Origins Awards

The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.

The Origins Award is commonly referred to as a Calliope, as the statuette is in the likeness of the muse of the same name. Academy members frequently shorten this name to "Callie."

Originally, the Charles S. Roberts Awards and the Origins Awards were one and the same. Starting with the 1987 awards, the Charles S. Roberts were given separately, and they moved away from Origins entirely in 2000, leaving the Origins Awards as a completely separate system. In 1978, the awards also hosted the 1977 H. G. Wells awards for roleplaying games and miniature wargaming.

The Origins Awards were originally presented at the Origins Game Fair in five categories: Best Professional Game, Best Amateur Game, Best Professional Magazine, Best Amateur Magazine and Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame.

Since the first ceremony, the game categories have widened to include Board games (Traditional, Historical and Abstract), Card games (Traditional and Trading), Miniature wargaming (Historical, Science Fiction and Fantasy), Roleplaying games and play-by-mail games. There are additional categories for Graphic Design, for game expansions and accessories, and for game-related fiction. During the 1980s and 1990s awards were also given to Computer games. Starting in 2003, the Origins Awards began a new category called the Vanguard Award, which honored highly innovative games.

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