My bit of advice would be: even if you haven't played Magic: The Gathering in years, dust off your favorite old deck and bring it. The impromptu multiplayer Magic games that spring up, particularly in hotel lobbies leading up to PAX, are a blast... and no one cares if you're playing with 10+ year old cards. It's a fun time to be had by all!
I've never played it before, is it easy to get into it?
Yes and no. Easy to learn, hard to master, I guess? If they give out decks again, you may be able to learn by just taking a quick gander at the instruction booklet at then, at some point in line, turning to the person next to you and saying "Pardon me, do you play magic? I haven't played before, and wanted to figure out what this deck is for." This is especially true for long, mostly stationary "gonna be here for a while" lines, like for the keynote or the expo hall. Alternatively, if you're really brave, stand up and say "Hey, anyone want to teach me magic?" Hehehe.
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Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Magic is easy to get into, there are just a lot of rules to handle various situations that will take a while to get used to, and of course it'll be a while before you learn enough to play strategically, and even longer to learn how to create your own deck. I mean, here's a basic rundown of what you do in Magic:
Draw 7 cards (after that draw a card every turn). Play "land" cards (in various elements like fire or water, commonly referred to by their color), up to one per turn. "Tap" those land cards (means turn them sideways, making them unusable afterwards; you get to restore tapped cards to upright at the beginning of your next turn). You tap lands to get mana (usually one mana per land). Spend that mana to cast other non-land cards (called "spells"). Often that means creature spells - a creature has two stats, Power and Toughness. Power is the damage the creature does, and Toughness are the hit points that get attacked by Power. Every turn you can declare any number of untapped creatures as attackers, your opponent can then declare any number of untapped creatures to block (defend against) your creatures (and he can choose who defends against who). Attacking creatures are tapped (so they can't attack or defend again until they get untapped at the beginning of your next turn). The combat occurs, and damage between attackers and blockers is figured out. Any attacker that has no blockers, their Power hits the opponent directly - this is how you win the game, each player starts the game with 20 life, when player life hits zero, that player loses.
There are also spells which can directly damage the opponent or a creature, restore life, alter creature stats, counter other cards, cause a player to draw or discard a card from their hand, etc. And creatures often have special abilities themselves. But it's all written on the cards, so you don't necessarily need to know anything about the cards that you can't read from them.
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SilvertwinnGoing on 40."Get off my lawn!"Registered Userregular
edited August 2011
I have to agree with Cultural Geek Girl. MtG is easy to learn (especially if you're good with reading text and understanding lingo), but hard to master. Once you understand it, it's an effing blast! So many different things you can do with decks: creature types, spells, color (of mana), etc. I personally wouldn't be condescending or offended/annoyed if someone asked me to help them with understanding the game mechanics. (I'm a "layman's-explanation" type of person)
Even better "teach me magic" pitch idea... go somewhere where there's a long line (keynote or popular panel queue, or expo hall queue, early) bring an extra coffee and breakfast food item. Say "Free coffee and food item for the first patient person to volunteer to teach me magic."
You'll have people falling over themselves to teach you. If you're lucky, you might even keep all your fingers. Waving a booster pack might also work.
And on that note: if you are a person who cannot survive without coffee and breakfast, I suggest investing in canned or bottled coffee, because at least one of the days you will oversleep and the line at Starbucks will be 45 minutes long. Also, granola bars and a bag of apples are your best friends.
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Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
If the line at Starbucks is 45 minutes long, go to another Starbucks There's almost one Starbucks on every block, sometimes two. The one on 7th avenue right by the convention center will be busy, but just keep going down 7th and take a left, there's another one. Next block down, another. Or on the corner of 7th and Pine, a Barnes and Noble bookstore with a Starbucks inside. And if you go uphill from the Convention Center, there's some local non-franchise coffeeshops.
I haven't played MTG in like 12 years. Will my truly ancient deck still even be valid and usable?
