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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Origins Game Fair 2010

Steve Cole reports:

20 June (Sunday) 2010
We finished packing products and had everything ready to load the car.

21 June (Monday) 2010
Origins Prep: We tried to pick up the pre-reserved rental van, but Budget (which reserved and promised a Voyager six months ago and confirmed last Thursday that we would have it) tried to give us a car that was half as big (meaning we cannot use it as the stuff won't fit) and admitted that they had changed brands of car in the spring and so knew they would not be able to honor the contract, but hoped we'd take the smaller vehicle. The conversation did not go well. We tried to find another vehicle to no avail and finally took the worn-out old Voyager (which made six trips to Origins, two to Vegas, and one to Fort Hood) to the shop for a quick service (oil, filters, tire check, fluids, and so forth).

The old van is smaller than the vans we've been renting, but we got everything packed into it and left at 4:30, a half hour later than we wanted but a half hour before the nominal schedule. We had a quiet and pleasant drive to Tulsa, where we spent a comfortable night.

22 June (Tuesday) 2010
We woke up in Tulsa and had the hotel breakfast. We had BBQ for lunch at Sweetwater, and enjoyed the drive. Arriving in Richmond, we decided to head on to Columbus, arriving at the hotel at 11:15pm. We checked in, and I walked across the street to find that Origins registration had closed at 10pm, but nice people who were still there gave me the judge badges and the exhibitor pack. I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

23 June (Wednesday) 2010
We woke up, had breakfast, and checked on parking at the exhibitor dock. They let us right in. Chuck Strong and Mike Curtis had lined up help, and the whole van was unloaded in a few minutes. I did most of the booth set up, then left to meet Jean for lunch, but she didn't want to eat. So I ate a sandwich and took her to the booth. We finished set up at 4pm, just in time for the retailer hours, but none of them showed up. I went to the Singalong at 7pm, where we had fun, ate cake, and passed out the pre-orders.

24 June (Thursday) 2010
The first day of the dealer hall went very well, with about half of the total sales for the whole show. The evening was spent in pleasant conversations with customers and other companies.

25 June (Friday) 2010
The second day of the dealer hall, and a strong sales day. We had the miniatures seminar in the evening.

26 June (Saturday) 2010
The third day of the dealer hall. I ran the F&E seminar from 10pm to midnight. Petrick ran the SFB seminar from 8pm to 10pm.

27 June (Sunday) 2010
The last day of the show. The dealer hall closed at 4, and we were on the road by 5 (thanks to Jean, Dan, and Colleen). Special thanks to Dan for walking Jean to her car. We drove all the way to Saint Claire and spent the night.

28 June (Monday) 2010
We woke up, had breakfast, drove to Sweetwater for BBQ, then proceeded on the long and steady drive home, arriving at the office about 9:15. We unloaded some stuff and I got home at 10pm, watched some TV, and fell asleep.