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First time going to PAX Prime? Come here and get some advice.
I remember seeing this thread last year get started, and it was a huge, HUGE help to me being that it was my first time going to a con much less PAX. I thought we could all come together and get some suggestions in here for first timers. Topics can range from; what to bring, travel (best ways), what to expect once you get to PAX, suggestions on how to best enjoy PAX, ect.
I'd like to help others with this like last years thread helped me. Feel free to ask questions. Keep in mind there is already a food, and travel thread out there for that kind of information.
I think the four top things to know if this is your first time is this.
1. Wear very comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking.
2. Pace yourself, you can't do it all in one day
3. Do a little walking during the summer to get your body ready for what is to come.
4. It is very easy to get sick at PAX, being that you are in a small area with a lot of people. Take your vitamins. I suggest a daily dose of B12 for energy and C.
**************************************************************************************************
If you would like to contribute, @Mr Je11yman has created a Google doc for this thread. You are welcome to add to it as you post in this thread to get a centralized location for tips. This is just a compiler doc not a place for your posts. See below link if you are interested.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z4zbhlaLsbMi7vYbfGsn0slI6Ko5KbCL0dbtz_OYcwA/edit?usp=sharing
I'd like to help others with this like last years thread helped me. Feel free to ask questions. Keep in mind there is already a food, and travel thread out there for that kind of information.
I think the four top things to know if this is your first time is this.
1. Wear very comfortable shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking.
2. Pace yourself, you can't do it all in one day
3. Do a little walking during the summer to get your body ready for what is to come.
4. It is very easy to get sick at PAX, being that you are in a small area with a lot of people. Take your vitamins. I suggest a daily dose of B12 for energy and C.
**************************************************************************************************
If you would like to contribute, @Mr Je11yman has created a Google doc for this thread. You are welcome to add to it as you post in this thread to get a centralized location for tips. This is just a compiler doc not a place for your posts. See below link if you are interested.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z4zbhlaLsbMi7vYbfGsn0slI6Ko5KbCL0dbtz_OYcwA/edit?usp=sharing
BadNews65 on
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Posts
I agree with the comfortable shoes bit. However I will add to that by suggesting people bring two pairs of walking shoes (if they have room in their luggage) because shoes need to rest and recover (their shape and form) when being heavily abused. Switching shoes every day will give them time to spring back to their proper shape/constitution so that when your feet wear them next they wont hurt so much.
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Attendee ♥ : Prime 2011, 2013
5. Stay hydrated. It's extremely easy to walk around and forget or neglect drinking water with so much to do, make sure to keep a bottle on hand and refill it whenever you get the chance at a water fountain.
6. Expect lines. Lines outside of the convention center, the queue line if you do so choose to go be a part of it, lines for panels, lines for games on the expo floor. Lines are literally everywhere at PAX and you'll be waiting in them for a fair amount of time. The lines are a great place to make a new friend, though. Strike up a conversation with the person next to you, PAX is one of the few places I know of where the person standing next to you will almost always be more than worthwhile to chat with.
I've only been to PAX twice so far, once at east and once at prime, but those are my little tidbits of advice.
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Pace yourself. There is so much to see and do that it can be very overwhelming and frustrating if you try to do it all in one day. Choose two or three things that you really want to do each day and know that the really big games will have LONG lines. As in, you may be there for a couple of hours. If you know that you're going to get the game anyway and can wait for it to come out consider checking out the indie game section. There have been some real gems there in the past and the lines are shorter so you will get to play more games.
Oh, and bring your own drinks/snacks, the ones sold at the convention center are really expensive. There's a convenience store just across the street, feel free to buy soda or water or whatever there and take it into PAX.
No, although the arcade an awesome room and it's free to play. Hours long lines are for the games that have gotten announced at E3 or other press events and aren't out yet. You usually get to play a demo or about 15 or 20 mins of the game. Maybe get some swag or meet a dev or two.
The arcade is a cool place to meet people and just chill. not too long of a wait for stuff like that.
My suggestion? Wait until Monday to play the big games. Lines get shorter the longer PAX goes on.
Also get there very early on the first day to avoid a long line getting in.
At PAX last year my friend and I got hooked on A Virus Named T.O.M. The Developer showed us how to play it, then was more than happy to let us sit at his booth for well over an hour showing it off to other random passers by. We were essentially demoing his game for him by playing 4 player co-op with people. It was awesome and we got to meet a whole bunch of people as they came by.