It shouldn't be a problem. I've been off and on since mirrodin came out. I still have to catch up on all the ability renames and new terms. I hope to pick up a throwaway deck there to play around some. I miss Magic terribly.
My bit of advice would be: even if you haven't played Magic: The Gathering in years, dust off your favorite old deck and bring it. The impromptu multiplayer Magic games that spring up, particularly in hotel lobbies leading up to PAX, are a blast... and no one cares if you're playing with 10+ year old cards. It's a fun time to be had by all!
I've never played it before, is it easy to get into it?
It's so very easy to get into, and as long as you don't entertain any ideas about playing it competitively, you'll be able to enjoy it.
I'm looking forward to playing some random, friendly and casual Magic at PAX, it'll make a great line game with the right decks. Avoid lots of counters! Or even if not in line, just something to take a break on the side. Nothing ruins the game like showing up at my local store and realizing I need $300-500 decks to be anything other than a source of prize support for the top players at FNM.
Here's what I've gathered about Magic (which I just got into about a month ago):
The basic rules are pretty simple to understand. Where complication comes in is here:
Many of the creature/artifacts/various other cards have very explicit instructions on them. You can 'upgrade' and 'downgrade' cards...remembering which cards are upgraded and do more than you expect is where *my* pain points are. Just remembering some of the specific instructions per card, too. Especially when they're cards I've never seen and have to keep reaching across the damn table to go "What the hell does this do again?".
Overall, though...I've found the game to be pretty easy to get into and will take more time for me to really fully understand.
If the line at Starbucks is 45 minutes long, go to another Starbucks There's almost one Starbucks on every block, sometimes two. The one on 7th avenue right by the convention center will be busy, but just keep going down 7th and take a left, there's another one. Next block down, another. Or on the corner of 7th and Pine, a Barnes and Noble bookstore with a Starbucks inside. And if you go uphill from the Convention Center, there's some local non-franchise coffeeshops.
Or just go to any other coffee shop that's not Starbucks. There are dozens of them around the WSCC. And they're, you know, NOT STARBUCKS.
I, personally, go a little out of my way to hit Stumptown Coffee because I'm one of *those* Portlanders. And then I walk all the way back to Pike Place Market to visit the mini donuts stall. Because mini donuts are awesome.
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I noticed everyone recommending messenger bags or some sort of shoulder-based carrying device. That's sound advice, but I've relied on those handed-out oversized merch bags since 2006 and they've never let me down... and Carl Brutanunanulewski is not known for carrying a shoulder bag, so I'm rolling with something I can drop flat on the floor each time a photo is requested One caveat to that reliance: Sony has usually been the go-to booth for those bags but they didn't do that at Prime 2010 and no one else was handing out such bags in sufficient quantity... MSI and Privateer Press had a few early on Friday, but that was it.
A few more pieces of advice:
-As a Seattle resident, I have no idea what the hotels are like downtown, so I got nothing there and no generic travel tips; but I can say that the best way into town from the airport is the Light Rail. (It's our only light rail line... we wish we had more, but we're proud of the one line we have so far... Please use it
-As a generally frugal U-District resident, I don't really know downtown that well, but I am constructing a Food Map using my limited downtown experience and the database from the Great Foodening thread (http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/140607/the-great-foodening-pax-food-destinations-2011). (The map itself will be short-walking-distance downtown only, and will not extend up Captiol Hill; as Meatwad would say, 'that hill a bitch.' I'll post it in this thread and the food thread once it's done, which should be by the 20th.)
-Carry a water bottle at all times; it can be filled up at the many water fountains throughout the convention center. This is Seattle; our tap water is all good.
-Wi-Fi is not guaranteed. There seems to be PAX-provided service every other year; '09 had the router towers everywhere, '10 did not. (The primary info-faq thread says there will be some service this year and that it will likely be swamped... not sure if that means the myriad of towers will be back or not.)
