note that these are not things we are in a position to impact, but ones that GAMA should focus on figuring out.
How can we improve your overall Origins Game Fair Experience?
- fast-track the GMs through registration, especially on Wednesday
- get GAME companies back in the exhibit hall, even if you have to cut booth prices to add more of them (maybe offer big discounts for multi-year commitments?)
- Unify the War College (and maybe promote it at least a little bit)
- Better & more ubiquitous signage in the gaming hall; you had the “mall kiosk” signs around the exhibit hall, but could’ve a half-dozen giant versions of the game hall map from the program book, with “you are here” stars stuck on them to help people find the right game locations
- Why are literally ALL the built-in food stands in the convention center halls closed? Can’t you find some high school band boosters to work those for some income?
- Dial back on the non-gaming celebrities and focus on the games / gaming / designers / artists
- Figure out some way to get better web access for the media organization that are there to cover the show for you. REALLY hard to do live hits from the convention if it’s $100/day for wifi and no hard lines. Don’t make it hard for people to help you out
Overall Origins commentary / thoughts
These were already underway in bullet point format, waiting to be written into this article. Then our buddies over at BoardGameWire dropped a large Origins follow-up article with attendance information and quotes from the GAMA hierarchy, and many of these thoughts made it into a pair of social media threads (one / two) that were appended to our ‘share’ of the article. So those of you that follow us on social channels have seen much of this already, but it is refined a bit from those social media blasts of last week.
The vendor hall this year felt “light” on game companies and much “heavier” on lifestyle booths with dice, gadgets, bags, stickers, mugs, and decor. The problem wasn’t necessarily the lack of the Asmoborg empire that has hoovered up a dozen significant publishers over the past 10 years, because they’ve had sales booths at the last several Origins, but wholly staffed by random volunteers that are not in a position really answer many questions about the games, or sponsor many events in the gaming hall.
What Origins needs to bring back are the collection of successful-but-not-all-consuming companies that used to populate a whole lot of smaller spaces (10×20 or so) rather than the giant 40×60 islands under ceiling-hung satellite-dish-sized signs. What Origins needed to fill out the vendor hall were any/all of7 Ares, Green Ronin, Modiphius, Red Raven, Gale Force 9, Eagle-Gryphon, Battlefront Minis, Atlas Games and their support for Steve Jackson Games, Columbia, Privateer Press (or whoever bought them), Multi-Man Publishing, Gamelyn Games, Daily Magic, Yarro Studios, Blue Panther (and everyone they represent), 1First Games, Tabletop Tycoon and their different imprints, Dark City Games, Loke Battlemats, Wehrlegig (though Drew & Cole were there supporting Leder Games), Left Justified Studios, Kobold Press, Renegade Game Studios, Fort Circle (in a booth, not just with us), Phalanx Games, Devir, and R Talsorian, and most of those companies were either (1) at Origins within the last 5 years, and/or (2) present at GAMA Expo within the last 2 years. If even half of those companies show up, that’s another dozen folks in the exhibit hall, adding roughly 180-200 more linear “feet” of booths to the exhibit hall.
Now, how does Origins do this? First, the booth costs are not just high, but they seem to continue to grow at an increasing rate.
Potential ideas for reducing the cost of those booths?
- Deeper discount for GAMA membership, and make the booth discount greater than the membership cost
- Discounts for booths that organize & sponsor events in the gaming hall, either with staff as organizers/GMs or prize support from platers
- Discounts for companies who participate in Trade Day on Wednesday as a part of the presentations to retailers attending Origins
- Discounts for publishers who provide participants in the various seminar programs at Origins, especially as the primary speakers or panelists
By tying the savings on the booth space to the overall value the companies offer to Origins by enhancing the program elsewhere, companies are incentivized to think about more than just a retail booth and look at other programming to raise their profile at the convention.
Obviously, GAMA can’t offer someone everything in this list for a 100% booth discount. But getting the price down potentially 30%8 would make it much more attractive for those companies to come back to Origins and spread their wings beyond the exhibit hall.
Also noticeably absent this year were the previously-ubiquitous booths that were just retail stores (used, new, or both) that were NOT publishers, but selling stacks of games for other people. For years, there was a booth with pillars of Dominion boxes9. This year there was a noticeable lack of straight-up retail companies just selling games from publishers who weren’t present. Miniature Market was there, but in a smaller booth that seemed to focus on promoting the new ownership of the company rather than selling games.
Also lost were companies selling all manner of used, OOP, hard-to-find games. No one has ever effectively replaced Crazy Egor’s or Excalibre on that front, and while the used-card booths / discount & close-out CCG booths don’t hold wide appeal, adding 2-3 of those back into the hall other than Cool Stuff, Inc. would be noticeable.
This year there was definitely an over-abundance of artists. The artists have gone from an art show outside the exhibit hall, to an art show inside the exhibit hall, to an “artists’ alley” in the back of the hall, to about 80% of the back two aisles in the exhibit hall. It’s nice to have the artists there, and many of them are damned talented, but totally overwhelmed the back half of the hall. Whether this was because of their (apparently) deep discounts on space or because they all completely ignored the restrictions on booth height and oversized signage is unknown.
Overall, this year’s exhibit hall was a noticeable step back from being a bazaar for game shopping. Let’s hope this was a one-year blip and not the start of a trend that turns the exhibit hall into a geekier version of your local town’s autumn arts festival.
Origins is an ever-evolving organism. It’s still recovering from the pandemic-related audience decline, but continues a solid upward trend.
More importantly, our wargaming part of that world continues not just an upward trajectory, but an accelerating one, and we’re always trying to find ways to refine and improve our own operations, while still growing the hobby within one of the flagship conventions in the US.
ORIGINS 2024 COVERAGE
PREVIEWS:
WARGAME HQ EVENTS ~ MiD PREVIEW EPISODE ~ WARGAME HQ GAME PREVIEWS ~ WAR COLLEGE PREVIEWS ~ CONSOLIDATED ALL WARGAMING EVENT GRID ~ EXHIBITOR SPOTLIGHT ~ THE ORIGINS OF ORIGINS
AT THE SHOW:
SETUP & FIRST GAMES ~ DAY 1 REPORT ~ THE SHAMAN ASCENDS ~ THE EXHIBIT HALL ~ THE VIEW FROM ABOVE ~ BINGO ~ GAMEPLAY PHOTOS ~ WARGAME HQ EVENT REPORT ~ COSTUME PHOTOS ~ CONVENTION PHOTOS ~ KRIEGSSPIEL ~ AAR ~ YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
DISCUSSION FORUM THREAD
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Footnotes
- 77 rankings
- 60 rankings
- 19 rankings
- for comparison’s sake, at Gamex 2024, the most recent Strategicon, there were 30 wargaming events out of over 740 total events
- who were running events but not retail booths
- and those were just our events, not counting the other wargames around the convention center that weren’t part of our program
- in no particular order
- 10% discount for each bullet point, up to a max of 30%
- turns out the owner of that specific store recently passed away and our condolences go out to his family
