First Annual PAX Prime H.P. Pubcraft Lovecrawl in Ballard on Saturday Night

swordgoatz

ATTENTION: Due to the overwhelming response, we have to cap attendance so that we have a manageable number of crawlers for the crawl. Thanks to everyone who will be participating, we'll see you Saturday night!

This is the inaugural event, and if you didn't get to RSVP for this year's crawl, we hope to see you next year!

Looking for something to do Saturday night of PAX? Step into the dark and mysterious Seattle borough of Ballard for an inter-dimensional pubcrawl of celestial importance!

Be a part of the first annual PAX Prime H.P. Pubcraft Lovecrawl in Ballard on Saturday night. We will be traversing pubs up and down the cobbled streets of Ballard, gathering clues to prevent the awakening of the Ancient One. Each pub will represent another dimension, where you'll have to gather clues (and drinks) in order to keep the Elder Gods at bay.

You could be a hero. You could go insane. You could become a cultist. It's all in how you choose to unravel the mystery!

This fully-baked adventure starts at Card Kingdom in Ballard at 8:30. There, you'll get your first clue, your starting items, and your sanity and stamina. From there, the night will take you on a harrowing journey of epic importance. Save Seattle! Save the world! (There will be prizes)

You can easily catch the D-Line bus to Ballard from downtown Seattle (about a 20-minute ride). Seattle's own fishing village (home to 7 microbreweries) is the perfect place for a Lovecraftian adventure.

Please RSVP at our Facebook Page so we have an idea of how many people will be showing up. There is no cover charge for this event (you buy your own drinks), and it is open to everyone.

Stay tuned to this thread for more info on the event.

Hope to see you there!

zerzhul

Good luck! I hope it goes well!

MetaverseNomad

This sounds amazing! I'm excited to hear about how this goes!

Although, there is no way in wibbly wobbly spacetime that it takes less than 40 minutes to get from downtown to Ballard on the D line. You can't even get from downtown to Ballard in 10 minutes if you're driving LIKE BATMAN!!!

vespachica

At 8:30 at night you could probably do it in 15 minutes (driving). The bus? Meh. I am not impressed. :-/

That said, what an awesome idea! Well done!

dm_magic

This sounds great! Count me in!

swordgoatz

Full disclosure, I was working from memory. ;-)

According to Google Maps, the D-line trip should take 20 minutes. If you hop on the 8:05 bus, you'll be at Cafe Mox by 8:30.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, guys!

akjak

I am interest. I need an excuse to go up to Card Kingdom anyway.

TheMisanthrope

That is supposed to be the blessing of the D-line. Few stops between Queen Anne and Ballard. However, make sure you know the departure times if you're staying late. With the 10:40 bus, the D changes frequency to half hour until 1. Then, it's an hour, then hour and a half later. In other words, being cab fare for return downtown.

Moe Fwacky

swordgoatz wrote: »

Full disclosure, I was working from memory. ;-)

According to Google Maps, the D-line trip should take 20 minutes. If you hop on the 8:05 bus, you'll be at Cafe Mox by 8:30.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, guys!

I would recommend cross-checking your data with the King County Metro trip planner: http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/

I've been known to get off results from google sometimes. I once waited 30 minutes for a bus that it turned out wasn't even running at the time.

Vertigo

I love this idea so much

Optimusbry

This is pretty fantastic. Definitely joining in

bloatedhippo

Oooh looks interesting!

Serenity

Cool! I know why this wasn't done on the Thursday but I am looking for Thursday alternative to the TWDT.
I may still go on this but have you thought of moving it to Thursday?

dm_magic

Serenity wrote: »

Cool! I know why this wasn't done on the Thursday but I am looking for Thursday alternative to the TWDT.
I may still go on this but have you thought of moving it to Thursday?

That would be sad, as I've got tickets to the TWDT.

jthom252

I haven't had a chance to do a PAX pub crawl yet, I kind of want to give this one a shot even though I'm not super familiar with the Lovecraft mythos.

swordgoatz

Serenity wrote: »

Cool! I know why this wasn't done on the Thursday but I am looking for Thursday alternative to the TWDT.
I may still go on this but have you thought of moving it to Thursday?

As you probably guessed, we intentionally didn't want to conflict with the TWDT. They've got their own epic pub crawl, and we're developing ours! We also really wanted to have a crawl smack in the middle of PAX - a nice "half way point" in the con. We definitely will be learning as much as we can from this experience, though, and will look for ways to make it even better next year!

swordgoatz

jthom252 wrote: »

I haven't had a chance to do a PAX pub crawl yet, I kind of want to give this one a shot even though I'm not super familiar with the Lovecraft mythos.

This will be a gamified event, and you'll face unique themed challenges at each stop, but a deep understanding of Lovecraft wont be needed to have a great time!

Who knows, this might even get you hooked on the mythos!

swordgoatz

We are narrowing down the pubs for the H.P. Pubcraft Lovecrawl, are there any Ballard favorites that pubcrawlers would like us to consider?

Jonny09

The ballroom and the red door.

akjak

I'm glad it doesn't conflict with the TWDT. Ideally I'm going to do both

LexiconGrrl

Jonny09 wrote: »

The ballroom and the red door.

Those are both in Fremont. @swordgoatz - are you doing Fremont and Ballard, or just sticking to Ballard?

My vote is for Hazelwood. But definitely call ahead and let them know you'd be bringing a group if you add it.

swordgoatz

LexiconGrrl wrote: »

Jonny09 wrote: »

The ballroom and the red door.