-Carry a Sharpie or big-ass marker to make signs. Nvidia sometimes does a thing where they hand out pairs of buttons (separately) with 5-digit numbers on them and you have to find the matching button among the thousands of people walking around to qualify for swag... signage helps in this quest. (Also helpful if you want to get an real life PUG together for something like sharing a cab.)
-Carry a small Purell or comparable hand gel... this is one of the obvious tips for big conventions like this, but it's also very useful for wiping down toilet seats (in case you have to wreck one of the convention center's bowls. Speaking of, those bowls are pretty shallow along the front... lots of splash back issues; do not flush them while still sitting down!)
-Shower like you mean it; every day... unlike Carl. (I am forgoing the character-accuracy on this one and will be staying so fresh and so clean clean.)
-If for some reason you do not own a cell phone yet, get one for PAX... get one of those $15 pre-paid ones from the grocery store and put some minutes on it. (They can be activated over the web, lickity-split.) Several raffles in the expo hall that are not 'must-be-present' are 'must-answer-texts/calls'... you're not going to be able to do that quickly enough with your hotel room phone.
-If you like hard rock at all, do not miss the Minibosses or Metroid Metal sets! They don't need no instructions to know how to ROCK!
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I printed up some cards with my name, e-mail address, gamer tags, etc. from Vistaprint to hand out when I met cool folk in queues, etc. I know you can just enter information in mobile phones but I liked giving them out and they were cheap.
Above all else, be nice to the Enforcers. They don't get paid and work tirelessly to make PAX run well. And they do an awesome job so don't be a dick.
As far as things to bring, I'm echoing what's been said already but here goes:
- Bring a refillable water bottle with you. There are ample water fountains and some of the larger meeting spaces have water coolers.
- Small chocolates like Hershey's kisses or easy-to-eat fruit.
- Chances are you won't be eating three square nutritious meals. Pack some Larabars or Lunas, whatever works for you.
- Comfortable shoes are a must. I always bring some plasters + some Neosporin for the odd blister or cut.
- Keep a small bottle of alcohol sanitizer with you. Take it from someone who was felled by H1N1 in '09, you'll want to limit your chances for getting sick.
Next PAX: PAX East 2013
Previous PAX: PAX Prime 2012
"Money can't buy you love, but it can get you some really good chocolate ginger biscuits."
I printed up some cards with my name, e-mail address, gamer tags, etc. from Vistaprint to hand out when I met cool folk in queues, etc. I know you can just enter information in mobile phones but I liked giving them out and they were cheap.
Above all else, be nice to the Enforcers. They don't get paid and work tirelessly to make PAX run well. And they do an awesome job so don't be a dick.
As far as things to bring, I'm echoing what's been said already but here goes:
- Bring a refillable water bottle with you. There are ample water fountains and some of the larger meeting spaces have water coolers.
- Small chocolates like Hershey's kisses or easy-to-eat fruit.
- Chances are you won't be eating three square nutritious meals. Pack some Larabars or Lunas, whatever works for you.
- Comfortable shoes are a must. I always bring some plasters + some Neosporin for the odd blister or cut.
- Keep a small bottle of alcohol sanitizer with you. Take it from someone who was felled by H1N1 in '09, you'll want to limit your chances for getting sick.
The business card thing is a great idea.
Thanks
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I don't have a DS, PSP, and I don't play Magic/any card games. All I have is a Wifi-only Iphone 1G, a flip-phone with no internet access feature, and a camera. I am however a heavy PC gamer. All this being said, I'm still looking to get the full experience from PAX and make friends. Any suggestions?
Talk to people. If you see someone playing a game in line, ask them if they're looking for more players. Hit up the magic tabletop area and learn to play. Get into the infected game, it's a good way to meet people. Seriously, there's going to be SO MUCH TO DO that you won't possibly get to do it all. Making friends is going to be the best way to extend your PAX experience beyond just the 3-day convention.
Hey Moe Fwacky (Derives a Buick): is there any dedicated youth group at PAX? I see a lot of meetup questions from our Next Generation of Respectable Gamers.
