PAX Prime 2015 Tabletop Areas

Lackey · August 2015

PAX is not just about EXPO. Or just about the Omegathon, or the concerts, or Console Freeplay, or Classic Console Freeplay, PC Freeplay, PC Tournaments, Handheld, or the panels, the parties, the lines... or cosplay, or meetups, or contests, or the Classic Arcade, or swag... *deep breath* or the merch, or the friends you only see at PAX, or a million other things.

NO! PAX is *also* about TABLETOP!!

And here's your one-stop consolidated block of info about analog gaming at PAX Prime 2015.

WHERE CAN I FIND TABLETOP-Y THINGS?

WSCC L1 ACT Theater - Exhibitors
WSCC L2 - Game Lending Library, Freeplay, Exhibitors, and Pathfinder RPG
WSCC L3 - Freeplay, Exhibitors, and Indie RPGs on Demand
WSCC L4 - Tabletop Exhibitors in the EXPO Hall
WSCC L6 - Tabletop Exhibitors in the EXPO Hall
WSCC Conference Center (aka The Annex) LL and L1 - Magic: the Gathering
Hyatt Olive 8 Hotel L3 - Tournaments, D&D, Unpublished Game Playtesting, Hot Games Room, and Freeplay

OK, THAT'S A LOT OF PLACES. BUT WHAT REALLY GOES ON THERE?

You want a full breakdown of all of our Tabletop content, demos, exhibitors and vendors? OK, here you go!

WSCC Level 1
Cards Against Humanity (Cards Against Humanity) - ACT Theater (no PAX badge required)
Ad Magic/Breaking Games (Exploding Kittens) - ACT Theater (no PAX badge required)

WSCC Level 2
Tabletop HQ (Game Lending Library) - WSCC 204
Tabletop Freeplay - WSCC 205, 211
Catalyst Game Labs (Shadowrun, Battletech) - WSCC 213
Fantasy Flight Games (X-Wing/Armada, Runebound, Warhammer Quest ACG) - WSCC 212
Fire Opal (13th Age) - WSCC 206
Go To Games (Retail and Demos) - WSCC 206
Japanime Games (Krosmaster Arena - including Northwest Regional Championships, and Tanto Cuore Tournaments) - WSCC 210
Paizo (Pathfinder/Pathfinder Adventure Card Game) - WSCC 201, 202, 203
Tabletop Co-Op - WSCC 208, including:

Break From Reality Games (Damage Report, GripMats)
Game Company No. 3 (Oh My God, There's An Axe In My Head!)
Imbalanced Games (Titan Tactics)
Mind The Gap Studios (Wizard Dodgeball, ZtoZ)

Monte Cook Games (Numenera, The Strange) - WSCC 209
Steve Jackson Games (Munchkin, Car Wars, OGRE) - WSCC L2 Corral
Uncle's Games (Retail and Demos) - WSCC 214
Voodoo Bunny Inc. (Incredible Expeditions) - WSCC 206

WSCC Level 3
Drinking Quest (Drinking Quest) - WSCC Hallway Outside of 310
Games on Demand (Indie RPGs) - WSCC 301, 302, 305, 306
Gamma Ray Games (Retail - Indie RPGs) - WSCC 305
Reaper Miniatures (Paint-and-Take minis) - WSCC 303
Soda Pop Mini / Ninja Division (Super Dungeon Explore, Relic Knights) - WSCC L3 South End
Tabletop Freeplay - 304, 307, 308, 310

WSCC Level 4 (EXPO Hall)
Chessex (Dice) - EXPO Hall SKY7
Flying Frog Productions (Shadows of Brimstone) - EXPO Hall 149
Geek Chic (Gaming Furniture) - EXPO Hall SKY3
Indie Megabooth Tabletop - EXPO Hall 668, including:

Cinelinx Media (Cinelinx: A Card Game For People Who Love Movies)
Mikeware (Cogs in a Machine)
Studio Woe (Gruff)
Off the Shelf (Mech Deck)
Palm Court (Monikers)
Tim Fowers (Paperback)
Aerjen Games (Pleasant Dreams)
Skiptrace (Skiptrace)
Ruddy Games (Skulldug!)
Rock Manor Games (Steamcraft)

Mayfair Games (Catan, Caverna) - EXPO Hall SKY1
Privateer Press (Warmachine/Hordes, The Undercity) - EXPO Hall SKY5
Q-Workshop (Dice) - EXPO Hall 7603
Wishes (Retail) - EXPO Hall SKY2
Wizards of the Coast (Magic, D&D) - EXPO Hall 1642

