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Flying solo at PAX Prime 2015? Come find friends here!

heyit'skumquatheyit'skumquat Registered User new member
in PAX West
Hey all,

There's been interest from me and others who have the pleasure of attending this year's event unattached of looking for some new friends and having fun with people who are going to the same events/share the same interests. So I decided to make a dedicated thread for people who are looking for a group. Whether you want to share your info to meet up, start a group chat, ask around to see what events other people are attending, anything that could be more fun with more people, feel free to post here! We don't all have to be in the same group or do the same things, this is purely for everyone's benefit so that they can be introduced to some potential buddies. Hopefully this gains some traction as it's pretty close to PAX.

Anyways, feel free to PM me for contact info if you're interested, and don't hesitate to post here to let everyone know you're LFG!

Posts

  • shelljumpshelljump Registered User regular
    Hey there!

    So a friend and I were planning to attend PAX for the first time this year. Unfortunately he isn't going to be able to go due to personal reasons.

    Does anyone know if there are any social events for people going by themselves? I'd like to be able to meet up with people if possible, since I'm probably going to be heading to Seattle on my own.

  • Steel FireSteel Fire Gunboat Diplomat PAI MarketingRegistered User regular
    PAX itself is a giant social event. You can strike up conversations with people while in line. You can get into games with people in the tabletop area. So long as you want to make an effort to meet people, there are no shortage of opportunities to do so at PAX.

  • TheAggroCraigTheAggroCraig Ultimate Lucky Douchebag MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    Get into the Pinny Arcade hobby and you can make friends everywhere!

    You can make friends with anybody at PAX, that's what's so great about it. It's literally a convention full of thousands of friends you never knew you had.

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    Trade me pins! - https://pinnypals.com/pals/TheAggroCraig
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  • Nfan10039Nfan10039 Streamer/Gamer/Developer Montreal (Seattle eventually....)Registered User regular
    I'm also heading to PAX solo, and from previous experience with other conventions I can tell you that you never know who you are going to run into. Gamer tag sharing, Facebook, and many other ways to keep in touch helps a lot!

    ajor19ru24j1.png
    Just a nerd into anything Nintendo, anime, MCU, Star Wars, and board games/card games.
    Also a computer scientist and a streamer.
  • Garet_JaxGaret_Jax SeattleRegistered User regular
    I hang with friends on certain days, but others I'm on my own and have met a ton of people. Some I keep in contact with or game with, others were just somebody to chat in line with. Like everyone said, we're all there for the same hobby, so it's easy to meet folk. I'm local, so sometimes that helps too.

    Regardless, you'll be fine. You could probably message or tweet any of us on the forums if you needed a buddy for walking around the expo hall as well.

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  • jukkakhanjukkakhan Registered User regular
    I absolutely agree with everyone else. I went to my first PAX solo and I was blown away how friendly and welcoming everyone was. The great thing about PAX, is that nearly all the attendees are fellow gamers, so that's automatically one thing you have in common with everyone else.

    I remember seeing a First Timer/Solo'ers Meet Up thread last year that turned out to be pretty successful. Maybe someone will be organizing one again this year.

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  • PotatoemanPotatoeman Registered User regular
    My first PAX I went to solo as well a few years ago and it was the best week of my life up to that point, honestly. If you're out of state and going to a new, fresh city, it is remarkable. You should do perfectly fine, as long as you're friendly, most people I've met at PAX are very nice

  • shelljumpshelljump Registered User regular
    Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm glad to hear its easy to meet people (I figured as much, but its still relieving to hear).

    If anyone wants to hang out, let me know. I'm still trying to figure out what events I want to go to, but I'll definitely be hitting up the UT2k4 tourney on Friday.

  • kropotkinkropotkin Forum Badge Creator London UKRegistered User regular
    One sure way to increase the likelihood of meeting someone from these very forums is to get a forum badge! They are twice as big as the official PAX badge and have a space to write your name on it. They also come with a plastic sleeve to avoid damage from foodstuffs that you're munching on while trudging across the Skybridge. These can be picked up from the BYOC desk that is located in the PC area or at the pre-PAX events such as the Pre PAX Dinner and the Pre PAX Board Game night. Also you may even get one from a Cookie Brigade distributor if they have any about their person :)

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  • hexx462hexx462 Registered User regular
    Traditionally I have gone to PAX solo but after some major life changes I'm now with someone that loves cons and geek culture so that's no longer the case (and I'm rolling with a huge posse this time),but the past 5 years I did it solo and had the time of my life. Even though I'm fairly shy it was so easy to socialize because I had common interest with the thousands of attendees. I've made friends in lines, bars, panels, board gaming; remember we're taking over downtown Seattle, just about everyone is someone you will be able to find a subject to talk about. It will more or less happen naturally. People tend to be really friendly, so even attending parties or events on your own chances are it won't feel so lonely.

  • MarinoMarino Giant Bomb Moderator / League of Heels Webmaster Macon, GARegistered User regular
    edited August 2015
    Prime '15 will be my 14th PAX. Prime '12 is the only one I went to solo. I still had a good time, but it's definitely not the same. I did like being able to just do whatever I wanted without sitting around for 30 minutes waiting for people to agree on doing something though.

    Marino on
    League of Heels - Then. Now. Until They Ban Us All From PAX.

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  • hexx462hexx462 Registered User regular
    Marino wrote: »
    Prime '15 will be my 14th PAX. Prime '12 is the only one I went to solo. I still had a good time, but it's definitely not the same. I did like being able to just do whatever I wanted without sitting around for 30 minutes waiting for people to agree on doing something though.

