The Game Manufacturers Association ( GAMA ) is a non-profit trade association based in Columbus, Ohio , dedicated to the advancement of the non-electronic social game industry – tabletop games , miniatures games, card games, collectable/tradeable card games, role-playing games , and live-action role playing games. Its members are game manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers, conventions, clubs, and independent professionals related to the games industry.
15-605: The association was formed in 1977 to protect the interests of the Origins Game Fair , and was incorporated as a non-profit venture in 1982. GAMA organizes two shows each year, GAMA EXPO held in different locations, scheduled to be held in Louisville, KY from 2024-2026 – a professional trade show aimed at game industry professionals, and the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio – a 15,000+ person consumer show that
30-538: A lack of response by GAMA concerning Black Lives Matter and the George Floyd Protests , some members of the community who were intending to run or participate in Origins Online events stepped down, and others joined them in solidarity. Such a large number of people withdrew, it is speculated that Origins Online may not have been able to run without them. Regardless of the reason, Origins Online
45-638: A number of programs designed to advance hobby games as a business. GAMA provides business support programs, educational programs including monthly webinars, and industry advocacy including a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative. The GAMA DEI Committee manages the Horizons Fellowship Program. As described on the organization's website, the program "is an eight-month accelerator for prospective and newly established tabletop game publishers and retail store owners" who are "members of historically underrepresented communities". Each year
60-536: A single location. After considering a number of possibilities, GAMA chose Columbus, Ohio . Several reports of sexual harassment emerged after 2018 Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. After multiple first hand accounts were published on social media and Reddit, GAMA , released a public statement regarding the complaints and has since then updated its anti-harassment policies. Don Greenwood (game designer) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
75-445: Is aimed at the game-playing public. In 2023, Origins Game Fair hosted 16,082 attendees and featured 330 exhibitors. Origins highest attendance was in 2019, when they had 20,642 attendees. The organization also has a presence at other conventions, partnering with companies to provide gaming events. For example, GAMA partnered with Six Sides of Gaming to provide celebrity Dungeons and Dragons events at Anime Central in 2023. GAMA has
90-737: 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 . 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
105-671: 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. Origins typically has a theme each year, which affects some of the events and decorations like banners or art, and the Origins mascot will be depicted wearing an outfit related to
120-568: The Game Manufacturers Association to foster and support [the tabletop game] industry. Each issue [features] articles by thought leaders across the industry sharing their insights and experiences, previews of upcoming games, as well as practical tips and advice on how to create, promote and sell games." They also produce an annual Winter Wishlist guide for retailers highlighting new and evergreen product suggestions for retailers. Origins Game Fair Origins Game Fair
135-860: The Origins convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan in July 1978. In each of 1988 and 1992, Origins and Gen Con joined together to hold a single convention in Milwaukee. In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , it was announced that Origins would be postponed from its usual mid-June date to October 7–11. In its place, an event called Origins Online was to be held that would allow attendees to "demo and buy games and merchandise" and offer "streaming workshops and educational seminars with guest authors, artists and game designers, plus hundreds of games online that attendees can sign up to participate in." In June, due to
150-616: The World, Adventure, Futuristic, and Top Secret. According to the 2019 Origins Sitebook, the theme for 2020 will be Games Around the World. 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
165-506: The association recognizes excellence in the tabletop game industry with the annual Origins Awards. During the 2023 show, awards were given out in categories including Retail Game of the Year, Best Card Game, Best 2D Game Art, and three board game awards: Social Light Strategy, Strategy, and Thematic. GAMA also produces several publications. Around the Table "is a quarterly publication organized by
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#1732781016320180-507: The first commercial war games 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. RuneQuest debuted as Chaosium 's first RPG at
195-470: The theme as well. The theme in 2012 was Time Travel. In 2014 it was Monster. 2014 was also the 40th Origins convention and, keeping with the Monster theme, they introduced the mascot Crit. In 2015 the theme was Space. In 2016 it was Robots. 2017 was Dragons. 2018 was Mystery. 2019 was Mythical. A survey was distributed online to help select the theme for the 2020 show. The options were: Scary Fun, Games Around
210-445: Was "up over 9% from 2023's attendance total, which was 16,082 people, but still down around 14% from the last pre-pandemic show in 2019, where Origins drew 20,642 people". Additionally in 2024, Origins "had 326 exhibitors, up for 2023's count of 305" and event totals went "from 6,135 to 6,528, up about 6%". Throughout the first twenty years of its life, Origins migrated from city to city, until in 1996, GAMA decided to anchor Origins in
225-551: Was cancelled completely, and GAMA offered to "match, dollar for dollar, any exhibitor, sponsor, advertiser, or vendor who donates the amounts they are owed for Origins Online to one of" several different black organizations. Soon after, the regular Origins convention was cancelled for 2020 as well, citing fears of a second wave of COVID-19. This would mark 2020 as the first year without an Origins convention since 1975. ICv2 reported that Origins had "17,706 attendees" in June 2024 which
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