GAMA's Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design recently announced its list of nominations for the 2011 Origins Awards.  Frankly, though, I didn't even know if I should bother to care about them.  In the end, I decided to go ahead and give some thoughts about them, but it was mostly after reading Ryan Macklin's announcement about them, which got me thinking.  

You see, he and most others in the RPG community are actually excited about the awards.  As he even says, "the awards serve as beacons of awesome every year for so many gamers."  And I guess that, for RPG's, that may be mostly true. 

This opinion, however, is diametrically opposed to that of boardgamers, mostly due to how many of the board- and cardgame choices over the last several years have been somewhere between mildly laughable and ridiculously absurd.  And as I look at the list of nominees again this year, it mostly looks like the same thing will happen again this time around.

Awards I Care About...

Best Roleplaying Game 

• DC Adventures – Green Ronin Publishing, Designer: Steve Kenson
• Dragon Age, Set 1 – Green Ronin Publishing, Designer: Chris Pramas
• The Dresden Files RPG - Evil Hat Productions, Designers: Leonard Balsera, Jim Butcher, Genevieve Cogman, Robert Donoghue, Fred Hicks, Kenneth Hite, Ryan Macklin, Chad Underkoffler, Clark Valentine
• Fiasco – Bully Pulpit Games, Designer: Jason Morningstar
• Gamma World RPG – Wizards of the Coast, Designers: Rich Baker, Bruce Cordell

I've played Gamma World and thought it was okay, I like FATE a lot and desperately want to try Dresden Files, but my choice here is definitely Fiasco.  I've got a playtesting credit in the book (even if it was just for one session) and my News Channel Six playset is the current Playset of the Month, so I'm definitely pulling for it.  I don't know what will actually win, though, but I'd probably put my money on Dresden Files if someone put a gun to my head.  I figure that DC Adventures probably has a good shot, though, and still hope that Fiasco (which is definitely well respected and has an endorsement from Wil Wheaton) can pull off an upset.

Best Board Game

• Castle Ravenloft – Wizards of the Coast, Designer: Bil Slaviciek, Mike Mearls
• Defenders of the Realm – Eagle Games, Designer: Richard Launius
• Fresco – Queen Games, Designer: Wolfgang Panning, Marco Ruskowski, Marcel Süßelbeck
• Lords of Vegas – Mayfair Games, Designer: James Ernest, Mike Selinker
• Nuns on the Run – Mayfair Games, Designer: Fréderic Moyersoen

This isn't a terrible list of boardgames, but then again, I don't really see any of these games making a serious, hardcore boardgamer's list of best games of the year by any stretch of the imagination.  Both because RPG'ers are crazy about it and because of the name recognition, I'm assuming that Castle Ravenloft will take this one easily.  I haven't played either Lords of Vegas (which I'd really like to try) or Nuns on the Run (which I think I'm perfectly fine with not playing), but I doubt that either one will have a chance (even though the reputation of Ernest and Selinker may make Lords of Vegas a contender).  Fresco is good, but it's very "euro" (which is not really the kind of game that wins the Origins award), and Defenders of the Realm probably doesn't have enough penetration among the general con attendee to make a big splash.  Maybe I'll be surprised, though...   

Best Traditional Card Game 

• Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer – Gary Games, Designer: Justin Gary
• Back to the Future: The Card Game – Looney Labs, Inc., Designer: Andrew Looney
• Hecho – Glowfly Games, Designers: Brian Knudsen, Brent Knudsen
• Hex Hex XL – Smirk & Dagger Games, Designers: Curt Covert, Justin Brunetto
• Railways of the World: The Card Game – Eagle Games, Designer: James Eastham, Steve Ellis

I don't know what the heck a Hecho" is, since I haven't heard any buzz about it at all in all of the podcasts and blogs that I read (it's rated a stellar 5.82 at BGG, though).  My pick would obviously be Ascension, but I've heard pretty good things about Hex Hex XL (which is on my wishlist if anyone wants to send me a copy!).  But I figure that, as always, Looney Labs will get out the vote for Back to the Future, and (especially with its innate name recognition) that it will win despite being, from what I've heard, a dumbed-down Chrononauts that basically sucks root. 

