Stepping in for
@JonXP
Also seriously I jest, those pins are FABULOUS...
Updates
PureButtons is offering a discount to East attendees purchasing buttons:
If you order from PureButtons, be sure to use the discount code PAXEAST14 and put your rim text in the notes!
Current Pins:
PAX EAST BUTTONEERING 2014!
This is our second year for buttons at East. Oooo go us, I think this means we're consistent and responsible.
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Imagination time: Pretend we have an awesome red version of the
snazzy blue 2013 community crest here -
What is Buttoneering?
Buttoneering is a meta-game that takes place every year at PAX Prime, being East is the better PAX we obviously decided to do it as well, only better*. You play by printing up a large number of buttons with a picture that represents you, and then find other people at your event to trade with you. It is remarkably easy to do, and it's a great way to meet people. Additionally, you come away with a huge number of buttons that are a unique souvenir of your time.
* Depends on your definition of better... I think the marketing speak would be "intimate'. What are the rules?
Well, there are only a couple. First, if you get a button you should give a button, and vice versa. This applies to the "avatar" button, which is the one that represents you personally. If you have made other buttons representing a group, game, or are just something special, you can set your own rules for what people need to do to get them. As usual, follow Wheaton's Law for maximum fun.
How did Buttoneering start?
It started out as a problem at PAX 2008 for members of the Pax Forum Community. They wanted a way to be able to pick each other out of the crowd of more than 55,000 gamers. The initial idea was for t-shirts with everyone's avatars printed on them. Once someone pointed out the added benefit of being able to smell fellow forum members coming, other ideas were proposed.
Finally, everyone settled on making buttons with their avatars on them. After some initial research, it was discovered that one could get bulk amounts of these created for relatively cheaply, and the idea of PAX Button Exchange was born!
Where can I get buttons?
We recommended
PureButtons because of their excellent customer service, good prices, and being all-around cool folks. No, we don't get paid to say that. If you're not in the U.S., feel free to ask in the thread to find info on providers closer to home, or if you're the trusting type, ask if you can ship the buttons to someone who is, to save yourself some shipping costs.
How do I participate?
Here are the steps for participating in Buttoneering:
- Choose your button size and shape, and make your artwork. 1.5 inch round buttons are by far the most popular, and are a good compromise between price and size.
- Upload your artwork to BUTTONEERING!, our official Buttoneering site.
- Put your button's rim text on your button somewhere: While logged in to Buttoneering, click on the magnifying glass for your button and scroll to the bottom of the page that comes up.
- If you are buying from PureButtons: Copy the text from the text box, and paste it into the additional notes when you make your order
- If you need to put the text on manually: Place the part in bold somewhere on your button, preferably along the rim where it is out of the way, but still findable.
- Order your buttons. 50-100 buttons is a good base amount, but feel free to go with more, East has a smaller group of buttoneers so don't go too crazy! If you order from PureButtons, be sure to use the discount code PAXEAST14 and put your rim text in the notes!
- Go to PAX, trade with other Buttoneers, take pictures, have fun, and go home with a giant collection. Attending the Pre-PAX and Post-PAX events like the board game nights can help you find buttoneers.
Other frequently asked questions:Q. Why do you only list Purebuttons.com as a source of buttons? Are you banging the owner?
You are free to have your buttons made by anyone, make them your self if you'd like. Our prior experience shopping around last year has shown that you really can't beat the price Purebuttons offers for buttons in bulk. If you can, let us know your insider info.
Q. How do I get a button? What are these "bonus buttons"?
The buttons fall in to two categories, the "avatar" or "main" buttons, and the "bonus" variety. While there are no set rules for trading them, these general guidelines are encouraged:
- Avatar buttons should be traded for other Avatar buttons, with no challenges or criteria expected to be fulfilled other than you are both Buttoneers.
- Bonus buttons may (or may not!) have special criteria for receiving them, and may go to people outside the button game who fulfill the criteria. This could be a challenge ("What is the flightspeed of an unladen swallow?"), a requirement ("You must be a member of the CEOs of America Club"), or one may just ask for one (remember to say "Please").