WSCC Level 6 (EXPO Hall)
Ad Magic/Breaking Games (Exploding Kittens) - EXPO Hall 7511
CritSuccess (Dice Rings) - EXPO Hall 7613
Foam Brain Games (Retail and Demos) - EXPO Hall 6512
God Hates Games (God Hates Charades) - EXPO Hall 7401
Greater Than Games (Sentinels of the Multiverse, Dice Hate Me Games) - EXPO Hall 7505
Green Lake Games (Retail) - EXPO Hall 7501
Skybound Games (SUPERFIGHT) - EXPO Hall 6516
Tacoma Games (Retail) - EXPO Hall 6219

WSCC Conference Center (The Annex)
Magic: the Gathering Events - Annex Lower Level and Level 1
Magic World Championships Viewing Room - Annex Level 1

Hyatt Olive 8 Hotel

Dungeons & Dragons Adventurers League (D&D sessions) - Olive 8 Steel/Cyan
Giant-sized games! (Tsuro, Jenga, possibly more) - Olive 8 Foyer
Hot Games Demos (Award-winning and Gen Con-released game demos) - Olive 8 Azure
Northwest Gaming (Yu-Gi-Oh and Force of Will TCG) - Olive 8 Ballroom
Harebrained Schemes (Golem Arcana) - Olive 8 Ballroom
Playtest NW/Game Designer’s Clubhouse (Unpublished game testing) - Olive 8 Ballroom
Social Deduction Freeplay (Werewolf, Resistance, Two Rooms and a Boom) - Olive 8 Cobalt [8pm-Midnight]
Tabletop Freeplay - Olive 8 Ballroom and Cobalt
Tabletop Tournaments - Olive 8 Ballroom
Weird City Games (March of the Ants demos and Tournament) - Olive 8 Ballroom
White Wizard Games (Star Realms and EPIC demos and Tournaments) - Olive 8 Ballroom
WizKids (Dice Masters demos and Tournaments) - Olive 8 Ballroom

Please let us know below if you have any questions about Tabletop at PAX Prime 2015!

curse · August 2015

Holy cats! This is a great breakdown. Thanks!

kropotkin · August 2015

This should be installed into the FAQ. It contains absolutely vital information about table-top gaming at PAX. Although no mention of Exploding Kittens, which makes me sad...

curse · August 2015

kropotkin wrote: »

This should be installed into the FAQ. It contains absolutely vital information about table-top gaming at PAX. Although no mention of Exploding Kittens, which makes me sad...

The Oatmeal mentioned that they would be at the ACT theater with the Cards Against Humanity guys there, so while nothing in the organized tournament list, there might be something Exploding related there.

YoungFrey · August 2015

Prime's tabletop weakness has recently been how hard it is to just find a space to play the game you want amidst all the vendors. So I broke out all the freeplay info and looked up how big the rooms are.

Freeplay is located:
WSCC floors 2 & 3:
WSCC: 205, 211,304, 307, 308, 310
Olive 8 3rd floor: Ballroom and Cobalt

The size of each room (in sqft) is:
WSCC Total: 6091
205: 1073
211: 1247
304: 918
307: 841
308: 812
310: 1200

Olive 8 Total: 7423
Olive 8 Ballroom: 6641 (but it's shared with 6-7 other things)
Olive 8 Cobalt: 782

iguanacus · August 2015

@Lackey
Just a heads up, Elzra Games, the makers of Catacombs want you to contact them about maybe adding Catacombs to the free play library.

Lackey · August 2015

iguanacus wrote: »

@Lackey
Just a heads up, Elzra Games, the makers of Catacombs want you to contact them about maybe adding Catacombs to the free play library.

Awesome iguanacus, thank you. I just played Catacombs this weekend in fact. That will make an excellent addition! I'll get in contact.

Sponk · August 2015

If the lending library is located in the convention center will you be able to take them to the Freeplay areas at Olive8? Last year open table space was often hard to find in the Freeplay room at the convention center.

Lackey · August 2015

Yes, you will be able to check them out in Rm 204 using a valid ID, and walk over to the Olive 8 with the game. We'll have your ID, so we know you're coming back for it.