The Indie megagooth/section/whatever they do this year cannot be recommended more.
Also, I'd also recommend to anyone that doesn't think they want to do any panels, do at least one a day. I promise you you'll find at least one you like, and waiting in line for a panel for 30+ minutes before the panel starts and then the 60 minute panel will give your feet and sanity a break. And it is very likely that the people waiting to see the same panel are like-minded people who you can strike up an awesome conversation with. Heck for one panel a group of about 8 of us ended up playing Cards Against Humanity for an hour and a half until we could get into the room.
And this is one of those obvious points, but one that does need to be mentioned: Personal hygiene is important. there are many thousands of people in a very small space. Please shower every day, brush your teeth, bring gum to keep your breath from smelling like a goblin's armpit, and wash your hands often/use hand sanitizer. Giant rooms full of smelly disgusting people are significantly less fun than giant rooms of only mildly smelling people.
2) Take breaks - go back to your hotel, drop off your swag, wander around downtown Seattle to decompress a bit before returning to PAX
3) Meet people - there are really good people to meet and network with from all over the place, talk to your fellow gamer
4) Remember to hydrate and eat (real food!) for something quick and good check out Potbelly's on 4th and Pike (http://www.potbelly.com/Shops/ShopLocator.aspx?PotbellyShopId=246) and Dragonfish (http://dragonfishcafe.com/). Both are close by the convention center and Dragonfish is great for breakfast.
5) Charge your devices when you can as waiting in line can drain your batteries quick
6) WiFi is usually pretty strained during this time at the convention center, so don't expect great internet access
7) Keep up your personal hygiene - no one wants to stand next to the smelly guy/gal in line
7) Snack! In addition to staying hydrated, make sure you bring snacks along with you so you can keep your energy levels high throughout the day. You'll be going, going, going, all day for 4 days now and you'll find that trying to grab some food between standing in lines or running from panel to panel isn't always easy. Bring granola bars or apples or (insert your idea here) or nuts or trail mix. Things that won't melt, are easy to pack and won't send you on a roller coaster sugar rush.
8) Bring a comfortable bag! Don't bring something that's too tight or too big or too small or too old. Bring a bag that you can fit water, snacks, your choice of mobile gaming or music, plus room to store T-shirts or swag you get while touring around. Few things suck more than getting something awesome and then having nothing but your hands to carry around said awesome thing for 10 hours. Don't skimp on the bag. It will be a close friend if chosen wisely.
9) If you are traveling and you can (assuming you're going multiple days), try to get there a day.25 early (meaning coming in Wednesday night). It's nice to have a solid day before the craziness begins to get settle in, get a game plan together, see the city and get a good night's sleep. There are also a bunch of things that happen the day (and day.25) before PAX starts (parties, dinners, meet ups, etc.) The extra night at the hotel is worth it.
10) There will be lines for most everything. If you've heard of it, then the chances of 10,000 other geeks hearing of the same thing are really high. Don't fret the line though, as you have snacks and mobile gaming and a comfortable bag and hopefully friends (that maybe you met the day before at a meetup) to pass the time.
11) Speak of Friends! If you have them or picked up a few during PAX, use them!! Then like a good friend, let them use you!!! If you are waiting in line for four hours and you have friends with you in line... why not hold the place and let them run around for an hour! Then during hour 2 of said 4 hour wait, YOU can run around. It's a nice way to maximize your time.
12) Typically the busiest day is Saturday, with Friday being the least busy as people are working or flying in, or driving in (because they didn't get there the day before or the day.25). That being said, I try to get all of my must sees out of the way on Friday. That way, the lines will be shorter, you'll definitely get the shwag before it runs out and you'll have the rest of the weekend to relax, knowing you've seen what you were meant to see!
In all honestly, not much. Everything is more spread out so you will do a lot more walking. Tabletop is primarily at the Red Lion which is a couple blocks from the WSCC and the main theater is at the Parmount which is also a couple blocks from the WSCC but in the opposite direction.
The expo halls feels a bit more spread out at Prime because of all the floors so know your map. There are lots of little areas off the beaten path with cool stuff so do wander around.
The biggest one for us was outside PAX. You can walk anywhere, all the hotels are close by and food is readily available at most times of the day or night outside of the WSCC.
As someone who didn't go to East, I feel like they did a pretty good job of tweeting line statuses for it this year. (I forgot to turn off mobile notifications for @PAX_Lines when East kicked off and my phone started blowing up with text messages.)
