I was hoping that this would be happening as was hoping to get involved in the pre-pax gaming this year! Thanks so much for getting this show on the road Lexi
I love doing Joust every year and can't wait to get a few rounds in! Keep Talking will be a lot of fun with strangers. Do we have any requests for physical board games though? I'll be almost certainly be bringing The Resistance and/or Ultimate Werewolf, and potentially one or two big games like Cosmic Encounter depending on what's being requested.
PSN ID, Steam: The_MadHatter_
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QuickAndDirtyGamesWe make offensively fun party gamesRegistered Userregular
Hey all, we make a party game that's on Kickstarter and we'll be exhibiting at PAX East this year called Quick And Dirty. I'd love to bring some copies and get people playing, it's my first time attending PAX so I've never been to any of these events before. Do I just rock up on the day and start mingling or is there some process I need to follow in advance?
Hey all, we make a party game that's on Kickstarter and we'll be exhibiting at PAX East this year called Quick And Dirty. I'd love to bring some copies and get people playing, it's my first time attending PAX so I've never been to any of these events before. Do I just rock up on the day and start mingling or is there some process I need to follow in advance?
Cheers!
Rock on up, baby. Grab a table - signage for your table would be good, but our only request is that you don't try to bomb the event (ie: no flyers on all the tables, no annoying soliciting , etc...) There will be an info table helping to direct people to games and you'd be welcome to let them know you're looking for players/playtesters.
Happily on Sabbatical. Don't bug me.
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QuickAndDirtyGamesWe make offensively fun party gamesRegistered Userregular
Awesome, we'll bring a reasonable sign then too. Don't worry we don't have the budget to spam everyone! Is outside alcohol allowed or is there a bar there?
Awesome, we'll bring a reasonable sign then too. Don't worry we don't have the budget to spam everyone! Is outside alcohol allowed or is there a bar there?
No outside alcohol. Bar specifics will be posted to the OP one they're available.
HOLY SHIT ITS ON!! Pax wouldn't be the same without Pre-pax boardgames at the Westin. Really excited that JS Joust will be in the same space, it was awesome to have that running at Pax Prime this year.
@LexiconGrrl you are incredible! I will definitely be treating you to a beer or some cookie brigade goodies for your hard work. Glad you are taking the night off to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Please let me know how I can contribute to the 'thanks' to the Westin manager as well.
I'll be bringing a few games, although not sure which ones yet (likely Codenames, Sheriff of Nottingham, Exploding Kittens, Cash & Guns and whatever else I throw in my bag).
HOLY SHIT ITS ON!! Pax wouldn't be the same without Pre-pax boardgames at the Westin. Really excited that JS Joust will be in the same space, it was awesome to have that running at Pax Prime this year.
@LexiconGrrl you are incredible! I will definitely be treating you to a beer or some cookie brigade goodies for your hard work. Glad you are taking the night off to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Please let me know how I can contribute to the 'thanks' to the Westin manager as well.
I'll be bringing a few games, although not sure which ones yet (likely Codenames, Sheriff of Nottingham, Exploding Kittens, Cash & Guns and whatever else I throw in my bag).
See everyone in 3 weeks!
Code names is so good! I wonder if anyone will have spyfall.
@LexiconGrrl you are incredible! I will definitely be treating you to a beer or some cookie brigade goodies for your hard work. Glad you are taking the night off to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Please let me know how I can contribute to the 'thanks' to the Westin manager as well.
Although I'd love to take all the credit, it's really not because of me this year. This particular manager is really the one we should be appreciating, so thanks for calling that out! I'll post more info on her gift soon.
I'm not going to spill the beans here (unless Lexicon lets me :P ), but fans of social deduction games are going to want to attend this event. TopherRocks and rtm416...I'm looking at you.
My excitement is reaching Joy Puke levels. Don't miss this!!
I'm not going to spill the beans here (unless Lexicon lets me :P ), but fans of social deduction games are going to want to attend this event. TopherRocks and rtm416...I'm looking at you.
My excitement is reaching Joy Puke levels. Don't miss this!!
Oh man, I hope I can be there! Hopefully Enforcer meetings will play nicely.