Q. I want to make people stand on their head, nude, while singing "Yankee Doodle" to receive my buttons! Can't I do that?
It is perfectly within your rights, but don't expect many people to trade their buttons back with you.
Q. Do I have to purchase hundreds of buttons to participate?
Purchase as many or as little as you want. As they say the more the merrier, more than likely you will only be able to receive as many buttons as you have to give. Last year a somewhat active person could easily go through 100+ buttons.
Q. With 55,000+ people, how will I find you all to get my trade on?
Many if not most of us will be attending various community ran events. Feel free to stop by the Pre-PAX Board Game night (Thursday night in the Westin), Pre-PAX Dinner, the Pre-PAX Movie, Pre-PAX Pubcrawl, Pre-PAX Breakfast, or the Post PAX board game night in the Westin Sunday night. We'll be there in droves. No one had any problems finding buttons last year. We stand out pretty hard.
Q. I want to make sure I get EVERY SINGLE BUTTON I can, will there be a Buttoneer meetup?
YES. We will meet in the Westin on the mezzanine for the Post-PAX board game night event.
Q. You said this is a game! How do we know who won?
Everyone is a winner! Especially you! You're so special, you know that?
Q. Will I be able to fly with my buttons. Are they considered an instrument of death?
As confirmed by the US TSA and experience from past years, 1" -1.5" buttons are not classified as an instrument of death even if you have a 100, and can be carried on or checked (they did say that depending on the TSA Agent you may be asked [forced at gun point] to check the buttons).
But remember this only applies to people whose flight originates in the US. If you are flying into the US with buttons make sure you check with your TSA equivalent before bringing them on a plane. The TSA people here also highly suggested that you check with US Customs (contact via your local embassy) before you try and bring them into the country (they indicated that the problem isn't with the button it's with what you could be hiding in the button). Recap: If you're in the US you can fly w/ buttons, if you're not you're probably better off mailing.
About BUTTONEERING!.org
As of 2011, our official Buttoneering website is
http://buttoneering.org. Usage is completely optional, but it does provide a number of benefits that make it worth the 60 seconds or so that it takes to sign up...
- Upload your buttons and see everyone else's
- Easily track the ones you've collected
- Lots of cool filters and sorting to help you find the button you're looking for
- Hosting for your finished button designs with the code to embed it in the forums
- Keep up with your collection from year to year, event to event, so you can see just how much awesome you've seen
This way, we have a very convenient way for everyone to see the buttons and hopefully build upon it with buttoneering apps and the like!
So sign up, (make sure to use your forum name from here!), check your email for the confirmation, and then upload your artwork.
Before clicking on any of the links below, be aware that
there are some NSFW buttons.
Click here for this years East's buttons.Click here for last East's buttons.Click here for last Prime's buttons.
Are you not on the list? Then you didn't sign up at
http://buttoneering.org, so do it right away!
Posts
If you have an event you want to host button trading at please post it and I'll add it here.
- Pre and Post PAX Board Game Nights -
When:
Pre-PAX: Thursday April 10 @ 4:00 PM until late, late, late
Post-PAX: Sunday April 13 @ 6:00 PM until late, late, late
Where: Westin Mezzanine - Cookie Brigade table
Not once, but two times. The Cookie Brigade table will be located on the mezzanine (near the convention center sky bridge), come, trade buttons, eat cookies, donate for the kids.
And if you are impressive, you will also receive:
You don't have to trade for the Impressed Random Guy button. Just impress me to get one!
3DS Friend Code: 2449-5711-0640
I am literally drowning in all of this free time.
Really its a ploy, I loves me some buttons.
3DS Friend Code: 2449-5711-0640
Do other people agree that would be a good starting amount?