Cell reception sucked pretty bad last year inside the convention center, so take that into consideration when planning. I'd probably designate a meeting spot for your group if you plan to break off on your own and meet up with them later.
Last year, people told me beforehand that exhibitors typically throwing load after load of swag at attendees, but I didn't find this to be the case when I was there. Some booths required you to wait in long lines to play a short demo of their game before getting anything. Others would throw items out to the crowd; in this case, unless you are prepared to fight the swag hoarders, I'd probably just stay away.
And finally, talk to people! With lines everywhere, you're bound to end up next to someone you don't know for a few minutes (if not hours, for the popular game demos). So maybe you're feeling a little awkward, they're probably feeling awkward too; we can all be awkward together!
TWDT '13: Hufflepuff OotP
-Water bottles
-Clif bars (got this one from my wife who is a runner) - great for in-line snacking
-Notepad and paper
-Fluxx (any and all)
-Zombie Dice
-Deck of standard playing cards
-Device chargers
-3DS, tablets, computers, etc.
I'm also thinking a cheap throw pillow this year for those times when you're sitting, waiting in line
By night, a gamer.
PAX Prime 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18
Has anyone gone from Vancouver down to Seattle via public transportation? I'm looking at possibly taking a coach or VIA rail and just want to know if there's a specific one I should lean towards, as they are pretty much the same price.
Whats the latest I should wait to book a hotel? I know it can get crowded so I'm guessing the answer is ASAP.
Around when will the scheduled for PAX Prime come out?
Thanks!
PAX Prime 2014 [ ? ]
A: Not me... I am from Arkansas lol
Whats the latest I should wait to book a hotel? I know it can get crowded so I'm guessing the answer is ASAP.
A: ASAP
Around when will the scheduled for PAX Prime come out?
A: A few weeks before the con. You will find it on the PAX site.
There is a boat that goes from Victoria Canada to Seattle and back for $90 USD. Not sure if that helps you. I doubt traveling to Victoria then here is ideal from where you are.
Actually I'm on Vancouver Island, around 3 hours away from Victoria, so the ferry would work a lot better. I just had no idea there was even a ferry that did that route and that I'd have to go to Vancouver first. Thanks!
PAX Prime 2014 [ ? ]
Is this your first time at PAX? READ THE MAIN FAQ STICKY FIRST, a lot of valuable information is there!
After that, this is a good place for first timer specific advice that isn't really FAQ material. If you have some first timer advice for others, feel free to post it!
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Seattle in August/Sept can be HOT! It can also be RAINY! It can also be MILD and COMFY. It can also be COOL. You may need a variety of clothing options, especially since the convention takes place spread across multiple buildings, so you /will/ be going outside at some point in order to get from one place to the next.
How you travel to and from the convention is up to you, but if you do not have a car with you, you have the option of using public transportation and Taxis. After hours is something you must think about if you go to PAX. It's not just the concerts which last up to around 2 am, many other events such as free board game rooms may take up your time as well. And then there are the other events, be them official or not, that will be organized around the city. Look up the public transportation times for Seattle and plan accordingly!
Get yourself some form of mobile data access!!! Many events and meetings will be discussed on the forums, but good deal of new, secret and last minute stuff will be added as well and will only be available to you if you have a readily available connection to the internet. I cannot stress this point enough - there is much more to PAX than just the official schedule! This is how you will get to know about the Twitter Meetups, the special events held by companies, last minute city concerts, special contests, you name it. The forum was receiving surprise last minute threads on such matters and Twitter was in heavy use.
If you're not a resident of the US, getting a data plan may or may not be a complicated thing, however there was a free Wi-Fi connection available at the WSCC. It sucks, but you may get lucky.... Plan accordingly.
There are many pre-PAX events organized by the community, so you may want to arrive a couple of days early. You likely won't have time to be toursity during PAX proper, so that is important to consider as well when planning your PAX trip.
Making Friends -
A great way to stay in touch with the new friends you will make is to get some cheap business cards. Stick your email address, gamertag, forum name, whatever on them. Hand them out to all the awesome people you will most certainly meet.
Carrying Your Stuff -
If you are carring a lot of stuff, come Friday night, your one shoulder will be KILLING you. Trust me, you want to evenly distribute the weight. Go for something that you know will be comfortable over the course of a long day. I personally prefer a backpack, not a messenger bag. Many people prefer messenger bags, but it's generally my opinion that this is because they haven't tried a really comfy backpack
Recharging your devices: Plan ahead. Recharge everything overnight, and perhaps find a compact charging solution to carry with you. Be considerate of outlet use and try not to use more than one at a time (bringing a small power strip can make you a lot of friends).
