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The Board Gamer’s Guide to PAX South 2017 (aka the Tabletop Megathread)

GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop ManagerNJRegistered User regular
edited January 2017 in PAX South
Hey everyone, hope you are all looking forward to PAX in ~1 week. If you’re attending, and are of the cardboard persuasion, here is all of the info that’s pertinent to you, from exhibitor info, to tourneys, to panels, and some other fun bits.

Some highlights for PAX South 2017 are that we’ve grown the presence of tabletop booths between the Main Expo and Tabletop halls by a whopping 60%. We’ve also increased our open play space by 10%. We’ve added a game playtesting area, hosted by UnPub (Designers can sign up in advance for 3-hour blocks: http://unpub.net/events/pax-south/). Lastly, True Dungeon is bringing a version of their live role-play/puzzle room experience to PAX!

Unofficial Pre-PAX Game Nights:
Court of Gamers (3PM to Midnight): https://www.facebook.com/events/816577678498406/
San Antonio Nerd Night charity board gaming event - Hosting at Grand Hyatt (7PM to 2AM) http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/209229/san-antonio-nerd-night-pre-pax-game-night/p1?new=1

Tabletop Hall Booths [Open until midnight]:

Asmodee [Board game publisher]
Cascade Games [Retailer]
Catan [Board game publisher]
Drinking Quest [Board game publisher]
Fantasy Flight Games [Board game publisher]
Fate of the Norns [RPG publisher]
Foam Brain Games [Retailer with publisher sub-booths: Iello, Looney Labs, Czech Games Edition, etc.]
Fowers Games [Board game publisher]
Game Revenant [Party game publisher]
Greater Than Games [Board Game Publisher]
Gut Shot Games [Board Game Publisher]
Hip Hop Cards [Board Game Publisher]
Indie Boards & Cards [Board Game Publisher]
Iron Forge Games [Board Game Publisher]
Japanime Games [Board Game Publisher]
Level Up Dice [Gaming accessories]
Mayday Games [Board Game Publisher]
Metallic Dice Games [Custom dice manufacturer]
Partial Arc [Board Game Publisher]
Q-Workshop [Custom dice manufacturer]
Reaper Minis [Miniatures game publisher - painting area]
SFR (Dragon Dice] [Dice game publisher]
Steve Jackson Games [Board Game Publisher]
Tasty Minstrel Games [Board Game Publisher]
The Broken Token [Game accessories and organizers]
The Game Crafter [Game manufacturer]
Wyrmwood Gaming [Gaming accessories]
Yanaguana Games [Board Game Publisher]
Z-Man Games [Board Game Publisher]

Tabletop Booths in Main Expo Hall (Closes 6PM):

11 bit studios [“This War of Mine: The Board Game”]
2C Gaming [“Epic Legacy” - D&D 5E supplements]
AdMagic [Board game and card game manufacturer. Publisher under Breaking Games label]
Albino Dragon [Board game and licensed playing card deck publisher]
Atlas Games [Card game publisher: “Gloom”]
Battlerock Studios [“Battle of the Cards” card game]
Carolina Game Tables [Board game tables]
Common Tongue [“Japanese: The Game”]
CritSuccess [Dice rings]
Cyanide & Happiness [“Joking Hazard” party game]
DreamWrite [Print shop]
Final War [“Final War: Tactical Card Game”]
Foam Brain Games [Game retailer]
Forged by Geeks [“Defense Grid: The Board Game”]
Geek Chic [Game table and accessory manufacturer]
Level 99 Games [Card game publisher. “Mega Man Pixel Tactics” card game]
Mantic Games [Miniatures game publisher]
North Star Games [Board game publisher: “Wits & Wager,” “Evolution”]
Peterson Games [“Orcs Must Die: The Board Game”]
Quick and Dirty Games Party game publisher]
Red Raven Games [Board game publisher: “Above & Below,” “Islebound”]
Sirlin Games [Card game publisher: “Codex”]
SolarFlare Games [Board game publisher]
Studio Tyrus [“Caps and Hammers: A Particularly Cold War”]
Studio Woe [Card game publisher: “Gruff,” “Clash”]
Superfight (Skybound) [Party game publisher]
Third Eye Games [RPG publisher]
Thompson Productions [Custom dice manufacturer]
Toonhound [“Table Titans” RPG comic] - Pinny Arcade pin available
Versus Evil [“The Banner Saga: The Board Game”]
Zafty Games