I generally offer them to everyone I meet, throw them in with pin trades, etc. I had 300 made at Prime and ran out. Probably will do about 500-600 at East. For my button having a few left over to hand out at other PAX's is not a bad thing. But certainly if you are only trading, less then 100 seems reasonable. Especially if you don't intend to make the meetup.
It also depends on how social you are too, doing the brigade stuff I tend to be out and about meeting people while distributing so its easier for me to give away a lot of buttons. But 50 is probably a safe number for most people.
Do I just post the image here? I'm signed up on the buttoneering website as well, I just want to make sure I'm following protocol.
After you upload the button, click "edit" on it, and on the right side there will be a text box with the bbcode to put it in here. Just cut and paste it into a comment if you want to show it off.
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
I absolutely love that Wrecking Pokeball design!
https://allmylinks.com/topherxbeads
PureButtons is offering a discount to East attendees purchasing buttons:
Once you upload the button to the buttoneering site you'll have a box on the right with some bbcode you can use to post it here.
[x]In awe that my 30 minute badge window prediction was pretty close to accurate.
[x]Badge (HOLYCRAPIGOTA4DAY!)
[x]Hotel
[ ]Airfare
[ ]Buttoneering Buttons
[ ]Challenge Coin
It should be a bit easier to meet up with other buttoneers this year with the board game night happening before and after PAX. I will also likely bring a bin for people to leave some of their pins in so that if they've left and someone comes they can loot the stash.
What is rim text? this is my first time having buttons made.
Here is what I am thinking of submitting (a nod to Munchkin)... Has anyone shipped to Canada before and have experience with the customs costs (they noted that they declare on a per piece basis so I am wondering how the price might get jacked). I will probably get my daughter to do one as well.
3DS Friend Code: 2449-5711-0640
The rim text is something we added at last Prime. It has your handle, what event this button is for, and the button's ID on Buttoneering on it. The idea was to make a standard text so to make it easier to find the buttons on the site to mark them as collected, as well as to tell who you got the button from and when. To get the rim text follow these instruction on the OP:
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
We usually have a bit of button trading on the MMT and I'll have some MMT buttons made up.
The bf and I have had our button idea for awhile. Just gotta work out all the fine details.
I ♥ making awesome crafts! I ♥ my Cookie Brigaders!
On Purebuttons it appears that you can put it where the the little boxes are on the template, but I cannot figure how to get it there. Do you enter it on the template or in the additional notes when ordering. Something like please add rim text as follows ...... PAXEAST 2014 BOSTON, MA.... ENTER THE RULES LAWYER
Put it in the additional notes when ordering. The text box on the page has exactly what you need for that.
EDIT: HOWEVER, if you're able to do it yourself, you totally can. The notes is just for people who don't have the time or skills to put it on the template.
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
Awesome, I actually remember one of yours from last year was one that @robziel wanted.
Happy to see a lot of people joining in, I'm going to use my snow day to hopefully wrap up my designs, I just need to decide on something new for myself for this year.
Also if you are reusing buttons from Prime or East last year make sure you guys update them on Buttoneering.org, you should be able to go to that item once you log in, go to my buttons then edit the buttons to change the event so they'll show up for East 2014. Optionally you can upload it again to Buttoneering.org. As a separate entry even if the image is the same.
Actually, PLEASE upload them again. DO NOT edit them to switch events (I'll be disabling this soon). There's a technical reason behind this, but the issue is it messes up the groupings for people's collections who have received your button before.
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
I will touch base when I am ready to make an order been a bit busy at work
For @robziel -
For myself -
Cookie Brigade pin by @bubbapax -
This photo's a few years out-of-date, but maybe it'll raise interest? Spoilers for sizing:
Twitter: @phillerworks || @AKOPpodcast || Steam: mr_philler
PAX East '14 Locations: || Classic Console Freeplay || Tabletop Area || Long Wharf Pre-PAX Game Night (Come say hi or trade buttons!)
Passes: Acquired | Buttons: Acquired | April: Too far away...
I made vectors in Illustrator for mine though based on an existing image. The cookie brigade pin is a custom design by @bubbapax.