    Yes, the bright side is you can go anywhere you want and on a whim :P

  • punziepunzie Cookie Pimp Registered User regular
    I almost always attend solo. The first year I did it, I just joined as many community events as I could to help me meet people (prepax dinner, magical mystery tour, boardgamenight, cookie brigade, pin trading, etc). Just remember to trade info so you can keep in touch with your new friends later. Some people get "business cards" made with their handle/twitter/email/etc.

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  • ShivinShivin OregonRegistered User regular
    edited August 2015
    The business card thing is a great idea! I think I'll do that. Just something with relevant gamer info...Gamertag/PSN ID etc..

    Shivin on
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  • AshrackAshrack Enforcer Deputy Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    A lot of the areas like Handheld, Console Freeplay and TableTop have specific areas for LFG people. So you can join some board gamers or join someone for console games or something that way. You can probably even carry around a sign saying LFG and meet a few people that way.

  • HAiRUHAiRU Registered User regular
    I went last year solo but met up with other people from the new comer reddit thread. I don't see one this year and I intend to go solo again, let me know if you wanna meet up.

  • heyit'skumquatheyit'skumquat Registered User new member
    I'm also flying solo (first time), looking for a group to hang out/go to events with. We probably have enough people in this group to start a thread of some sort...

  • Garet_JaxGaret_Jax SeattleRegistered User regular
    I'm in, if someone wants to start a group.

    I'll be heading to the Microsoft Thursday night event, all the Giant Bomb things, and multiple panels (IGA, FF15, etc) on my own, so if anyone wants to join in, the more the merrier...

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  • Nfan10039Nfan10039 Streamer/Gamer/Developer Montreal (Seattle eventually....)Registered User regular
    I'm always up for meeting new people and maybe turning that meeting into a new friendship! :biggrin: I'm glad someone made a thread about this, since sometimes I feel like I'm the only one alone. Everyone has someone to hangout with, be it friends from a previous year, a boyfriend/girlfriend, their husband/wife, or whatever...but I don't have anyone :sad: I'm not sure if it's because I'm a Nintendo gamer, or what, but anyways...on a happier note, if anyone is going to something Nintendo themed, then I will most certainly be there. It would be great to meet a wide variety of people! Great user picture by the way! I'm also a little nervous...I'm kind of a shy individual...I don't talk much, but I always try to look after the people that care about me. Also sorry if this was unprofessional, or too sad a read, or whatevs...

    ajor19ru24j1.png
    Just a nerd into anything Nintendo, anime, MCU, Star Wars, and board games/card games.
    Also a computer scientist and a streamer.
  • DarkAliceNiteDarkAliceNite Registered User regular
    I'm looking for people to hang with! This is my first event like this and I'm going solo, so I'd like to make some new friends and check out as much stuff as we can. I also plan on cosplaying for a day, so if you'd wanna do stuff like that, we can do that too.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited August 2015
    heyit'skumquat wrote: »
    I'm also flying solo (first time), looking for a group to hang out/go to events with. We probably have enough people in this group to start a thread of some sort...
    It's... it's like you're already posting in one! ;)

    zerzhul on
  • BullBull Registered User regular
    1st time in Pax and flying solo too I'm in for a group :)

  • heyit'skumquatheyit'skumquat Registered User new member
    zerzhul wrote: »
    heyit'skumquat wrote: »
    I'm also flying solo (first time), looking for a group to hang out/go to events with. We probably have enough people in this group to start a thread of some sort...
    It's... it's like you're already posting in one! ;)

    Someone merged another solo LFG thread (that I posted in) into this one after I made it, thus making me look like an idiot :c

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    heyit'skumquat wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    heyit'skumquat wrote: »
    I'm also flying solo (first time), looking for a group to hang out/go to events with. We probably have enough people in this group to start a thread of some sort...
    It's... it's like you're already posting in one! ;)

    Someone merged another solo LFG thread (that I posted in) into this one after I made it, thus making me look like an idiot :c
    No, I did that, and I posted that before I decided to do the merge. I was basically saying that the thread you said that in was /already/ a thread for solo people to find each other, but then I decided "fuck it, merge em"

  • Nfan10039Nfan10039 Streamer/Gamer/Developer Montreal (Seattle eventually....)Registered User regular
    Okay, so I'm in the process of going through what panels I want to attend. Here are the links to stay up to date on what I'm doing.
    Friday: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RNF3vT40ZP06RQS4fTEJyJDZiPdeKJKU6zkAxlQZAdw/edit?usp=sharing
    Saturday: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jsGhtouY6QEeluN_r3EKAKYklsMqrBHFb0uyDol3P2c/edit?usp=sharing
    Sunday: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U_sE3SL1UoAP4goAxSVyOO36fxNf6OKPhedn21gJFmY/edit?usp=sharing
    Monday:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tPTKVBvICgGJDAZoiH8yaqZPqcLfSwrA8pCO5kwq9yU/edit?usp=sharing
    Friday is the most completed, but I will be updating right through until PAX. I also gave anyone with the link permission to comment, so that if you see something you are going to, you can also just say "hey I'm going to that, let's meet up".

    ajor19ru24j1.png
    Just a nerd into anything Nintendo, anime, MCU, Star Wars, and board games/card games.
    Also a computer scientist and a streamer.
  • evermore904evermore904 Registered User regular
    I am going with a couple other people, buuut none of us have ever been to PAX before and we all want to do different things so chances are I'll be flying solo more often than not. I might actually take that idea of walking around with a LFG sign; if anyone sees me, come say hi :D

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