Fifty years is a long time for anything to persist.  It is also impossible for anything run by humans to last that long without facing significant changes.  Since the first show in 1975, Origins has been organized by a bevy of different gaming groups, companies, and organizations. Despite being under the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) umbrella since 1980, the non-profit group did not independently run the show until 2002.  It took place in 15 different cities all over the United States before finally settling in Columbus, Ohio as its permanent home.  A lot has happened to get us to this golden anniversary show, so let us take a closer look at how Origins got to where it is today.

When the first Origins took place in 1975 the show was actually arriving a little late to the convention scene.  Since the 1960s, several gaming groups had been hosting conventions to play games.  These gatherings were typically not to enjoy more widespread games such as Monopoly, Chess, or Scrabble, though games like this were present, but rather to explore the burgeoning world of wargames.  Those who came to conventions at this time were largely interested in the opportunity to participate in games like Avalon Hill’s Gettysburg or Simulation Publications, Inc.’s (SPI) Barbarossa: The Russo-German War 1941-45 with others face to face.  There were far fewer gamers in these days, only an estimated 20,000 in the United States in 1969, and they were often spread out with only a handful residing in the same major metropolitan areas. Publications at the time, such as the General, allowed people to play these games against each other via the mail.  For many, these long distance and slow games were the only way they could enjoy their hobby until conventions began appearing like the International Federation of Wargaming conventions that began to spring up, first in Malvern, Pennsylvania in 1967, and then spreading to other areas including creating the Lake Geneva Wargames Convention–Gen Con–in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 1968.