Best Family, Party or Children’s Game

• Ligretto Dice – Playroom Entertainment, Designers: Inka Brand, Markus Brand
• Telestrations – USAopoly, Inc., Designer: USAopoly
• Wits and Wagers Family Edition – North Star Games, Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes
• Word on the Street Junior – Out of the Box Publishing, Designer: Jack Degnan
• Zombie Dice – Steve Jackson Games, Designer: Steve Jackson

Telestrations is the best new party game I've played in the last year or so, so I'd defnitely vote for it.  But I figure that Zombie Dice will win (since it's from Steve Jackson and about Zombies) despite not actually being either a Family, Party or Children's Game.  Funny how that works, ain't it?

Best Game-Related Publication

• No Quarter Magazine - Privateer Press, Editors: Matt Wilson, Aeryn Redel, Privateer Press
• Hamlet’s Hit Points – Gameplaywright, Author: Robin Laws
• Family Games: The 100 Best – Green Ronin Publishing, Editor: James Lowder
• Shadowrun: Spells and Chrome – Catalyst Game Labs, Editor: John Helfers
• World at War: Revelation – Lock ‘n Load Publishing, Author: Mark H. Walker

I don't actually know much about these nominees, but I think this is a really cool category.  I read and enjoyed the earlier Hobby Games: The 100 Best from Green Ronin a lot and would definitely like to check out Family Games as well.  I'm also very interested in Hamlet's Hit Points (and Gameplaywright's other recent release, The  Bones) as well.  But I have no idea what will win.

The Rest of the Nominees

I don't necessarily have anything against these categories, but I mostly just don't have anything to do with them.  For the sake of completeness, though, here they are:

Best Roleplaying Supplement

• A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (A Song of Ice and Fire RPG) - Green Ronin Publishing, Designers: David Chart, Joshua Frost, Brian Kirby, Jon Leitheusser, Anthony Pryor, Robert J. Schwalb, Owen K.C. Stephens
• The Dresden Files: Our World (The Dresden Files RPG) – Evil Hat Productions, Designers: Leonard Balsera, Jim Butcher, Genevieve Cogman, Robert Donoghue, Fred Hicks, Kenneth Hite, Ryan Macklin, Chad Underkoffler, Clark Valentine
• Advanced Player’s Guide (Pathfinder RPG) – Paizo Publishing, Designers: Judy Bauer, Jason Bulmahn, Christopher Carey, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal Maclean, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K. Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, Lisa Stevens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, Vic Wertz
• Sixth World Almanac (Shadowrun RPG)- Catalyst Game Labs, Designers: Jason Hardy, John Heifers, John Dunn
• Sunward: The Inner System (Eclipse Phase RPG) – Posthuman Studios, Designers: Rob Boyle, Brian Cross, Adam Jury

Best Gaming Accessory

• Color Primer: Dragon Red - The Army Painter, Designer: Bo Penstoft, Jonas Faering
• Adventurers Tiles - Battle Bunker Games, Designer: Tony Ironmonger, Daniel Hinkle
• Battlefield XP Swamp Tufts – The Army Painter, Designer: Bo Penstoft, Jonas Faering
• Cthulhu Dice Bag - Steve Jackson Games, Designer: Alex Fernandez
• BattleTech Hex Pack: Lakes & Rivers – Catalyst Game Labs, Designer: Randall N. Bills

 Best Miniatures Rules

• Adventures in the Lost Lands – Two Hour Wargames, Designer: Ed Teixeira
• BattleTech Technical Readout: 3085 – Catalyst Game Labs, Designer: Joel Bancroft-Conners
• DC HeroClix Blackest Knight Starter Game – WizKids/NECA, Designers: Eric Engelhard, Jake Theis, Norman Barth, Drew Nolosco
• Hordes: Primal MK2 – Privateer Press, Designer: Matt Wilson
• MERCS Games Rule – MERCS Miniatures, LLC, Designer: Brian Shotton

Best Historical Board Game

• Warlords of Europe – GameBuilders, Designers: Ken Griffin, Kyle Battle, Russ Rupe
• Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour Poland 1939 – Academy Games, Designer: Uwe Eickect
• Catan Histories – Settlers of America: Trails to Rails – Mayfair Games, Designer: Klaus Teuber
• Panzer General: Allied Assault – Petroglyph Games, Inc., Designers: Chuck Kroegel, George Chastain