I'm not going to spill the beans here (unless Lexicon lets me :P ), but fans of social deduction games are going to want to attend this event. TopherRocks and rtm416...I'm looking at you.
My excitement is reaching Joy Puke levels. Don't miss this!!
Oh man, I hope I can be there! Hopefully Enforcer meetings will play nicely.
- 350 seats minimum
Was this supposed to be Maximum or does that mean they need 350 people to guarantee the space? If it does require the 350, will there be a sign up list?
- We're working on getting a bar or bars downstairs
If not will we be able to purchase a drink upstairs and bring it down?
One last question. Will we have to show a pax badge to get in at all or will we be able to invite non pax goers out for the gaming event?
I ask because we have some gaming friends there were unlucky with the badge blitz but it would be a cool way for them to get some pax fun time in despite not being able to actually attend the con.
Thanks!
- 350 seats minimum
Was this supposed to be Maximum or does that mean they need 350 people to guarantee the space?
Minimum. It means they'll give us at least 350 seats but can give us more if needed. I would need to let them know ahead of time if we need more than that, and that's kind of an intuitive guessing game (ie: no extra tables will be set up during the event, but we can up the number of seats ahead of time).
Hokay, OP has been updated, and reposted here because nobody ever goes back and re-reads the OP.
This event is ALL AGES!! It's also FREE! And there are NO SIGNUPS!!! Just show up and have a great time. Feel free to bring your spawn, but remember that PAXers have filthy, filthy mouths and your wee ones may be subject to some exciting new vocabulary.
DEETS:
-350 seats in the Basement Exhibition Hall - take the down escalator behind MJ O'Connors and follow the signs.
-No gaming in the upstairs lobby this year at all. Gamers will be asked by staff to go downstairs.
-This event is not paid for, endorsed by, or affiliated with Official Penny Arcade. It is a community-run event.
Food and Drink
DRINKS
- We're working on getting a bar or bars downstairs.
- Drinks can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs and taken downstairs.
- NO DRINKS CAN BE TAKEN OUTSIDE OF MJ O'Connor's. Please do not order drinks for takeout from them. (Their restaurant license is separate from the Westin and takeout cocktails are illegal).
- No outside boozes. Just don't.
FOOD
- There will be no table service.
- Food can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs. Please make every effort to order from them - I know it's pricey but it's how we pay for this space.
- The Westin has indicated that for this year only, ordering from outside vendors is OK. We'll try to have delivery menus available. Still, please try to order from the Birch Bar.
- The Cookie Brigade will have a table for dropoff and donations
RULES THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: The Westin gives us this space for free. They are not obligated to host us and we make every effort to be good guests. We negotiate this every year in exchange for a good bar and restaurant take. This year is a little different from normal since we'll be pretty far away from the bar and restaurant. Even so, please make every effort to purchase from the Birch Bar for food and drink this evening.
- Please don't be an egregious douchebag. For example, one year in Seattle, some guy decided it would be a great idea to vape in the ballroom and the hotel manager came and had an unpleasant chat with me about it. This isn't your buddy's garage man cave, please act appropriately. We pride ourselves on being a responsible, self-policing community, so if you see someone acting inappropriately (smoking, vandalizing or just being a dick), it's a good idea to nicely recommend they knock it the fuck off before management does.
- Be Excellent to each other. We freaks and geeks can be a socially maladroit group, so if someone is shyly lurking by your table, invite them to join. Be patient, be nice. Please don't flip your table.
HOW IT WORKS
1. The Cookie Brigade will be staffing the info table. Additional volunteer staffers are always needed, so step up if you want to take a shift for an hour or two that evening!
2. LexiconGrrl (me) will be off enjoying the fruits of my labors for the first time in this event's history. I'll be "that" middle aged drunk woman with the glasses loudly doing Rammstein Karaoke at the table while everyone else pretends not to know me.
3. If you've got a game and are looking for players, put the box top of the game vertically on your table. This is the universal sign for "I don't care who you are, please join us"
4. If you're looking to join a game, look for vertical box tops.
5. We will have a hosted checkout system at the info table. You can drop off games to loan or borrow games there. If you're dropping off, I recommend doing this:
Weekend Gaming
The mezzanine will open for weekend gaming at 5:00pm on Friday, and the tables will remain up through Sunday night/Monday morning.