Reposting The @CatBoy List from the FAQ. One should not underestimate its importance
The next section is taken from @sary from last year, with some modifications
And Remember....
AND most importantly...
1) Prepare your body early. Eat right and get plenty of sleep before you leave for PAX so you're in as close to tip-top condition.
2) Wear comfortable clothes and be aware some of the larger theaters, expo hall and even some of the line waiting can get chilly at times
3) Have an charger/external battery pack. - If you have one that can do several devices, all the better.
4) Try to carry as little as possible. Not just for yourself, but others, no one likes getting whacked by solid bag in the back or shins.
5) Have more then one contact for any meetup you're planning on attending.
PAX Weast 2017 Status: Badges [X] Room [X] Fried Rice [X]
check out Boltbus.com
I've taken this from Seattle to Vancouver for $10 roundtrip before. But that was a special deal, avg prices are around $20-$30 roundtrip. Seats are comfy, there is WI-Fi.. the only gripe I have with public transportation is going through the border. If you get stuck behind other buses, it can take a while. Otherwise, it's way cheaper to take the boltbus over driving (save on gas and parking)
Before you eat.
After you use controllers, games, whatever that are very public.
Before and after you use the restroom. (Might wash your face too.)
No need to go all OCD, but this will improve your chances of staying well by leaps and bounds.
I did 3 PAX in a messenger bag. The thought was that a sore shoulder was worth it for the security of being able to see your bag. So people wouldn't be unzipping your backpack pockets and stealing your stuff. Well, the sore shoulder isn't worth it. By the end of Friday I hated life cause my shoulder was miserable.
This past East I decided to go backpack. It was the best decision I ever made. Even distribution > a little sense of security from a messenger bag. But yes, be careful not to over pack and smack people around with it lol.
Also, poster tubes are priceless. Bring one with you, don't try to find one near the show (they'll probably sell out). My friends at East had some real sturdy plastic ones. So getting one is now my top priority before Prime this year. Something like this tube
Oh, and anyone with a DSLR camera needs one of these straps. Trust me, it's a life changing experience! Comfortable and keeps your camera safely at your side without you having to carry it. Or without the generic around the neck strap digging into your neck all day!
EDIT - Camera strap stuff
It's the Victoria Clipper (clippervacations.com), and it does two runs a day during late August/early September, leaving from near the Parliament Buildings. It is a passenger ferry, so if you drive down from Comox, you'll have to find a place to park your car.
Alternately, if you feel you need a car in Seattle, there's the Coho (cohoferry.com), which runs three times a day during that time between Victoria (right next to the Clipper) and Port Angeles. From there, you can drive down to Seattle. (Whether that's faster than Nanaimo/Vancouver/Peace Arch, I don't know.)
Incidentally, for transportation from Vancouver to Seattle, there's Greyhound (greyhound.ca), BoltBus (boltbus.com), and Amtrak (amtrak.com), all leaving from Pacific Central station (near Main Street SkyTrain). Last year, I went down on the BoltBus (which could've been renamed the PAX Bus, since I think only two people on it weren't going to PAX), and came back on the train.
I'd recommend BoltBus if you want to go by bus, since the busses are very nice inside, and it's cheaper and faster than the train (2 hours versus 4). However, the views from the train are quite stunning.
It's also worth it to get a backpack with openings for a hands-free hydration system, like a camelback or platypus. The 3 liter will keep you hydrated most of the day, and relieves the pita of bottles.
You'll be tempted to skimp (or skip) breakfast to get in line early, but don't. Have something hearty and nutritious, it'll really help keep you going all day (especially if you do something really quick and dirty for lunch).
The flip side is though, that you could gamble and hope that something (non-PAX merch booth) you had you eyes on the entire weekend lasts until (now) Monday and you could possibly get a discount on it if the vendor doesn't want to take excess stock back home with them at the end of the convention. Again, this goes along with how risk averse you are to the likelihood of something not being there for purchase later.
This our 3rd time heading to PAX prime from Vancouver! I cannot suggest the Amtrack Train enough. It takes roughly 4 hours to get there but boy oh boy is it roomy. You can walk down to the cafeteria car and do some tabletop, game or whatever! I seriously recommend it, especially this year since they've cut the cost down to $60 roundtrip!