PAX Unplugged: The Aftermath

The welcome banner coming from the Marriot, over the Queue Area.

We just finished our PAX Unplugged survey, so thought I'd finish my rundown here.

We went to PAX with few expectations.  Grabbing tickets was more of an excuse for a road trip than anything.  We had few distinct plans.  We had never been to Philadelphia and didn't know our way around the downtown. 

We set out Thursday after work, and drove until we didn't feel like driving.  I found a hotel on my phone an hour ahead of us and made a reservation.  We checked in, watched a bit of The Day After Tomorrow on cable, and then crashed out for several hours of shuteye.  I didn't set an alarm, and we slept in a bit.  Free breakfast and a horrible cup of lobby coffee later, we were on the road again.

We arrived at the Hampton Inn on Race Street, but our room wasn't ready (we were early), so we parked the car and grabbed our badges and attempted to enter PAX.  It was a little after 1pm, and based on Gencon and Blizzcon, I was expecting to navigate by following the crowds.  Turns out, there weren't any, so we walked most of the way around the convention center before we found the actual PAX entrance.

PAX itself was great. We spent most of our time in the Vendor Hall or just meandering around.  We met many people, had some really good conversations about random things, and spent time with some of our favorite vendors.  PAX got a lot of things right, and a few things could have been better, but it's the people that will bring us back next year. 

We bought more than we expected - a lot of paint from Reaper and the War Store, and a few Christmas presents for each other. 

We demo'd several games - both direct play and "over the shoulder demo" - though I came away most impressed with Root.  The art is great and the gameplay was fun, and I decided to support such things and backed the kickstarter.

If I was to complain about anything, it was the scheduling of events and activities.  I really prefer the Gencon method of pre-scheduling all events - this lets you plan your weekend a little more closely.  It wasn't always clear how to participate or even what was going on in each room.  You really had to be persistent and find an Enforcer for clarification, which is less than optimal.

We opted to drive home Sunday and avoid burning more vacation time.  This meant a very early start and most people in the hotel lobby were there for the Philadelphia Marathon.  We were aware of the potential for road closures, but really had no idea how extensive they would be or that they'd be active at 6am.  Leaving the hotel to navigate to the interstate in the dark, in the rain, with lots of cops and flashing lights, in an unfamiliar city was very stressful.

But after that, the drive was light on traffic and we made outstandingly good time.  We even got to see some very pretty snow in the mountains and moved through it before the roads were coated.

Random bullet points:

• Our stay at the Hampton Inn was great, but next year I'll try to get in the Marriott since it connects directly via the Skybridge.  We got caught in the rain (thankfully not a downpour) and the Hampton seemed to be on the wrong side of the venue and away from most food options.
• Random banter with random people really made the event, especially over beers in the hotel bar.
• Reading Terminal Market was an awesome find.  
• Parking was horrible, and expensive, but compared to the price of an airline ticket we of course did okay.
• Note above where I said 'next year' ... yes, already talking about a return trip in 2018.