Also, it might be handy to have a list of what's in the library. Well, here you go!
https://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/paxtt?own=1&subtype=boardgame&gallery=large&ff=1

During the daytime hours, much of the Olive 8 Ballroom will be occupied by Tabletop Tournaments. After 7pm though, only about 1/2 the tables will be reserved for tournaments, as we want as many tables as possible for Freeplay space at the Olive 8 in the evenings - when the main Convention Center's freeplay rooms are most full.

Lazorz · August 2015

CAH's ACT Theater shenanigans were pretty interesting and cool last year. I'm excited to see what they do in there this time around.

sirjoekcb · August 2015

Are there going to be freeplay tables for miniatures games available anywhere?

DeToX86 · August 2015

This is once again, very disappointing. TT Freeplay space has been shrinking, moved all over and very poorly advertised for many PAX now. We used to be able to just find a table almost anywhere and sit down to play a game. Now every single table is some vendor trying to sell something.

Instead, we get shoved into an overcrowded room or two that is unbelievably hot or sent across the street where (if I undertstand you correctly) there won't even be freeplay table space until after 7pm because of tournaments. Better than nothing I guess.

Also, please make sure the people checking out the games let people know where the freeplay areas are located! At my last PAX in 13 we checked in games 3 times without being able to play them because we could never find a place to play. If there had been a sign at check in/out noting the extra playing area across the street we probably would have been able to play.

TT Freeplay is the highlight of PAX for me. I can see all the expo hall stuff on the internet after the show. Not trying to be a downer, just tired of seeing my favorite thing about PAX get crapped on.

Spud387 · August 2015

DeToX86 wrote: »

This is once again, very disappointing. TT Freeplay space has been shrinking, moved all over and very poorly advertised for many PAX now. We used to be able to just find a table almost anywhere and sit down to play a game. Now every single table is some vendor trying to sell something.

Instead, we get shoved into an overcrowded room or two that is unbelievably hot or sent across the street where (if I undertstand you correctly) there won't even be freeplay table space until after 7pm because of tournaments. Better than nothing I guess.

Also, please make sure the people checking out the games let people know where the freeplay areas are located! At my last PAX in 13 we checked in games 3 times without being able to play them because we could never find a place to play. If there had been a sign at check in/out noting the extra playing area across the street we probably would have been able to play.

TT Freeplay is the highlight of PAX for me. I can see all the expo hall stuff on the internet after the show. Not trying to be a downer, just tired of seeing my favorite thing about PAX get crapped on.

I am just glad the off-site freeplay is at the Olive 8 again this year. The atmosphere in the Olive 8 ballroom is MUCH better than the setup at the Motif(Red Lion)

Lackey · August 2015

DeToX86, we definitely understand the concern.

While I am only personally the lead on the Tournaments and content at the Olive 8, I can say that the Tabletop area overall is a delicate balancing act, and there is some give and take to how much space is dedicated to freeplay, how much to focused content like RPGs, to demos, and lastly to vendors.

The freeplay space in the WSCC this year is slightly larger than last year, with the relocation of the Classic Arcade to the 6th floor, Tabletop will using the rooms that were the arcade last year. So now, aside from the "Take This" AFK Room, Tabletop now has all of the rooms on the 3rd floor.

This allowed us to expand the space dedicated to the Indie RPGs on-demand roleplaying sessions. Like Freeplay, this content was also bursting at the seams.

Over at the Olive 8 we will also have two new areas -- the Prototype playtest area (where you can sit down with game designers directly and help shape a new game's development) and the Hot Games room (where a dedicated teacher will be present to instruct attendees how to play a specific list of hot games).

Could we have dedicated these (rather small) spaces to more Freeplay tables? Perhaps, but we think these are valuable additions and novel ways to experience board gaming, and we hope that attendees will try them out and enjoy them! But if they are not successful, they won't return at future shows.

On a similar note: At the Olive 8, there will not be tables set up with terrain for miniatures freeplay. The past two years we dedicated several rows of tables to providing terrain for minis freeplay and running scheduled tournaments, and they were criminally underutilized, when they could have been used for all-purpose Freeplay. Miniatures players are welcome to bring their own terrain and use tables, of course, but the demand over the past two years was below our threshold to retain dedicated Miniatures freeplay space. We will still have two X-Wing Miniatures tournaments, and Harebrained Schemes will be running three Golem Arcana demo tables in the Olive 8 Ballroom.

As for the vendors: the number of vendors in TT, to my knowledge (remember, I'm the tourney guy, not the exhibitor guy - my apologies if I'm off by a vendor or two) - has remained constant for the past two years, not grown.