And BTW ..kudos to those of you who are under 18 and reaching out to this community on these forums! It takes a lot of guts to be a teenager and willing to stick your neck out in a crowd of strangers. Bravo!
One of the things I'd suggest for new PAXers, if there's nothing going on in the morning that you want to go to (i.e. panels), take some time to explore and learn your way around the convention center. It's very easy to get lost in there if you've never been there before. There are maps scattered about, but exploring leads to some awesome adventures (last year there was a hidden level).
I will be bringing my Magic stuff (new player), some other card games, and my DS. I'll be dressed up as Jessica from Dragon Quest 8 so if you see me feel free to ask me for a game of something. If I'm not on my way to wait in line for a panel, get something to eat, or use the bathroom I'll say yes!
I think I would feel awkward asking random people to play magic or any other game
There's nothing awkward about it. You'll just have to swallow your shyness and give it a shot. A huge part of what makes PAX awesome is the people. However, if you don't talk to the people, you will miss out on that entire aspect. Don't cheat yourself out of an awesome PAX experience over a bit of potentially awkward conversation. This is PAX we're talking about, not the line at the post office.
I think I would feel awkward asking random people to play magic or any other game
I know how you feel on that one. I've got more than a bit of social anxiety myself (you wouldn't know it based on my internet activity, but it comes out in meatspace.) My goal is to push myself past that for PAX. (although I have the benefit of an outgoing wife who will be there prodding). It is a goal of mine to try to push my fears as far as possible when given the oppertunity though (thus making me one of the few clausterphobic people who does occasional spelunking).
It helps to set a reachable goal with some boundries. So when I do my Spelunking it's "Complete Cave" as a goal with "Crawlhole challenge" on the restricted list before I even go in (I was with a cave researcher who knew this cave fairly well.)
For PAX, my day one goal is "Strike up conversation" graduating to "Challege the first person in line I see with a DS to mario kart." I'm fairly certain anything involving drawing large attention to myself is out though . (Like Yelling for players or holding up signs)
tsrblke you will be amazed how easy it is. Remember most of us are social awkward and we all fit, so it is easy. (I'm not stating social awkwardness is anything wrong, especially since I'm part of the group).
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tsrblke you will be amazed how easy it is. Remember most of us are social awkward and we all fit, so it is easy. (I'm not stating social awkwardness is anything wrong, especially since I'm part of the group).
I know. I'm just giving advice. Oddly, my social awkwardness combines with the clausterphobia to form a fear of big crowds. Thanksfully I'm like a 2 or on a 1-10 scale (The part where my heartrate goes up and I get anxious but it's nothing I can't handle.)
I think I would feel awkward asking random people to play magic or any other game
I know how you feel on that one. I've got more than a bit of social anxiety myself (you wouldn't know it based on my internet activity, but it comes out in meatspace.) My goal is to push myself past that for PAX. (although I have the benefit of an outgoing wife who will be there prodding). It is a goal of mine to try to push my fears as far as possible when given the oppertunity though (thus making me one of the few clausterphobic people who does occasional spelunking).
It helps to set a reachable goal with some boundries. So when I do my Spelunking it's "Complete Cave" as a goal with "Crawlhole challenge" on the restricted list before I even go in (I was with a cave researcher who knew this cave fairly well.)
For PAX, my day one goal is "Strike up conversation" graduating to "Challege the first person in line I see with a DS to mario kart." I'm fairly certain anything involving drawing large attention to myself is out though . (Like Yelling for players or holding up signs)
You'll be lucky if someone doesn't challenge you first. :-)
The queue room is a great way to make friends, and try new games. I discovered Zombie Dice there by just asking if I could join in the game with the folks behind me, and it was a ton of fun.
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tsrblke you will be amazed how easy it is. Remember most of us are social awkward and we all fit, so it is easy. (I'm not stating social awkwardness is anything wrong, especially since I'm part of the group).
