Friend Finder!

Trissalie

I recently moved to Texas from Seattle so this will be my first non Prime PAX (that isn't saying much though, I only went to PAX Prime once a few years ago). I will be taking my boyfriend (who has not been to a convention of any kind) and his best friend. As I just moved I know absolutely nobody and I am really hoping that I will be able to make friends while I am in San Antonio. I am just curious about the best ways to meet people at these kinds of things. I am already planning to go to the opening night party that was posted about on this forum earlier. However, beyond that I am going to be at a loss as to what to do with myself while we are there.

I'm sorry if this post doesn't make much sense. I guess what I am trying to say is that I want to meet a ton of people while I am there and would like to know a good way to go about it. Thanks! =D

shimwood

Just talk to people while you're all waiting in line for a panel or, if they do it again this year, hang out near the Jackbox area and play some Quiplash with everyone.

StinkyTurd

i spent a lot of time in the dreadnaught line last south to get in to there party i second talk to ppl in lines i ran into the same ppl a lot there. I would also suggest going to play some games in the tabletop area pretty hard to not socialize and play tabletop games.

Animal-_-

StinkyTurd wrote: »

i spent a lot of time in the dreadnaught line last south to get in to there party i second talk to ppl in lines i ran into the same ppl a lot there. I would also suggest going to play some games in the tabletop area pretty hard to not socialize and play tabletop games.

Totally, South has a huge tabletop area with vendors showing off their games. I'll probably be taking advantage of it this year as well seeing I'm flying solo for the first time since I started coming to PAX.

japester

I moved from Puyallup to Texas almost 15 years ago. Definitely a little culture shock (heh), but lots of friendly folks around here. San Antonio, in particular, is a very welcoming city. And every PAX crowd (I've been a regular at all 3 US locations) is super friendly as well. Meeting people is as easy as smiling. I was going to post the same specific advice that several other people have provided: chat while in line and visit the tabletop free play area. I used to attend for work, so in my down time I would usually walk around solo. And I would meet dozens of interesting people just by being friendly. For shy folks, you can't go wrong by asking someone, "So, what do you like to play?" or "What are you most looking forward to this year?" That almost always gets the ball rolling. And since PAX South has developed a strong tabletop vibe, bringing a simple game to play in line can also be a winner. Busting out some Zombie Dice or a microgame and playing with the strangers around you can be loads of fun. It's tougher now that most folks stare at their phones rather than interact, but you can always find people who still want to socialize with their fellow fans. I hope you both have a blast!

Christopher Huff

This is my first PAX ever and I couldn't convince the few gaming friends I still have contact with into coming, but all that means is more opportunity to meet like-minded people! I'd imagine there be a plethora of events planned at the last minute by various people ranging from "Let's play a game together" to those late night dinners/hangouts where-ever they may be. If you are coming in early, there's always the "Magical Mystery Tour" led by punzie, but I have yet to experience all the things that truly make it magical so I can't say much about it. But in general, as long as your open to conversation throughout the event, I highly doubt you won't find somebody you "click" with. PAX is a getaway event for many, meaning that for the next few days we won't have to worry about work or life in general in the name of having fun and making new friends.

PennyPton

You should make your way out to our PAX party on Friday! I'll be at the front greeting people and would be more than happy to introduce you to some of our group and show you two around! It's a really great way to meet other convention attendees and do some gaming after the convention closes.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/208961/pax-opening-night-party-2017-video-games-handhelds-decks-music-drinks-fun#latest

RILMS

I bring games like Cards Against Humanity, Joking Hazard, and whatnot to play with people in line. I also always have a distinctive hat so people can remember me. Bring a DS if you have one to game with people. Don't be afraid to go up to groups and start chatting.

There are various dinners and parties that are planned on the forums you can join.

Blargdon

I struggle with making friends from random strangers too. There was actually a panel about this last year. Some good info, but it turns out that reading tips on a slide did not turn me into a social butterfly.

People have always been very friendly to me, but I have yet to meet anyone and keep up with them after PAX.

I will be there with my wife and son. We don't play a lot of table top but would like to learn. If anyone wants to meet up and show us their favorite game, I'd be up for that. Prearranging is less anxiety inducing for me than walking up to a group of strangers. I'm from Texas (but not SA). I'd be willing to take people out to some good local joints as well if people want some breathing room outside of the convention hall.

japester

I almost forgot another winner: "Is this seat taken?" (usually wailed plaintively while clutching a swag bag and a rapidly-cooling, overpriced hot dog or slice of "pizza", LOL) Half the time, the people at the table will keep to themselves. But the other half of the time they will strike up a conversation as you both share the sweet, sweet bliss of taking a load off and stuffing your faces.

(Apologies to the OP as the rest of this is a bit OT)

Blargdon wrote: »

I will be there with my wife and son. We don't play a lot of table top but would like to learn. If anyone wants to meet up and show us their favorite game, I'd be up for that. Prearranging is less anxiety inducing for me than walking up to a group of strangers.