Those are both in Fremont. @swordgoatz - are you doing Fremont and Ballard, or just sticking to Ballard?

My vote is for Hazelwood. But definitely call ahead and let them know you'd be bringing a group if you add it.

We're sticking to Ballard, anywhere within walking distance of Card Kingdom / Cafe Mox, and we're calling ahead to all bars to confirm that they can handle the load. I'll look into the Hazelwood. Thanks!

Bradrcr

I'd recommend the Loft, Hi Life, Kangaroo and Kiwi, 2 Bit Saloon and Hilliards for spots that have good space and receptive ownership.

LexiconGrrl

Yeah, Hazelwood is really small and wouldn't be good for too large a group.

However, one more add: Ballard's own Fighting' Irish bar, the Conor Byrne.

Enigmas

Hmm, this does intrigue me. I'm not on the Facebook (I know I'm probably the only person on the Forums not on FB, but it does suck when an event is only being organized on another site, making it hard to get the details), but I may attend anyway.

swordgoatz

Because of the great response we're getting, we are moving the check-in to the tournament space at Card Kingdom. You'll find us there at 8:30. 8-)

swordgoatz

Enigmas wrote: »

Hmm, this does intrigue me. I'm not on the Facebook (I know I'm probably the only person on the Forums not on FB, but it does suck when an event is only being organized on another site, making it hard to get the details), but I may attend anyway.

No prob! If everything goes as planned, we'll probably do an eventbrite next year. Also, you can stay tuned to this thread for all updates.

We'll put you down as a maybe.

Bradrcr

I will be in for this if the wife puts the hammer down on the concerts. FYI, if you're on your way into Ballard, I run sales for Odin brewing and 2 months ago we opened a taproom in Fremont. It is definitely not walking distance from Ballard, but we are running 15% off pints for anyone with a badge. The taproom is Asgard Tavern, 1300 N Northlake Way, Seattle. It's about 2 miles from downtown, stop in if you can.

swordgoatz

We got the sanity and stamina markers in the mail today. Will you survive the night? Or go insane?

RDubb

Just to be clear: are you intentionally withholding the specific rules, challenges, map, etc, or am I just really bad at reading?

I figure you're just trying to keep an air of mystery (which is awesome) but I wanted to make sure ahead of time.

swordgoatz

RDubb wrote: »

Just to be clear: are you intentionally withholding the specific rules, challenges, map, etc, or am I just really bad at reading?

I figure you're just trying to keep an air of mystery (which is awesome) but I wanted to make sure ahead of time.

We are keeping most of the details under wraps until the event. All that we're saying now is that it is a gamified Lovecraftian pubcrawl through the streets of Ballard (with prizes)! You'll have to show up to get the full experience!

YoungFrey

swordgoatz wrote: »

RDubb wrote: »

Just to be clear: are you intentionally withholding the specific rules, challenges, map, etc, or am I just really bad at reading?

I figure you're just trying to keep an air of mystery (which is awesome) but I wanted to make sure ahead of time.

We are keeping most of the details under wraps until the event. All that we're saying now is that it is a gamified Lovecraftian pubcrawl through the streets of Ballard (with prizes)! You'll have to show up to get the full experience!

So long as those secrets don't include things like a charity auction or something else that might require an unexpectedly large chunk of cash, I'm cool with it.

swordgoatz

YoungFrey wrote: »

So long as those secrets don't include things like a charity auction or something else that might require an unexpectedly large chunk of cash, I'm cool with it.

Nope. Just bring your penchant for otherworldly fun and enough cash for your bar tab.

ShubNiggurath

Anyone have a general idea of how much cab fare would be from the convention center to Card Kingdom? I don't think I'd be up for navigating the bus system after a pub crawl.

LexiconGrrl

ShubNiggurath wrote: »

Anyone have a general idea of how much cab fare would be from the convention center to Card Kingdom? I don't think I'd be up for navigating the bus system after a pub crawl.

Probably around $15. Plan on $20 just in case.

swordgoatz

We just got our event posters back from the printers. Here's a sneak peek.

PARAGAS

swordgoatz wrote: »

We are narrowing down the pubs for the H.P. Pubcraft Lovecrawl, are there any Ballard favorites that pubcrawlers would like us to consider?

The Market Arms is a really good English Pub and the Sloop Tavern is a great place for cheap beer (33.8 oz microbrew for $6.50).

http://www.themarketarms.com/

http://www.theslooptavern.com/

RussB

How do you keep from getting stuck out in the rain if/when the pub's full? Event has a lot of people, so I was wondering how that gets handled. Love the concept btw!

swordgoatz

RussB wrote: »

How do you keep from getting stuck out in the rain if/when the pub's full? Event has a lot of people, so I was wondering how that gets handled. Love the concept btw!

We're coordinating with pubs that can accommodate the load. And it's foretasted to be cloudy with a chance of thunder, nothing sounds more foreboding to me.

edgeofblade

swordgoatz wrote: »

RussB wrote: »

How do you keep from getting stuck out in the rain if/when the pub's full? Event has a lot of people, so I was wondering how that gets handled. Love the concept btw!

We're coordinating with pubs that can accommodate the load. And it's foretasted to be cloudy with a chance of thunder, nothing sounds more foreboding to me.

You must have a tongue for the weather...

swordgoatz

edgeofblade wrote: »

You must have a tongue for the weather...

It's delicious!