I know. I'm just giving advice. Oddly, my social awkwardness combines with the clausterphobia to form a fear of big crowds. Thanksfully I'm like a 2 or on a 1-10 scale (The part where my heartrate goes up and I get anxious but it's nothing I can't handle.)
Also, things got easier when I turned 21 .
One thing you're not factoring in is the fact that you will probably get approached. I'm not what I'd call socially awkward, just very horrible at approaching people and striking up a conversation. But sure enough I had some great conversations and pick up games of Magic in every line I waited in. If you're playing a handheld attendees will by nature want to ask you what you're playing. People are here to socialize, odds are it'll just happen whether you initiate it or not.
The queue room is a great way to make friends, and try new games. I discovered Zombie Dice there by just asking if I could join in the game with the folks behind me, and it was a ton of fun.
True story from last year: I'm wandering around, a little lost and overwhelmed by the SHEER! NUMBER! OF! PEOPLE!, and this dude standing behind a table under the escalators says, "Hey, want to learn to play a game?"
I say, "Sure!" and dude sits me down at a table with some other dudes almost done playing Zombie Dice and about to start a new round, and the gentleman running the game has a nametag I have to squint a little bit to read 'cause of my glasses.
It said "Steve Jackson."
So, you know. Steve Jackson, of Steve Jackson Games, taught me how to play Zombie Dice.
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I'll be shooting a lot of 3D photos and 3D video (40 min is 32GB) and filling up my SD cards. Im 'that' camera guy at cons.
Are there any pcs at the con that I could use a couple times a day to offload the SD cards to my usb external hard drive? Where would be the best bet?
(I dont have a notebook and understand the virus issue involved)
Sorry to tell you, but I'm pretty sure you're not going to find public machines like that at PAX.
The closest public machines that I can think of are at the Seattle Public Library, which is about half a mile away away from the convention center (from PAX, turn left on Pike, turn left on 5th, and go until you get to the odd-looking building, which is the library). I should note that I don't know how locked down they are (they might disallow USB connections, for example) or if they even have slots for SD cards. Bottom line is, if there's any way you can bring your own computer (even a cheap little netbook), do that. Alternately, find someone at PAX who's willing to let you borrow their computer for a while (just make sure they know how much data you're transferring before you get started).
There's nothing awkward about it. You'll just have to swallow your shyness and give it a shot. A huge part of what makes PAX awesome is the people. However, if you don't talk to the people, you will miss out on that entire aspect. Don't cheat yourself out of an awesome PAX experience over a bit of potentially awkward conversation. This is PAX we're talking about, not the line at the post office.
This, this, a billion times this. I think Tycho has made this comparison before, but PAX is like Geek Brigadoon. It's a city filled with some of the coolest people in the world, but it only exists for two weekends every year. Meet some of them while you have the chance. I've made a few really great friends through PAX, and I'm looking forward to doing so again this year. (Plus, PAX is a pretty safe place to take social risks like saying hello to people you don't know and striking up conversations with people you've never met, because you know that everyone there has at least something in common with you.)
The queue room is a great way to make friends, and try new games. I discovered Zombie Dice there by just asking if I could join in the game with the folks behind me, and it was a ton of fun.
True story from last year: I'm wandering around, a little lost and overwhelmed by the SHEER! NUMBER! OF! PEOPLE!, and this dude standing behind a table under the escalators says, "Hey, want to learn to play a game?"
I say, "Sure!" and dude sits me down at a table with some other dudes almost done playing Zombie Dice and about to start a new round, and the gentleman running the game has a nametag I have to squint a little bit to read 'cause of my glasses.
It said "Steve Jackson."
So, you know. Steve Jackson, of Steve Jackson Games, taught me how to play Zombie Dice.
I printed up some cards with my name, e-mail address, gamer tags, etc. from Vistaprint to hand out when I met cool folk in queues, etc. I know you can just enter information in mobile phones but I liked giving them out and they were cheap.
Seriously, though, the card thing is a great idea. How long did it take for them to deliver your order? If I do it now, am I likely to get the cards in time for PAX?