Main Expo Hall: Booths showing digital ports of board games:

Dire Wolf Digital [“Clank!” “Lanterns” apps] - Pinny Arcade pin available
MetaArcade [“Tunnels and Trolls” digital RPG port]
Riveted Games [Digital tabletop war games]
Secret Cow Level [Doomtrooper CCG digital port]

Places to Play Games in Tabletop Hall (Freeplay!):
We’ve moved! Due to improvements to the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center, PAX Tabletop will now be directly adjacent to the main expo hall. With the new space, our freeplay area is ~10% larger this year, and also optimized to fit even more table space within those bounds. Bring your own game, or check out one of the thousand-plus copies in the PAX Tabletop Library, then find a seat.

Areas for Organized Play:
D&D Adventurer’s League [RPG play area]
Eat Villagers [Social game play area, series of Werewolf tournaments starting 9PM Friday. "Grand Championship" 9PM Saturday]
Pathfinder Society San Antonio [RPG play area]
Thornwatch [RPG demo area - sign up at TT HQ for play spots each morning]
UnPub Network [Board and card game playtest area. Designers, sign up to playtest your game at the UnPub booth! http://unpub.net/events/pax-south/]

Tabletop Tournaments:

Hit this link for the full Tabletop Tourney schedule: http://south.paxsite.com/schedule/category/ttt-s
Some special events worth calling out are:
Mega Catan tournament, a 32-player single-game Catan experience
Scheduled “Epic Games” getting you a seat at hard-to-organize board game classics such as Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition, Game of Thrones: The Board Game, Twilight Struggle, and Chaos in the Old World
Publisher organized play from FFG (Android: Netrunner, Star Wars: Destiny, Game of Thrones; LCG), Steve Jackson Games (OGRE, Batman Dice Game), and Plaid Hat Games (Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn)

Cascade Games will also be hosting a variety of Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon TCG tourneys all weekend long: http://www.cascadegames.com/PAX-South.html
FFG and Cascade have partnered to offer the Star Wars System Open series for the X-Wing Miniatures Game: http://www.cascadegames.com/star-wars.html. This event will be taking place off-site, close to PAX, but does not require a PAX badge.

True Dungeon
New to PAX this year is a live dungeon crawl experience. One-part escape room, one part LARP. True Dungeon will be a demo-scale version of the full 2-hour experience made famous at Gen Con, but will be offered to PAX attendees free of charge! Sign up on convention center level 3 each morning (https://guidebook.com/guide/86449/map/85614/)

Tabletop Panels:
Friday, 10:30AM, Main Theater: Storytime with Chris Perkins
Chris Perkins is, at root, a storyteller - which makes him perfect for PAX South's Storytime. As the Principal Story Designer for Wizards of the Coast - legendary home of Dungeons and Dragons - his stories become places that you and your friends can live in. As the Dungeon Master for the players of Acquisition's Incorporated and many, many others, he's entertained hundreds of thousands over the years, and we're honored to have him spend a little time with us.

Friday, 11:30AM, Bobcat Theater: Introduction to Modern Board Gaming
Board gaming is going through a golden age with some very high-quality and immersive games constantly being released. The goal is to introduce the hobby to more people and introduce the varied forms that modern board gaming can take. This panel will also explain the distinctions between light, medium, and heavy weight games and identify games for different group sizes in an attempt to find the best games for different groups!
Friday, 4:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Please Don't Punch the GM: More Adventures in Gaming Therapy
Games like Dungeons and Dragons are in the middle of a resurgence in pop culture, appearing in television, media, and now even being used therapeutically. Join game masters Adam Johns and Adam Davis as they return from the frontier of therapeutic gaming to tell more stories, answer more questions, and keep celebrating how the the games we love can make us better people.