I'd like to plan a meetup or three during the event (if I can get motivated). How old is your son? And are there any tabletop games that you particularly enjoyed? I have a diverse collection, as I like it all. Do you have a preference for: short vs long (20-30 mins vs 2+ hrs), competitive vs co-op, style of game (miniatures, worker placement, dice chucker, economics, etc), ameritrash (thematic games, usually with miniatures and conflict and lots of story) vs eurogames (less conflict, more cerebral and abstract, often like multiplayer solitaire). There are fantastic games in all categories.

For reference, I tend to bring bigger games with me. Last year I met up with two fine groups of complete strangers and taught one Blood Rage and the other Zombicide: Black Plague. Both games ran several hours, but were loads of fun. I don't mind bringing Z:BP again, as it is easy to teach and is a fun co-op light skirmish game. I'm also going to throw my favorite mixer game out there--Dixit. Fantastic game for getting people to communicate with each other, and you can learn it in two minutes.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk more. And that's an open offer to anyone who wants to meet up and try a new game. I'm sure I'll be parked in the free play area part of each day with a game box propped open, looking for new players.

ahstoddard

Blargdon wrote: »

it turns out that reading tips on a slide did not turn me into a social butterfly.

Life in a nutshell.

I'm one of the people that would make friends with a random person in line if they initiated and did most of the work.

StinkyTurd

japester wrote: »

I almost forgot another winner: "Is this seat taken?" (usually wailed plaintively while clutching a swag bag and a rapidly-cooling, overpriced hot dog or slice of "pizza", LOL) Half the time, the people at the table will keep to themselves. But the other half of the time they will strike up a conversation as you both share the sweet, sweet bliss of taking a load off and stuffing your faces.

(Apologies to the OP as the rest of this is a bit OT)

Blargdon wrote: »

I will be there with my wife and son. We don't play a lot of table top but would like to learn. If anyone wants to meet up and show us their favorite game, I'd be up for that. Prearranging is less anxiety inducing for me than walking up to a group of strangers.

I'd like to plan a meetup or three during the event (if I can get motivated). How old is your son? And are there any tabletop games that you particularly enjoyed? I have a diverse collection, as I like it all. Do you have a preference for: short vs long (20-30 mins vs 2+ hrs), competitive vs co-op, style of game (miniatures, worker placement, dice chucker, economics, etc), ameritrash (thematic games, usually with miniatures and conflict and lots of story) vs eurogames (less conflict, more cerebral and abstract, often like multiplayer solitaire). There are fantastic games in all categories.

For reference, I tend to bring bigger games with me. Last year I met up with two fine groups of complete strangers and taught one Blood Rage and the other Zombicide: Black Plague. Both games ran several hours, but were loads of fun. I don't mind bringing Z:BP again, as it is easy to teach and is a fun co-op light skirmish game. I'm also going to throw my favorite mixer game out there--Dixit. Fantastic game for getting people to communicate with each other, and you can learn it in two minutes.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk more. And that's an open offer to anyone who wants to meet up and try a new game. I'm sure I'll be parked in the free play area part of each day with a game box propped open, looking for new players.

dixits always fun i'm bring deception murder in hong kong in that same vain.

Swae

Check out some of the community events! There are a number of things organized by the general PAX community that encourage meeting new PAXers, such as the Bar Crawl, the Pokemon League, etc. There are also usually impromptu board game nights at most of the major hotels, and I've found people are generally very open to making friends and playing games with new people.

Also being active on social media before and during the show can really help. Before my first PAX, I joined a facebook group and started following fellow PAXers on Twitter (just search for #paxsouth) and I ended up meeting up with a lot of my interwebs friends at the show for dinner/games/etc.

StinkyTurd

never seen anyone play boardgames atr my hotel the marriot next to the drury inn.

Lord Carr

Me and my Army buddies are comin for all 3 days. Staying at the Sea World hotel about 20min outside of downtown. If anyone is good at Rocket League let me know, we've got two good players!

ImZelkova

I'm going to end up going to South solo this year. It would be nice to be able to meet up with someone or a group of people to do activities with though. I'll take the advice in this thread though if I'm still stuck in a few weeks.

chibiachika

This is the first PAX I've ever attended, as well as my first solo vacation. I tend to be a bit of an introvert, usually hesitant to talk to someone I don't know. Yes, it sounds very strange for me to do this trip at all, but I really just wanted to try a vacation/convention without being tethered to someone, maybe get to meet new people.

I may peek around the meetups and such. Not 100% on that yet. But I can tell you that if you see a fat man wearing a MLP shirt and eating a pudding cup, it's probably me.

japester

It's not strange, Chibiachika. I used to live a couple of hours from Walt Disney World and took group trips all the time. One year, my buddy whiffed the dates and couldn't come. Since I had hotel reservations, I just went. Had an AMAZING time. Went where I wanted and did what I wanted whenever I wanted. And just like PAX, struck up conversations with strangers while in line or at shows and met so many interesting people. Solo became my standard vacation for many years.

