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PAX parties. Can anyone give me more info?
I have a few questions about PAX Parties. I attended PAX East 2014 and it was fantastic. I didn't attend any of the PAX parties, whether they were companies, personal or forum parties. Once I came back, I realized that I had the most fun in PAX by interacting with my fellow gamers and the general people at PAX. Not the swag, panels and upcoming games. Those are all cool, but it was amazing just talking to people. So in 2015 PAX East, I want to make sure I attend as many of the PAX Parties I can. A few questions I have about them are:
- How do I go about finding info on the PAX Parties before hand?
- Do all the parties revolve around drinking? (I don't drink or smoke. I'm just a geek who plays video games)
- If I wanted to host a party in a hotel suite, do you think people will show up? (Or will the other PAX Parties overshadow it?)
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Not all parties have booze, but a good amount of them do. I don't think anyone is there making you do it, unless you go to the Pokecrawl or something.
Hosting a party? Umm... I'm sure someone else could help you with that.
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As for parties, yea, wait until the new year before worrying. It is way too early to get info on parties. Because there is no info.
If you are all about the gaming and don't want to deal with people drinking, hang at the Westin and play tabletop games. It is always hopping over there.
And personally, I would never host a party at PAX unless it was just people I knew. Unless you are talking about a forum meeting somewhere besides your room, then go for it (at your own discretion).
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2. Well as I have said most of them do happen in bars but of course you do not have to drink this is your choice. Normally with your ticket you will get a free drink ticket at least this is how sanshee did it if you dont drink give it to a cute girl you see or something haha or boy if you are a girl trust me that will be a great way to get a friend.
3. I would suggest not doing your own the parties are fairly big size one i went to prob had a couple hundred people just not really worth it and also if things happen then your screwed.
All in all the party was prob my fav part of pax. I ended up dancing with a celtics dancer didnt even know she was one till after i danced with her but that was epic ended up talking to some really cool people like the people from underground gaming who hooked me up with some swag the next day and got free drinks from people who worked for the ubisoft area of pax. All in all it was a epic night and the main thing I remember most about pax was this night. It will be tough to top for me but for sure gonna be hitting a party friday and saturday night and trying.
This is what I was afraid of. I love the whole party scene.. but I don't drink. And simply trying out the "You don't have to drink" is not going to work. The only thing worse than being the only person not drinking is being the only sober person having to deal with a bunch of drunk people (I don't mean for this to try to sound all higher-than-thou or attacking in any way). What is the PokeCrawl about? Can anyone elaborate on it?
https://allmylinks.com/topherxbeads
my second suggestion is that, since it's still so early and it seems you've found a gap in the social offerings of pax, maybe you can plan a booze-free meetup/event yourself. i don't think a hotel party is really the best way to do that, it's very easy to get overwhelmed that way, but maybe plan something at a nearby venue (coffee shop perhaps?). even a designated area at pax could work for a meetup, like a specific spot in a freeplay area or a lunch meetup near the food court.
the more i think about it, the more i'm actually pretty into the idea of a coffee shop refueling meetup. the westin starbucks is always packed and i'd much rather pep myself up with coffee so i can do more paxing than slow myself down with booze.
https://twitter.com/paxparties
Also, companies do their own parties, so keep an ear out. (Those are the big ones) Last year I went to DC's party, which was amazing. Again, there was free food and open bar there. I also went to Harmonix's party, which was $20 and came with open bar and a rockband guitar. They were both a blast, and you didn't need to drink at them if you didn't want to, but alcohol was very prominent. I pre-registered for Harmonix's party, along with a few others that I found out by websites and forums. So my advice would be to check twitter and forums and see what party/parties look interesting to you! (Just keep in mind that although a lot are free, they usually require pre-reg and then to get there early so you get in)
To find parties I just checked the forums here and signed up, some cost money but a lot were free. If you are looking to host a party I say go for it, there will probably be other people that just want to hang out and play games. I stayed at the Weston - every night there were large groups of people playing table top games in the lobby areas...there will be plenty of "party" things to do once the tradeshow floor closes.
Went to a Wildstar party which had the free drink component, but was more a mix of gaming and dancing with the DJ.
Once the party forum starts up, you can usually get a feel for a party, or if it is a repeat party, forumers will definitely be able to elaborate on past experiences.