Friday, 4:00PM, Cactus Theater: Grind Mechanics in Games
We've all experienced it. We've all complained about it. Some of us secretly love it. But ask 100 people what it actually IS, and you'll get 40 different answers. Join us for a mechanical discussion of what "grinding" really means in games. Is it necessary for a "classic MMO?" Is it part of the genre of a "JRPG?" Does it exist in board games? Is it bad? Is it good? Is it necessary? Part storytelling, part game design, part game theory: let's explore the grind from all angles.
Friday, 5:30PM, Cactus Theater: BINWIN'S MINIONS
Binwin Bronzebottom is looking for a few good adventurers to help acquire all the loot from the Ruined Keep of Ikillyah. Are you brave enough to be one of Binwin's Minions? Join Table Titans creator Scott Kurtz (Binwin Bronzebottom) as he recruits members of the audience to join his team of minions on their quest for glory!

Friday, 6:00PM, Armadillo Theater: Omegathon Round 2: Tsuro
We are down to 16, folks! They are dropping like flies. And what is the next game to do the swatting? Tsuro! The gorgeous tile game of path following and board pushing and ... that's about it.
Who will be following the Omegathon path to victory? Will it be you? No. Because you aren't an Omeganaut. But some of them will win, so good for them.

Friday, 7:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Breaking into the Tabletop Industry
Do you want a career in tabletop games? Join our semi-esteemed panel of industry insiders as we discuss our own experiences building a career, along with tons of advice on what to do, and what not to do, when it comes to trying to turn your passion for games into the thing that pays your bills. This won't just be a fun cheerleading panel about "following your dreams," but rather a hard look at the realities of the industry and what it takes to push your way in.

Saturday, 10:00AM, Cactus Theater: The Art of the Table: GMing Beyond the Basics
Dragons, cyborgs, and eldritch horrors aren't the only challenging things to be found at the gaming table. How do you structure an interesting plot to keep your players hooked? What helps a group remain friends when out of game drama threatens to disrupt a session? And just how DO you get a table of kill-crazed murder-hobos to explore a bit of story-based roleplaying? Join our panel of experienced GMs and industry veterans as we answer your questions on how to turn a good RPG into a great one!

Saturday, 2:00PM, Main Theater: Acquisitions Incorporated Live at PAX South
Acquisitions Incorporated: The Series—live, on the main stage at PAX South for the very first time! Join Jim Darkmagic (Mike Krahulik), Omin Dran (Jerry Holkins), Viari (Patrick Rothfuss), and a very special guest!
Join the adventurers, along with Dungeon Master Chris Perkins, on an epic adventure about adventuring. Much adventure will be ventured.

Saturday, 7:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Gary Gygax's Vodka Skull Mug and Other Stories: A Q&A with Mike Selinker
Designer Mike Selinker—co-creator of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and the upcoming Thornwatch game from Penny Arcade and Lone Shark Games—will open a tasty beverage and talk about all his adventures in game and puzzle design. You can ask him any questions you like, and he will probably answer them. There might even be special guests asking the questions, some even scheduled in advance. Come find out!

Saturday, 9:30PM, Falcon Theater: RollPlay: Four Years Later
Join JP "itmeJP" McDaniel and Adam "skinnyghost" Koebel as they talk about RollPlay, a tabletop franchise spanning across multiple genres, rulesets, and shows.

Sunday, 10:30AM, Armadillo Theater: Cardboard Kabuki: An Intro to Asian Board Games
Board games have been getting more popular in the United States with the help from shows like Tabletop, Dice Tower, and Game Night. However, when talking about games, it often seems the Asian market gets overlooked.
This panel will provide a general overview as to some of the reasons why along with a glimpse of some of the goods you may be missing out on. You'll even get tips on how to import many of these games, for those who are feeling adventurous.