I think the meetups are a great idea, but honestly, if you are in line for something, you automatically have something in common with everyone around you. That's all you need to make new friends.

I'm a tall, thin guy with glasses and buzzed graying hair. I'm usually wearing an XCOM or BioShock/Totoro mash-up shirt (the video games I worked on). And I usually have a 2K Insider satchel bag. I always enjoy meeting my fellow forum denizens. :P

jrmtz85

I'm kind of in the same boat. I live in SA. Friends came last year (and a few the first), but this year they're all sticking to East (I'm going there too), but I'll be running solo. Done many of the panels already, so I mainly walk the floor looking at interesting stuff, and then go do tabletop most of the time. Gonna feel wierd goin to PAX solo.

Kabie

From Dallas here! We will be attending PAX with a group of about 15 but we regularly break off and do our own thing. We have a few panels we plan on hitting but you can pretty much find us haunting tabletop any downtime. Feel free to PM me if you would like to catch up and play a game or attend a panel! We bring games to play while in line and like to just stop and take pictures with people in cosplay. Everyone there is there for the same reason you are, to enjoy nerd culture.
Ps what part of texas did you move to?

vade281

We bring about 10 people who love to game from Dallas..A few of us will be in BYOC but spend most of the time trying new board games. We will be in Thursday night if y'all need people to hang out with. There's also @paxparties on Twitter to find out what's going on.

WhiteLlama

I'll be around - if you see a guy with my logo on my shirt, don't hesitate to come say hi. This is my first PAX, and I definitely want to find people to hang with/get to know.

Murf

Solo and first PAX. Look forward to meeting you all. I saw a Bar Crawl mentioned above? That sounds perfect!

Kzord

So many people who moved from WA to TX! Myself included. This is my second mostly Solo PAX, its pretty easy to meet people in lines or through room shares. Feel free to PM me!

ChaiMoon

It will be my first time solo at a convention. Im an introvert so sometimes its hard to meet people at events. I will try to say hi to people in line this year.

chibiachika

ChaiMoon wrote: »

It will be my first time solo at a convention. Im an introvert so sometimes its hard to meet people at events. I will try to say hi to people in line this year.

I'm just like you. As I mentioned earlier, if you see a fat guy in a pony shirt and high possibly a pudding cup in my hand, that's me.i understand the plight.

thegirlinbldg8

I just moved here from CO so I'm in the same boat. I've made it a goal to try to make conversation with at least 6 people and connect with at least 2 people through social media. I find making socializing as a goal and challenge makes me more determined and helps me get over the shyness a bit. So even its it doesn't go well I can feel accomplished and check it off my list.

StinkyTurd

thegirlinbldg8 wrote: »

I just moved here from CO so I'm in the same boat. I've made it a goal to try to make conversation with at least 6 people and connect with at least 2 people through social media. I find making socializing as a goal and challenge makes me more determined and helps me get over the shyness a bit. So even its it doesn't go well I can feel accomplished and check it off my list.

Srsly speak up in the lines most people are cool and join some ppl in tabletop.

d3c0y

I plan on bringing my box of Joking Hazard with me to play with random people in the queues. Easy/non competitive pick up game to play with strangers.

RILMS

d3c0y wrote: »

I plan on bringing my box of Joking Hazard with me to play with random people in the queues. Easy/non competitive pick up game to play with strangers.

I will be doing the same

thegirlinbldg8

Im going to try to find superfight. That's an easy game.

Murf

I really wanted to bring the card game Grass, but could not find my set.

Guess I will have to rely on my wit and charm while in line.

I'm going to be camped out at PC Freeplay area for short durations through out the days. Got some codes to give away for Dead by Daylight skins.

Rodiggity

I'm out here from Houston with a friend and we're definitely looking to meet new people and hang out! Will be hitting the riverwalk area tonight trying to find some good parties/groups. Not sure how to pm on here, but feel free to hit me up!

HTownMastodon

So pretty much first day is in the books and I'm already winding down solo at Charlie's.

Met several nice people but I think I'm still too shy to have anything grow into friendship today.

Murf

Also from Htown, getting ready to get a bite to eat, but don't know where.

Happy to have others join me and we can pick/find a place

thikthird

Hey I'm from Houston too, hmu if you want to hang. I'm trying to find info about the shot of ice and fire bar crawl.

Ended up going to on the rocks with gaymers

Murf

I'm at margarittaville now then heading to bar 414 hang out with the lunchtime studio devs then head to on the rocks. Wearing brown Southern star. Brewing buried hatchet Stout shirt

thegirlinbldg8

Out of curiosity, how'd it go? Meet any new people and make some connections?

ahstoddard

Met a handful of people in lines, didn't get many names and only one new facebook friend, which is of course the measure of a true lifelong friendship.