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I've never played it before, is it easy to get into it?
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Draw 7 cards (after that draw a card every turn). Play "land" cards (in various elements like fire or water, commonly referred to by their color), up to one per turn. "Tap" those land cards (means turn them sideways, making them unusable afterwards; you get to restore tapped cards to upright at the beginning of your next turn). You tap lands to get mana (usually one mana per land). Spend that mana to cast other non-land cards (called "spells"). Often that means creature spells - a creature has two stats, Power and Toughness. Power is the damage the creature does, and Toughness are the hit points that get attacked by Power. Every turn you can declare any number of untapped creatures as attackers, your opponent can then declare any number of untapped creatures to block (defend against) your creatures (and he can choose who defends against who). Attacking creatures are tapped (so they can't attack or defend again until they get untapped at the beginning of your next turn). The combat occurs, and damage between attackers and blockers is figured out. Any attacker that has no blockers, their Power hits the opponent directly - this is how you win the game, each player starts the game with 20 life, when player life hits zero, that player loses.
There are also spells which can directly damage the opponent or a creature, restore life, alter creature stats, counter other cards, cause a player to draw or discard a card from their hand, etc. And creatures often have special abilities themselves. But it's all written on the cards, so you don't necessarily need to know anything about the cards that you can't read from them.
You'll have people falling over themselves to teach you. If you're lucky, you might even keep all your fingers. Waving a booster pack might also work.
And on that note: if you are a person who cannot survive without coffee and breakfast, I suggest investing in canned or bottled coffee, because at least one of the days you will oversleep and the line at Starbucks will be 45 minutes long. Also, granola bars and a bag of apples are your best friends.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
I never finish anyth
It shouldn't be a problem. I've been off and on since mirrodin came out. I still have to catch up on all the ability renames and new terms. I hope to pick up a throwaway deck there to play around some. I miss Magic terribly.
It's so very easy to get into, and as long as you don't entertain any ideas about playing it competitively, you'll be able to enjoy it.
I'm looking forward to playing some random, friendly and casual Magic at PAX, it'll make a great line game with the right decks. Avoid lots of counters! Or even if not in line, just something to take a break on the side. Nothing ruins the game like showing up at my local store and realizing I need $300-500 decks to be anything other than a source of prize support for the top players at FNM.
The basic rules are pretty simple to understand. Where complication comes in is here:
Many of the creature/artifacts/various other cards have very explicit instructions on them. You can 'upgrade' and 'downgrade' cards...remembering which cards are upgraded and do more than you expect is where *my* pain points are. Just remembering some of the specific instructions per card, too. Especially when they're cards I've never seen and have to keep reaching across the damn table to go "What the hell does this do again?".
Overall, though...I've found the game to be pretty easy to get into and will take more time for me to really fully understand.
Or just go to any other coffee shop that's not Starbucks. There are dozens of them around the WSCC. And they're, you know, NOT STARBUCKS.
I, personally, go a little out of my way to hit Stumptown Coffee because I'm one of *those* Portlanders. And then I walk all the way back to Pike Place Market to visit the mini donuts stall. Because mini donuts are awesome.
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I miss Goblin bombs and all the old fun of a Red Burn deck. (They just aren't the same anymore.)
I have a couple red burn decks, but my favorite is my sliver deck. Lands and slivers, slivers and lands.
Ug... slivers and ashnods... anshnods and slivers. Stupid queen.
A few more pieces of advice:
-As a Seattle resident, I have no idea what the hotels are like downtown, so I got nothing there and no generic travel tips; but I can say that the best way into town from the airport is the Light Rail. (It's our only light rail line... we wish we had more, but we're proud of the one line we have so far... Please use it
-As a generally frugal U-District resident, I don't really know downtown that well, but I am constructing a Food Map using my limited downtown experience and the database from the Great Foodening thread (http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/140607/the-great-foodening-pax-food-destinations-2011). (The map itself will be short-walking-distance downtown only, and will not extend up Captiol Hill; as Meatwad would say, 'that hill a bitch.' I'll post it in this thread and the food thread once it's done, which should be by the 20th.)