Sunday, 11:00AM, Falcon Theater: Omegathon Round 5: Evolution: The Beginning
Now is the chance to figure out the final competitors for the Omegathon. It will require cunning, strength, guile, and the ability to adapt ... or EVOLVE!
Yes, the board game Evolution: The Beginning is on the menu for this round, and believe me, it is going to be a whopper. Who will emerge as the dominant species?

Sunday, 2:30PM, Cactus Theater: Promote Your Tabletop Game Like a Damn Professional
You've made a great tabletop game, but nobody cares. We've gathered seasoned professionals in tabletop creation, manufacturing, events, design, and marketing to teach you how to get people to give a heck. Bring your questions for a Q&A at the end.

Sunday, 3:30PM, Falcon Theater: PAX South Plays Pure Chess—Audience vs Grandmaster
Want to play a crowdsourced game of chess against a chess Grandmaster? With just your phone or tablet as your weapon, you'll be able to vote on the chess moves to make against Grandmaster on stage, and see whether a room filled with PAX attendees can win together. Watch the Pure Chess action unfold on the big screen, and if the audience wins, everyone will get a free game courtesy of Ripstone Games.

Sunay, 4:00PM, Cactus Theater: The Life and Times of a Board Game
How do tabletop games go from ideas to actual games you can buy? Join us for an informative look at the entire process of making rad tabletop games. Concept and design, production and logistics, distribution and sales; we'll cover it all. It won't be quite as cool as when Mr. Rogers visited the crayon factory, but I can guarantee there will be a lot more terrible jokes along with your learning!


Gundabad on

Posts

  • MaggieTheCatMaggieTheCat Registered User regular
    Nice list. Thanks for putting it together.

    Does anyone know who's running the Werewolf tournament?

  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    This group, Eat Villagers is handling the Werewolf area. Can't find a website for them but here is their Twitter (@eatvillagers): https://twitter.com/eatvillagers?s=09

  • japesterjapester Registered User regular
    Thanks for this list, particularly the Tabletop Hall Booths. I was specifically looking for Reaper to show up again, so I contacted them directly when I couldn't find them among the exhibitors. In fact, it seems like everyone on the Tabletop Hall list has been left out of the Guidebook app. Is this intentional, or am I looking in the wrong place?

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    japester wrote: »
    Thanks for this list, particularly the Tabletop Hall Booths. I was specifically looking for Reaper to show up again, so I contacted them directly when I couldn't find them among the exhibitors. In fact, it seems like everyone on the Tabletop Hall list has been left out of the Guidebook app. Is this intentional, or am I looking in the wrong place?
    The tabletop hall has historically not had its exhibitors listed the same way the main expo hall has.

  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    This should be changing very soon. Hopefully in time for East. PAX South 2016 Guidebook actually did have a full Tabletop listing, but the process wasn't entirely ironed out yet, and it got dropped off for 2017. We're aware and fixing it :D

  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    edited January 2017
    .

    Gundabad on
  • futilesfutiles Registered User regular
    Mantic will be here? Sweet!

  • manta173manta173 Registered User regular
    Is there a place/forum thread for people looking to try new games? Scythe and Duke are on my to do list... Ideally I'd find someone bringing copies looking for players.

  • japesterjapester Registered User regular
    manta173 wrote: »
    Is there a place/forum thread for people looking to try new games? Scythe and Duke are on my to do list... Ideally I'd find someone bringing copies looking for players.

    Unfortunately, I don't own either or I'd offer to hook up. AFAIK, there is nothing in place yet to facilitate meetups (for example, if I bring a hot game and want to teach it to new players). We suggested something like a sign-up sheet in the freeplay area after last year. So far, it has to happen organically here on the forums or elsewhere. I'm not a Twitter guy, but I wonder if something could be originated via hashtags. Like a tag to show you are looking for players or for a particular game?