Never Been? Here's what you should know:
Pre-PAX Game Night at the Westin has been a tradition for 5+ years at East. At its largest in 2014, Four Hundred seats were filled to bursting with boardgames of all sorts, and the event is one of the only all-ages, free-to-attend activities on Thursday night. Renting this space is cost prohibitive, so we've successfully negotiated with the hotels to give us space for free every year (no small feat).
You don't have to pay to get in, it's open to the public, all-ages, and people are really nice. It's a great way to come and kick off PAX with a massive group of friendly, like-minded PAXers and the selection of boardgames is mindblowing. You can bring your own, or find someone to borrow a game from. There is no central game library but lots of people bring private collections to loan out during the event while other folks prefer to set up a single game ahead of time that they bring. It's very free-form and is a completely volunteer, community run event.
Hey Everybody! This event almost didn't happen this year, so we're getting a thank you gift for the Westin manager who saved it for us.
Backstory
This event is getting more and more difficult to wrangle each year as PAX grows and space becomes increasingly scarce. This year it almost didn't happen until one specific manager at the Westin stepped in and rescued it. We're fundraising to buy her a thank you gift that will come from the whole PAX boardgame community.
The Gift
We're getting her a fancy day spa package; you know something that she would probably like but wouldn't necessarily spring for normally. The specific package will depend on how much we raise but I'm looking at the Mandarin Oriental or if we really raise some funds, an overnight at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod. The gift will come from the "PAX Boardgame Community"
If you love this event and want to contribute, please use the link below, which has been pre-approved by forum administration.
The link will stay live until the Friday after game night, so that any walk-ins on Thursday have a chance to contribute if they didn't know about it before.
Hey Everybody! This event almost didn't happen this year, so we're getting a thank you gift for the Westin manager who saved it for us.
Backstory
This event is getting more and more difficult to wrangle each year as PAX grows and space becomes increasingly scarce. This year it almost didn't happen until one specific manager at the Westin stepped in and rescued it. We're fundraising to buy her a thank you gift that will come from the whole PAX boardgame community.
The Gift
We're getting her a fancy day spa package; you know something that she would probably like but wouldn't necessarily spring for normally. The specific package will depend on how much we raise but I'm looking at the Mandarin Oriental or if we really raise some funds, an overnight at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod. The gift will come from the "PAX Boardgame Community"
If you love this event and want to contribute, please use the link below, which has been pre-approved by forum administration.
The link will stay live until the Friday after game night, so that any walk-ins on Thursday have a chance to contribute if they didn't know about it before.
Thanks!
She was so helpful last year too. I must have called 3 or 4 times to have tables sent to different areas and they were up within 5 minutes!
Hey guys, first PAX and brand spanking new to the board. I just read everything in this thread and holy shit, the heroism that went into putting this together. I am absolutely attending this. I will be bringing Resistance, Betrayal at the House on the Hill, Dead of Winter and Pandemic, assuming I can fit all of them in my bag. Oh, I'll totally dish out cash to the bar too. So stoked. Thanks to all for organizing this.
I shall be brining games, but they will all be quite small as I have to travel quite far to get to PAX East in the first place. The games will be:
Codenames - well known party game where two teams of spies try to contact spies from the same faction using obscure words.
6 Nimmt - Anti trick card game that takes up to 10 players
Coup Rebellion - Variant of Coup with lots of different roles
Abluxxen - German card game requiring people to create tricks via series of cards
Blood Bowl Team Manager - Staple deck building game
Impulse - 4x space exploration game that is made up of a bunch of cards
No Thanks - Risk reward based trick pulling game
Lords of Scotland - Elegant and combative card game that has players mustering Scottish clans to gain their support for the throne
I shall also be bringing along Forum Badges for people to pick up. Note: No questions need be answered if you pick the badges up from this event or the Pre PAX Dinner
I'm not sure if this is in the cards, but a jar or something at Info might be the best method. You're more likely to get 10 people giving $2 than one giving $20.
