PAX Unplugged

We went to the RIGHT!

Hello from PAX Unplugged!

This is the inaugural show from the Penny Arcade gang devoted only to board games and tabletop held in downtown Philadelphia. Day 1 wrapped, and I'm up early on Day 2 so thought I would type a quick trip entry.

We signed up for the event not knowing exactly what it would include. We have not been to any of the other PAX events, and as the first year we weren't sure what they could pull off.  We also learned that this the same weekend as BGG con in Texas, so weren't sure how many of the big names would make the trip here.

Turns out the U.S. is big enough for two nerd conventions at the same time. Yay.

We started driving Thursday after work. With stops, we had a 12 hr trek but decided to split that up on the inbound leg.  We got up yesterday at a random hotel we found on my phone while driving, had breakfast, and then enjoyed a glorious fall morning of driving across Pennsylvania.

We got in yesterday perhaps a little later than I expected but were still heading to the show floor around 1pm. We walked the expo hall and gawked at some of the tournament play.  Dog Might Games was one of the main stops we wanted to make, and we had a nice visit with our favorite lumberjacks and got caught up on their kickstarter progress.  We then found the paint and take area sponsored by Ninja Division, and had a hour or so of quiet painting time.  This also got us some time to chat with John, the ND owner/boss, who we've met at past Gencons.

When we wrapped up there, we were starved so we got back to the hotel and got checked in.  We walked up to a place called the Prohibition Taproom, and had some amazing comfort food and local beer. It was busy on a Friday night, but was out of the way enough that it was all locals and few PAXers. I feel a little more hipster this morning after hanging out with that crowd.

So far, we have a favorable view of the event. Some of the attendees are the PAX devout. Some are like us and are here because we're board gamers. Everyone is friendly and dialog and banter is easy. The venue is perhaps 1/2 to 1/3 the size of Gencon (at least the main portion of Gencon in the convention center). There isn't the same flash and awe as Gencon - the big name booths like Fantasy Flight, CMON, Privateer Press are far smaller and less glitzy. There aren't any show exclusive figures to track down, and no new product announcements to be buzzing about.  That maybe sounds like criticism but isn't.

There's a good crowd. There is a lot to see and do. But the layout and size are such that there's not the crush of bodies and you can get in and see what you want to see. There is more room to demo. And there are some smaller names here that aren't at Gencon, so we're seeing new things and meeting new people.

For today, we'll be moving in a little while. Reaper has a good booth and I want to get some of their paint to take home. We'll visit Dog Might again, and maybe find a game or three to demo. If we can get in, Shut Up and Sit Down is the keynote speaker today on the main stage and I'd love to see them live.