  • manta173manta173 Registered User regular
    japester wrote: »
    manta173 wrote: »
    Is there a place/forum thread for people looking to try new games? Scythe and Duke are on my to do list... Ideally I'd find someone bringing copies looking for players.

    Unfortunately, I don't own either or I'd offer to hook up. AFAIK, there is nothing in place yet to facilitate meetups (for example, if I bring a hot game and want to teach it to new players). We suggested something like a sign-up sheet in the freeplay area after last year. So far, it has to happen organically here on the forums or elsewhere. I'm not a Twitter guy, but I wonder if something could be originated via hashtags. Like a tag to show you are looking for players or for a particular game?

    I like that idea maybe #PAXSouthtabletop or something.

  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    edited January 2017
    We typically use ##ttlfg aka Tabletop Looking For Game, and advertise it with a big sign or whiteboard at TT HQ. It doesn't get used all that often but can work. Generally speaking if you have a genuinely hot game and are planning in advance, then between posting here, maybe r/PAX, and in Twitter, you'll get the game filled.

    Gundabad on
  • QuickAndDirtyGamesQuickAndDirtyGames We make offensively fun party games Registered User regular
    Hey all, Quick And Dirty Games will be at PAX South, Booth #10209. We'll have our original hit party game Quick And Dirty there, but we'll also be showing off some new games we have in the works. One is a prohibition era serious strategy game that would appeal to fans of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Agricola etc, but with simple rules and a lighthearted twist that will make it easily accessible to casual gamers (and optional rules to turn it into a drinking game!).


    It also just so happens that Houston is our #1 selling city for Quick And Dirty, so we hope a few Texas Quick And Dirty fans will be making the journey to PAX South. If you are please stop by, we've got some free stuff for you! We're in the Expo Hall, booth #10209, and after the hall close at 6pm we should be over at the tabletop area playtesting the new game.

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    - Jeff
    - Founder @ Quick And Dirty Games LLC

  • ZynthioZynthio Registered User regular
    Is there any potential meetups to play some One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

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  • MaggieTheCatMaggieTheCat Registered User regular
    Zynthio wrote: »
    Is there any potential meetups to play some One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

    We're going to be running Ultimate Werewolf throughout the convention (in addition to the Eat Villagers tournament).

    https://www.facebook.com/events/132449047260421/

    You are free to post in our event looking for One Night players if you'd like, or join us!

  • markcovmarkcov Registered User new member
    Interested in playing Scythe. Anyone know if its in the PAX Tabletop Library?

  • MASeffectMASeffect Registered User regular
    Anyone heading to Court of Gamers today? I've got a group of 4 from KC interested in playing,but we didn't bring anyou games on our flight.

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  • stoneart69stoneart69 Registered User regular
    I know the store has at least 30 recent, popular games (demo copies) on hand, Knight watch games has over 200 on hand in their library as well as a unique knight themed game hall.

  • GundabadGundabad PAX East & Unplugged Tabletop Manager NJRegistered User regular
    Scythe is not in the TT library, unfortunately

  • ZynthioZynthio Registered User regular
    Was really looking forward to trying to get into DnD. So I've tried looking for the past 2 days, and not found any "adventurers league" or RPG area around the Table Top area. I've also asked here on the forums and on slack more than once and gotten no responses. I'm not feeling like I'm going to be learning from anyone here at Pax this year. So that sucks. I guess I'll figure out where I can find some games back home or something.

    6dTk2WM.png
  • KhadourKhadour Dinosaur Cupcake Hillsboro, ORRegistered User regular
    markcov wrote: »
    Interested in playing Scythe. Anyone know if its in the PAX Tabletop Library?
    Drat - I knew I should have checked the forums during the weekend. I had my copy there, and would have been happy to let you borrow it. Sorry!

    Do unto others 20% better than you would expect them to do unto you, to correct for subjective error - Linus Pauling
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    jswidget.php?username=cmdour&numitems=5&header=1&text=none&images=small&show=recentplays&imagesonly=1&imagepos=right&inline=1&domains%5B%5D=boardgame&imagewidget=1

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