-Carry a water bottle at all times; it can be filled up at the many water fountains throughout the convention center. This is Seattle; our tap water is all good.
-Wi-Fi is not guaranteed. There seems to be PAX-provided service every other year; '09 had the router towers everywhere, '10 did not. (The primary info-faq thread says there will be some service this year and that it will likely be swamped... not sure if that means the myriad of towers will be back or not.)
-Carry a Sharpie or big-ass marker to make signs. Nvidia sometimes does a thing where they hand out pairs of buttons (separately) with 5-digit numbers on them and you have to find the matching button among the thousands of people walking around to qualify for swag... signage helps in this quest. (Also helpful if you want to get an real life PUG together for something like sharing a cab.)
-Carry a small Purell or comparable hand gel... this is one of the obvious tips for big conventions like this, but it's also very useful for wiping down toilet seats (in case you have to wreck one of the convention center's bowls. Speaking of, those bowls are pretty shallow along the front... lots of splash back issues; do not flush them while still sitting down!)
-Shower like you mean it; every day... unlike Carl. (I am forgoing the character-accuracy on this one and will be staying so fresh and so clean clean.)
-If for some reason you do not own a cell phone yet, get one for PAX... get one of those $15 pre-paid ones from the grocery store and put some minutes on it. (They can be activated over the web, lickity-split.) Several raffles in the expo hall that are not 'must-be-present' are 'must-answer-texts/calls'... you're not going to be able to do that quickly enough with your hotel room phone.
-If you like hard rock at all, do not miss the Minibosses or Metroid Metal sets! They don't need no instructions to know how to ROCK!
"Fantasy football still counts as fantasy." -DnD Greg
Above all else, be nice to the Enforcers. They don't get paid and work tirelessly to make PAX run well. And they do an awesome job so don't be a dick.
As far as things to bring, I'm echoing what's been said already but here goes:
- Bring a refillable water bottle with you. There are ample water fountains and some of the larger meeting spaces have water coolers.
- Small chocolates like Hershey's kisses or easy-to-eat fruit.
- Chances are you won't be eating three square nutritious meals. Pack some Larabars or Lunas, whatever works for you.
- Comfortable shoes are a must. I always bring some plasters + some Neosporin for the odd blister or cut.
- Keep a small bottle of alcohol sanitizer with you. Take it from someone who was felled by H1N1 in '09, you'll want to limit your chances for getting sick.
Previous PAX: PAX Prime 2012
"Money can't buy you love, but it can get you some really good chocolate ginger biscuits."
The business card thing is a great idea.
Thanks
Talk to people. If you see someone playing a game in line, ask them if they're looking for more players. Hit up the magic tabletop area and learn to play. Get into the infected game, it's a good way to meet people. Seriously, there's going to be SO MUCH TO DO that you won't possibly get to do it all. Making friends is going to be the best way to extend your PAX experience beyond just the 3-day convention.
Hey Moe Fwacky (Derives a Buick): is there any dedicated youth group at PAX? I see a lot of meetup questions from our Next Generation of Respectable Gamers.
And BTW ..kudos to those of you who are under 18 and reaching out to this community on these forums! It takes a lot of guts to be a teenager and willing to stick your neck out in a crowd of strangers. Bravo!
I will be bringing my Magic stuff (new player), some other card games, and my DS. I'll be dressed up as Jessica from Dragon Quest 8 so if you see me feel free to ask me for a game of something. If I'm not on my way to wait in line for a panel, get something to eat, or use the bathroom I'll say yes!
There's nothing awkward about it. You'll just have to swallow your shyness and give it a shot. A huge part of what makes PAX awesome is the people. However, if you don't talk to the people, you will miss out on that entire aspect. Don't cheat yourself out of an awesome PAX experience over a bit of potentially awkward conversation. This is PAX we're talking about, not the line at the post office.
