One of the biggest dates in the tabletop calendar is nearly here. Origins Game Fair returns to the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio from 17 to 21 June 2026, with more than 6,000 gaming sessions packed across five days. If you have ever fancied losing a long weekend to back-to-back board games, RPGs, miniatures and card games, this is the show that does it at scale.
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See how it worksOrigins has serious history behind it. Run by GAMA (the Tabletop Game Association) and first held back in 1975, it has called Columbus home since 1996. Last year's edition drew 19,171 attendees, up 8% on 2024, alongside 410 exhibitors and 8,810 scheduled events, according to figures reported by EN World. That puts it among the five largest tabletop-specific conventions in the world, behind Spiel in Essen, Gen Con, our own UK Games Expo and PAX Unplugged.
It is also where the Origins Awards are handed out, so expect a few of the year's most talked-about releases to be on everyone's lips by the time the dust settles.
Looking for board gamers near you? Browse local communities and find your next game night.
Find events near youNow, the obvious catch for UK readers: it is in Ohio. If you are making the trip, it is worth lining up a meetup so you actually find your people in that enormous hall. And if a flight to Columbus is not on the cards, the spirit of Origins travels well. Grab a venue, pick a date, and run your own mini gaming weekend for your group. You can list a game day on Backseat Gamer in a couple of minutes, or find a local community to game with closer to home.
Sources: Origins Game Fair | EN World | ICv2