In short - TT Freeplay space will likely be filled again. As will all other parts of Tabletop. In our TT Headquarters/lending library, and over at the Olive 8, our Enforcers will do our best to help guide all of you to open Freeplay tables, and make sure that knowledge of all of the available spaces are well publicized.

DeToX86 · August 2015

Lackey,

I was not at PAX last year so it may have improved, but 13 was very poor. Maybe I'm just pining for the early days when all the tables as you walked around the WSCC were not dedicated to specific games/vendors/demos. At 13 we walked by countless empty tables because no one was interested in the demo or whatever was going on in the area and over an hour later we were returning the games unplayed. A big part of the issue in 13 was not knowing about the off site location so hopefully just having that area will help. It did bother us quite a bit though to see an area with seating for 20+ people unused because some vendor had it reserved. (This might not even be within PAX's control as it's all the tables in the walking areas.)

I don't envy the decisions that have to be made on space because I'm sure it's a brutal process. I was in the camp that was really hopeful some/all the queue room space that opened up could have been Freeplay space. I realize though that my near zero interest in the expo hall is in the minority and it likely needed the extra space more.

forbiddenvoid · August 2015

DeToX86 wrote: »

Lackey,

I was not at PAX last year so it may have improved, but 13 was very poor. Maybe I'm just pining for the early days when all the tables as you walked around the WSCC were not dedicated to specific games/vendors/demos. At 13 we walked by countless empty tables because no one was interested in the demo or whatever was going on in the area and over an hour later we were returning the games unplayed. A big part of the issue in 13 was not knowing about the off site location so hopefully just having that area will help. It did bother us quite a bit though to see an area with seating for 20+ people unused because some vendor had it reserved. (This might not even be within PAX's control as it's all the tables in the walking areas.)

I don't envy the decisions that have to be made on space because I'm sure it's a brutal process. I was in the camp that was really hopeful some/all the queue room space that opened up could have been Freeplay space. I realize though that my near zero interest in the expo hall is in the minority and it likely needed the extra space more.

I can also confirm, as a participant in Prime 13, I did not know there was somewhere else to play tabletop games until Sunday night. I feel like the signage could be made much more clear. My wife and I just assumed that the space we saw there in the WSCC was all there was, and it didn't seem like there was much support for tabletop at all.

Drain · August 2015

I fought very hard to get WSCC L3 to be pure Tabletop. I won.

The whole west bank of rooms on L3 is Freeplay except the AFK Room. Classic Arcade and Halo are gone. This should make it easier to find a seat without traveling.

DeToX86 · August 2015

Drain,

Thanks for your work in keeping TT strong at PAX! Having almost the entire 3rd floor will really help a lot IMO. And as I said before, had we known about the off site locations I think that would have solved most of our issues. I do miss being able to play out in the open with all the other PAXers walking around. It really was an amazing atmosphere and you'd get people stopping by to ask about what we were playing and such. Just having any place to play is more important though.

Lackey · August 2015

A new addition to the Tabletop area offerings: Friday and Saturday night at they Hyatt Olive 8 from 8pm-12am, come play Two Rooms an a Boom with co-creator Alan Gerding. 2R1B is a party game in the vein of Werewolf or Mafia that can handle up to 30 players, except that games last no longer than 15 minutes!

Meet outside the Olive 8 Cobalt room, or look for the crowd of players in the 3rd Floor Lobby.

Slipstream.cc · August 2015

Is there a badge required to get into the WSCC Level 2 tabletop rooms?

YoungFrey · August 2015

Slipstream.cc wrote: »

Is there a badge required to get into the WSCC Level 2 tabletop rooms?

Yes.

Slipstream.cc · August 2015

YoungFrey wrote: »

Slipstream.cc wrote: »

Is there a badge required to get into the WSCC Level 2 tabletop rooms?

Yes.

Okay, just making sure before I ventured out tomorrow with intentions of accessing those rooms without a badge. At least I can Sun and Mon!

kabutodude · August 2015

So what's the best place for a solo TT newbie to find a group to play with?

podunk the mighty · August 2015

The room next to the game rental (205) is probably best, but be sure to browse all the free play rooms on 2 and 3! : )

DeToX86 · September 2015

Not looking to res a thread, but I thought I owed it to Drain and Lackey to let them know that the TT area was really good this year! We were able to get and play games on a regular basis with very little issue finding space. Tournaments we attended also ran efficiently and were great fun.

