Oral Histories
This page contains the stories of those who have attended Origins in the past. They are the organizers, volunteers, publishers, exhibitors, designers, and attendees who make up the many different people who have come together at the convention over the past 50 years. Note, however, that there are some voices missing from the below. Origins through much of its history has been attended primarily by white men. However, women and other under-represented groups have also been attending the convention and have their own story to tell. If you belong to any of these groups and want to share your story with us for this project please reach out to contact@origins50.org
Don Greenwood founded Origins while he worked for Avalon Hill. Read his thoughts on Origins and how it got started.
Hear Paul O'Neil talk about the idea to start Origins and what working the first few shows was like.
If you're interested in early Origins, listen to Dale Wetzelberger talk about the first convention in 1975, what gaming was like in the 1970s, and some of the Origins of the 1980s.
Alan B. Conrad is one of three people who have attended all 50 Origins. Here him talk about the convention over that time and his experience traveling to all of the shows from his Illinois home.
Hear James Lowder discuss attending Origins in the 80s before he came as part of the industry with TSR in the 1990s before moving to his freelance career.
Learn more about both casual and professional wargaming and the War College at Origins from Matthew Caffrey.
Board wargaming was what Origins was founded on, but that has not always been true throught the convention's history. Listen to Brant Guillory tell about the state of board wargaming at Origins post-2000 and the efforts to revive this section of the hobby with the Wargame HQ and the Armchair Dragoons.
Jim Dietz describes his time at Origins first as an attendee in the late 80s, and then with his company Jolly Roger Games and later The Dietz Foundation.
Dana Lombardy is a tabletop game journalist, designer, and Origins Award winner. Listen to him talk about how he has seen Origins and the game industry change over the past 50 years.
GAMA has not always run Origins. For a time, a company named Andon, which for part of its history was owned by Wizards of the Coast, made sure Origins happened each year. Listen to Origins volunteer and show runner "Super Dave" Radzik talk about those years in the mid 1990s to early 2000s.
Origins is not the only group having its 50th anniversary this year. Chaosium is also having its 50th year in 2025! Listen to Rick Meints, president of Chaosium, talk about his own Origins experience as well as how Chaosium has participated over the past half a century.
Learn more about what it was like to be an exhibitor from the 1990s to today by listening to Dustin Wright talk about the Chaosium booth, some of its antics, and what he likes about Origins.
Listen to Chris O'Neill of 9th Level Games discuss how Origins helped launch his game publishing career in the late 90s and how the show has been instrumental to his company.
Origins has had a lot of different kinds of games over the years. Listen to Trella Bromley talk about the Train Gamers Association, the Puffing Billy Tournament, and Darwin Bromley's role in it all for Origins.
Train games were some of the earlier board games popular at Origins besides board wargames. Listen to Jeff Jackson talk about the history of train games and the Train Gamers Association at Origins over the years.
Listen to Ed Stark, who attended Origins while working for West End Games and Wizards of the Coast talk about his time at Origins in the 90s and 00s.
Hear how the 1990 convention when Origins merged with Dragon Con went! Victor Long also discusses working with the RPGA, and how Origins and GAMA have helped his company Thenodrin Games at the show from the early 00s through 2024.
Carl Olson is one of 3 known people who have attended every Origins to date. Listen to him talk about his favorite parts of the convention, why he attends as a gamer, and what keeps him coming back year after year.
Quarex began attending Origins in 2007 and is happy to talk about his experiences and compare the event to other conventions.
Bill Barsh got his Origins start in 1978 at the age of 12 by helping out the Metro Detroit Gamers with the con. Listen to him talk about what it was like attending conventions like Origins in the 1980s.
Scott Morris has been attending Origins since 2008. Listen to his take on board games at the convention from his perspective as a gamer as well as someone in the game industry.
Hear how Tim Kask's impression of how TSR and fantasy games were received by Origin's organizers in the first 5 years of the event.
Learn more about attending Origins starting in the 80s to today and how the National Security Decision Making game is played at Origins from Mike Tucker.