We're not exactly random. Everyone at PAX has been carefully selected based on one common criteria: we like games.
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I know how you feel on that one. I've got more than a bit of social anxiety myself (you wouldn't know it based on my internet activity, but it comes out in meatspace.) My goal is to push myself past that for PAX. (although I have the benefit of an outgoing wife who will be there prodding). It is a goal of mine to try to push my fears as far as possible when given the oppertunity though (thus making me one of the few clausterphobic people who does occasional spelunking).
It helps to set a reachable goal with some boundries. So when I do my Spelunking it's "Complete Cave" as a goal with "Crawlhole challenge" on the restricted list before I even go in (I was with a cave researcher who knew this cave fairly well.)
For PAX, my day one goal is "Strike up conversation" graduating to "Challege the first person in line I see with a DS to mario kart." I'm fairly certain anything involving drawing large attention to myself is out though
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I know. I'm just giving advice. Oddly, my social awkwardness combines with the clausterphobia to form a fear of big crowds. Thanksfully I'm like a 2 or on a 1-10 scale (The part where my heartrate goes up and I get anxious but it's nothing I can't handle.)
Also, things got easier when I turned 21
You'll be lucky if someone doesn't challenge you first. :-)
The queue room is a great way to make friends, and try new games. I discovered Zombie Dice there by just asking if I could join in the game with the folks behind me, and it was a ton of fun.
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PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
One thing you're not factoring in is the fact that you will probably get approached. I'm not what I'd call socially awkward, just very horrible at approaching people and striking up a conversation. But sure enough I had some great conversations and pick up games of Magic in every line I waited in. If you're playing a handheld attendees will by nature want to ask you what you're playing. People are here to socialize, odds are it'll just happen whether you initiate it or not.
True story from last year: I'm wandering around, a little lost and overwhelmed by the SHEER! NUMBER! OF! PEOPLE!, and this dude standing behind a table under the escalators says, "Hey, want to learn to play a game?"
I say, "Sure!" and dude sits me down at a table with some other dudes almost done playing Zombie Dice and about to start a new round, and the gentleman running the game has a nametag I have to squint a little bit to read 'cause of my glasses.
It said "Steve Jackson."
So, you know. Steve Jackson, of Steve Jackson Games, taught me how to play Zombie Dice.
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Sorry to tell you, but I'm pretty sure you're not going to find public machines like that at PAX.
The closest public machines that I can think of are at the Seattle Public Library, which is about half a mile away away from the convention center (from PAX, turn left on Pike, turn left on 5th, and go until you get to the odd-looking building, which is the library). I should note that I don't know how locked down they are (they might disallow USB connections, for example) or if they even have slots for SD cards. Bottom line is, if there's any way you can bring your own computer (even a cheap little netbook), do that. Alternately, find someone at PAX who's willing to let you borrow their computer for a while (just make sure they know how much data you're transferring before you get started).
This, this, a billion times this. I think Tycho has made this comparison before, but PAX is like Geek Brigadoon. It's a city filled with some of the coolest people in the world, but it only exists for two weekends every year. Meet some of them while you have the chance. I've made a few really great friends through PAX, and I'm looking forward to doing so again this year. (Plus, PAX is a pretty safe place to take social risks like saying hello to people you don't know and striking up conversations with people you've never met, because you know that everyone there has at least something in common with you.)
I think I was sitting at that table with you
Twitch: akThera
Steam: Thera
Which means we are BFF!
I think that's how friendship works, right? I may need to watch more My Little Pony.
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No, you have to have met over a WotC game for that, because Friendship is Magic.
(I'm so very sorry.)
Aw, don't be sorry. That's worth at least half an internet.
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while you guys are talking about card games, would anybody be interested in playing texas hold em at pax?
Business card tips:
Seriously, though, the card thing is a great idea. How long did it take for them to deliver your order? If I do it now, am I likely to get the cards in time for PAX?