Thanks guys for all your work to make PAX the amazing event that it is!

Drain · September 2015

Thank you for the feedback, it made my day

YoungFrey · September 2015

DeToX86 wrote: »

Not looking to res a thread, but I thought I owed it to Drain and Lackey to let them know that the TT area was really good this year! We were able to get and play games on a regular basis with very little issue finding space. Tournaments we attended also ran efficiently and were great fun.

Thanks guys for all your work to make PAX the amazing event that it is!

I agree, I was similarly hard on Tabletop and it looks like the right balance was finally struck. Good job everyone running TT.

As an aside (not a criticism), what was up with Steve Jackson Games? Their whole area was almost empty every time I went by. At previous PAXen it's always been a lot fuller.

Solelron · September 2015

YoungFrey wrote: »

DeToX86 wrote: »

Not looking to res a thread, but I thought I owed it to Drain and Lackey to let them know that the TT area was really good this year! We were able to get and play games on a regular basis with very little issue finding space. Tournaments we attended also ran efficiently and were great fun.

Thanks guys for all your work to make PAX the amazing event that it is!

I agree, I was similarly hard on Tabletop and it looks like the right balance was finally struck. Good job everyone running TT.

As an aside (not a criticism), what was up with Steve Jackson Games? Their whole area was almost empty every time I went by. At previous PAXen it's always been a lot fuller.

We always try to draw people in to play the games. However we can't control when people want to stop and play. We had all the newest games, including an early release of Munchkin:Nightmare before Christmas.

Nothing was changed from previous years other than we had a little less advertising up. We WANT you to stop and see us (please! we have goodies to give you!)

-Jason
-SJ Games MIB at Pax Prime

YoungFrey · September 2015

Solelron wrote: »

YoungFrey wrote: »

DeToX86 wrote: »

Not looking to res a thread, but I thought I owed it to Drain and Lackey to let them know that the TT area was really good this year! We were able to get and play games on a regular basis with very little issue finding space. Tournaments we attended also ran efficiently and were great fun.

Thanks guys for all your work to make PAX the amazing event that it is!

I agree, I was similarly hard on Tabletop and it looks like the right balance was finally struck. Good job everyone running TT.

As an aside (not a criticism), what was up with Steve Jackson Games? Their whole area was almost empty every time I went by. At previous PAXen it's always been a lot fuller.

We always try to draw people in to play the games. However we can't control when people want to stop and play. We had all the newest games, including an early release of Munchkin:Nightmare before Christmas.

Nothing was changed from previous years other than we had a little less advertising up. We WANT you to stop and see us (please! we have goodies to give you!)

-Jason
-SJ Games MIB at Pax Prime

Ok, this is hopefully not the norm, but I literally thought you had to be asked into the Steve Jackson area. And I've been to Prime since 2010. I always thought it was this Velvet Rope area. I'm sure it just my own craziness, and not something a logical person would guess.

Solelron · September 2015

YoungFrey wrote: »

Solelron wrote: »

YoungFrey wrote: »

DeToX86 wrote: »

Not looking to res a thread, but I thought I owed it to Drain and Lackey to let them know that the TT area was really good this year! We were able to get and play games on a regular basis with very little issue finding space. Tournaments we attended also ran efficiently and were great fun.

Thanks guys for all your work to make PAX the amazing event that it is!

I agree, I was similarly hard on Tabletop and it looks like the right balance was finally struck. Good job everyone running TT.

As an aside (not a criticism), what was up with Steve Jackson Games? Their whole area was almost empty every time I went by. At previous PAXen it's always been a lot fuller.

We always try to draw people in to play the games. However we can't control when people want to stop and play. We had all the newest games, including an early release of Munchkin:Nightmare before Christmas.

Nothing was changed from previous years other than we had a little less advertising up. We WANT you to stop and see us (please! we have goodies to give you!)

-Jason
-SJ Games MIB at Pax Prime

Ok, this is hopefully not the norm, but I literally thought you had to be asked into the Steve Jackson area. And I've been to Prime since 2010. I always thought it was this Velvet Rope area. I'm sure it just my own craziness, and not something a logical person would guess.

Not at all. The only thing we ask is that we keep the tables reserved for SJ Games (and our partners, like USAopoloy was this year) during the time we are open (9-9 typically). We supply the games, the teaching, the prizes and the fun

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