You should look through the forum feed for the past few, but it is largely based on drinking theme drinks at each of a few planned bars. There is a non-drinking member to help herd everyone along, but based on your comment, this one is most likely not your style :P
I agree. The PokeCrawl is, after all, a themed bar crawl....and bar crawls are all about going to as many bars as you can in one night. It's fun and social, but almost everyone has a drink in their hand.
if you do enjoy the party scene, then I would suggest you grab a ticket to some of the smaller parties being held go check it out and then decide next year if you want to go all out. or go all out any way and just decide to leave early...
the poke crawl do have nurse joy's who are the sober ones who make sure things don't get too out of hand, but if you don't like too much drunk ppl all over the place I would stay away from it
and you def can have a smaller meet up with a few friends in a hotel room to chill, game, and get to know better if they are new. or like mentioned just hang out in the westin lobby and just have a blast... I always find the westin lobby one of the best examples of the atmosphere of pax. just ppl hanging out and gaming all night.
At East this year, there was a restaurant/bar in the back of the hotel (or the front I guess technically where the street is), and they had game consoles set up in there all weekend long, idk about this year, but it might be a good spot to sit and play a few rounds of various systems from NES to current systems.
But board games are where it's at if you're at any hotel lobby!
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I've been a gamer (video games only) since Atari and CalecoVision. Mostly game on PC now. A lot of MMORPG's. Never got into playing the board games. Barely dabbled into TCG's, but not enough to make me even remotely competitive. I do Role Play in all the MMORPG's I play, so I guess I should have played things like DnD, but I never did. I'm kind of intimidated by trying to get into it now as I have no past knowledge of the INCREDIBLE amount of lore in the game. Also, it is hard to find other DnD players for me (area, plus work hours etc). Damn.. the more I think about it, the more it seems like these parties are just something I wont be able to take part in. Hopefully that will change within the next few months.
keep an eye out for your favorite game companies on their twitter etc as we get closer, b/c sometimes they'll host parties that aren't about the booze and you can talk with designers etc. We went to a great party when SWTOR came out; got to talk to a lot of interesting people involved in making it.
Pokecrawl baby.
http://www.sidequesting.com/2014/02/the-big-pax-east-2014-party-list-your-guide-to-events-parties-and-more/
A lot of them are already sold out though...
- You will never go to as many parties as you wish you had.
- If it's a good party, chances are it's going to be a bad line. Brace yourself and try to enjoy it. (Crystal Method last year was epic, and worth the wait)
- If you read about a party that you absolutely, definitely, totally want to go to, and it costs money...just buy tickets for it immediately. You'll kick yourself later otherwise. Expect that any party with a pricetag will sell out well in advance.
- On that note, if you read about a FREE party that you absolutely, definitely, totally want to go to, get there an hour early.
- Don't assume that an RSVP to a free party means promised access. Seems obvious, but just wanted to mention that.
- Remember that bonus parties tend to get announced on the show floor. Keep your ears and eyes open. (Nvidia party, anyone?)
- If the line / stress / freezing weather is bumming you out...don't forget: PAX is one big fat friggin party! Pack up, forget your plans, and go back to the BCEC and hang at the MAGspace, yell drunk into the Rock Band stage and cheer other people on, generally just get weird and enjoy yourself. It will be astoundingly easy.
I don't mind attending a Dry Party but on Thursday at best. Wouldn't mind attending a board game event or something. During the weekend though all bets are off.
Have been to PrePax gaming a few times, and definitely, the later it gets while the bars in the Westin are serving, the rowdier it is. That said, I had my teen nephew in our group and we all camped out a table and played late into the night and just let the chaos happen around us.
I'd probably be interested. Would love to get something going and not have to deal with my buddies being too hungover the next morning to even PAX. Would depend on timing I guess.
Best Pre-Pax party for young adults is traditionally Made in Massachusetts. Here is link to last year.
http://www.masstlc.org/events/event_details.asp?id=418200
There will be alcohol, but it is very social and since its on the Microsoft Campus, no one is allowed to get drunk and security keeps people inline. Honestly, the event was better then expo floor for finding out about new games that you might not have heard of.
My only caution to you is Parking nearby can be a pain (taking redline subway gets you close) and its more a social time then a "Party". Because it is ticketed, you can arrive when you want without fear of waiting in the cold.
But what game does Bethesda have coming out next year? Because both their Elder Scrolls Online and Wolfenstien parties were bitchin.
ESO for consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) will be out by December 2014.
They were promoting BattleCry heavily at PAX Prime, so I'm guessing that's their next baby. Either that, or Doom 4. However, neither game has an ETA for release.
I'm a non-drinker that would be interested. I feel compelled to warn you that planning your own event can possibly require a lot of energy and be stressful. Not that you shouldn't do it, just keep that in mind when you're deciding how you want to plan your pax!
That is very, very true. As the time goes by and PAX gets closer I think I would probably try to get something small going for the non-drinkers. Doesn't have to be a full on party hosted at some place. But maybe more like a series of short meet ups at key times through out the event.
This is a cool idea and i'm totally in favor of it