History of Table Top Gaming in the Philippines

[Rolf]

I remember T-REC at University Mall I spent so much of my allowance there...my M:tG addiction was pretty strong...

[Brel]

I don't know about Total REC, but I think CATS store has more branches back then so their business may be bigger hence they might have a higher chance of being the first to source out "Magic: The Gathering".  But all of these are just speculation.  The good thing about this is an owner of a small hobby shop was able to setup a much bigger business and was able to develop the local CCG market through Neutral Grounds.  It can't be denied that NG have made a big impact of introducing tabletop gaming to the Philippines. 

[ooh_dlee]

Courtesy of Victor and Tybalt (Adrian Martiez):

Hi Daniel,

   Here are the milestones that Tybalt and I confirmed.

May 4, 2002 - The Open Meet (or OM for short), a brainchild of Adrian Martinez, holds its first gathering at Starbucks, Jupiter St., Makati.  Other places that the OM is held are various other Starbucks outlets around the city and the Food Court at GreenBelt 3.  The frequency of the gathering varied from once a week to once a month - depending on the availability of participants.

June 11, 2005 - The OM, now under the management of VJ Cabazor, is held at Waltermart, Makati.  With the new management comes minor changes - the OM broadens its focus to the cross-pollination of various tabeltop hobbyists, and becomes a once a month gathering.  Aside from a few times at Waltermart, other venues are a private residence at Kamuning, another private residence at Teacher's Village, and the function room at the Globe Towers Condominium along EDSA.

March 25, 2006 - The OM is held at Residencia 8888, Ortigas, for the first time.  With the exception of the June 2006 OM, Residencia becomes the regular venue.

September 1, 2007 - The Open Meet is renamed to Open Gaming Meet to make the gathering less vague when inviting potiential participants.  Although most people finally get accustomed to the slight name change, some die-hards still refer to the gathering as the OM to this day.

March 7, 2009 - Residencia 8888 holds its last OGM.

April 4, 2009 - The OGM is held at Vibal Publishing House, Quezon City, for the first time.