Whether it’s a love for building words on a Scrabble board or for transforming into a wizard from another world in Magic: The Gathering, game players from Ohio, across the country and around the world will convene at the Columbus Convention Center July 5-8 to learn, play and compete in the 33rd annual Origins International Game Expo.

Origins showcases a variety of games ranging from traditional games, like Risk and Chess, to live action roleplaying (LARP) games where players dress as characters and act with other players in an improvisational theater style. National and world tournaments for tabletop games, miniatures and collectable card games will be hosted as well so game enthusiasts can witness the best of the best in Pokemon, Apples to Apples and Mechwarrior, to name a few.

“It’s fun. Even when you participate in a tournament, it’s laidback,” says Ryan Seymore, owner of Comic Town at 1249 Morse Road. “It’s like a mini-vacation in summer if you’re into gaming – especially if you’re local to Columbus.”

With more than 14,000 attendees expected, game players can expect spending the day in a room packed with nearly 4,000 events and plenty of fun-loving, game enthusiasts. During the event, participants interested in specific genres can follow special program tracks. These tracks take participants along with pirates as they sail the Spanish Main, into the world of ninjas and samurais, through the strategic and practical planning of war and into their darkest nightmares.

At one exhibit, game enthusiasts can sit side-by-side and play with game creators. Every year Origins invites a handful of designers, writers, artists and publishers so they can interact with game players and share their knowledge of the industry. This year guests of honor will include Aaron Allston, Will Hindmarch, Ford Ivey and Alan Moon.

Origins prides itself on bringing in guests who are directly part of the gaming community. “It’s a real thrill for attendees,” says Christine Brucker, Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) marketing coordinator. “We want to highlight and credit the people who work to make the industry. We want to highlight the people who bring players’ imaginations to life and give attendees the opportunities to meet these people.”

The game expo will be divided into areas featuring roleplaying games (RPGs), tabletop games, traditional games, collectable card games (CCGs), war and strategy games and miniatures. There will also be educational seminars, roughly 200 local and international dealers selling games, accessories and costuming and a Paint N’ Take area, where participants can paint their own miniatures and take them home.

In an epic battle contest of good vs. evil, gamers will be encouraged to reveal their inner super-hero or super-villain with original costume designs. Judges will “rid the earth completely of one side or the other based on which side has been judged worthy to survive,” and then award prizes. Children younger than 13 can enter the contest in the sidekicks category and receive separate prizes.

Even non-game players can get involved and off the sidelines while others play at Origins. In the family and spouse program, non-game players can visit an art show, featuring fantasy and science-themed works by artists from Ohio and across the country, or participate in other activities including trips to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a Short North gallery hop, a Columbus Clippers baseball game and lessons in belly dancing, scrapbooking and knitting. A supervised kids room is available for children older than 3, allowing parents to have fun playing games while their children enjoy their own games, arts and crafts.

“With the gas prices right now, it is something close to home the entire family can do,” Brucker says. “Here’s a weekend when you can go, sit down and learn to play new games. It’s one time of the year where you can do something that you don’t normally do.”

Admission is $75 for the full show and $35 for one day. The Origins International Game Expo has been held exclusively in Columbus for 11 years. It started as a gathering of game players in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew from a show of war games to an exposition featuring a full spectrum of games and hobbies. GAMA assumed management of Origins in 1978 and continues to run the game expo today. The 2007 event chart can be downloaded online at http://www.originsgames.com/2007/events.