Donated. If everyone donates a few dollars we'd have a decent total to make her know it matters and hopefully incentivise her to continue helping us out!
Posts
Cheers!
Rock on up, baby. Grab a table - signage for your table would be good, but our only request is that you don't try to bomb the event (ie: no flyers on all the tables, no annoying soliciting , etc...) There will be an info table helping to direct people to games and you'd be welcome to let them know you're looking for players/playtesters.
No outside alcohol. Bar specifics will be posted to the OP one they're available.
@LexiconGrrl you are incredible! I will definitely be treating you to a beer or some cookie brigade goodies for your hard work. Glad you are taking the night off to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Please let me know how I can contribute to the 'thanks' to the Westin manager as well.
I'll be bringing a few games, although not sure which ones yet (likely Codenames, Sheriff of Nottingham, Exploding Kittens, Cash & Guns and whatever else I throw in my bag).
See everyone in 3 weeks!
Code names is so good! I wonder if anyone will have spyfall.
Done, and emailed.
Although I'd love to take all the credit, it's really not because of me this year. This particular manager is really the one we should be appreciating, so thanks for calling that out! I'll post more info on her gift soon.
My excitement is reaching Joy Puke levels. Don't miss this!!
Oh man, I hope I can be there! Hopefully Enforcer meetings will play nicely.
Agreed!
Was this supposed to be Maximum or does that mean they need 350 people to guarantee the space? If it does require the 350, will there be a sign up list?
- We're working on getting a bar or bars downstairs
If not will we be able to purchase a drink upstairs and bring it down?
One last question. Will we have to show a pax badge to get in at all or will we be able to invite non pax goers out for the gaming event?
I ask because we have some gaming friends there were unlucky with the badge blitz but it would be a cool way for them to get some pax fun time in despite not being able to actually attend the con.
Thanks!
Nope: first come, first served. We always fill up between 7pm and 11pm and people game on the floor. Always.
Yuppers! Not from the MJ O'Connor's (that's a private restaurant with a separate license), but from the Birch Bar.
This is not a PA-organized activity and happens before the con, so no badges needed. Everybody is welcome.
This event is ALL AGES!! It's also FREE! And there are NO SIGNUPS!!! Just show up and have a great time. Feel free to bring your spawn, but remember that PAXers have filthy, filthy mouths and your wee ones may be subject to some exciting new vocabulary.
DEETS:
-350 seats in the Basement Exhibition Hall - take the down escalator behind MJ O'Connors and follow the signs.
-No gaming in the upstairs lobby this year at all. Gamers will be asked by staff to go downstairs.
-This event is not paid for, endorsed by, or affiliated with Official Penny Arcade. It is a community-run event.
Food and Drink
DRINKS
- We're working on getting a bar or bars downstairs.
- Drinks can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs and taken downstairs.
- NO DRINKS CAN BE TAKEN OUTSIDE OF MJ O'Connor's. Please do not order drinks for takeout from them. (Their restaurant license is separate from the Westin and takeout cocktails are illegal).
- No outside boozes. Just don't.
FOOD
- There will be no table service.
- Food can be ordered from the Birch Bar upstairs. Please make every effort to order from them - I know it's pricey but it's how we pay for this space.
- The Westin has indicated that for this year only, ordering from outside vendors is OK. We'll try to have delivery menus available. Still, please try to order from the Birch Bar.
- The Cookie Brigade will have a table for dropoff and donations
RULES
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: The Westin gives us this space for free. They are not obligated to host us and we make every effort to be good guests. We negotiate this every year in exchange for a good bar and restaurant take. This year is a little different from normal since we'll be pretty far away from the bar and restaurant. Even so, please make every effort to purchase from the Birch Bar for food and drink this evening.
- Please don't be an egregious douchebag. For example, one year in Seattle, some guy decided it would be a great idea to vape in the ballroom and the hotel manager came and had an unpleasant chat with me about it. This isn't your buddy's garage man cave, please act appropriately. We pride ourselves on being a responsible, self-policing community, so if you see someone acting inappropriately (smoking, vandalizing or just being a dick), it's a good idea to nicely recommend they knock it the fuck off before management does.
- Be Excellent to each other. We freaks and geeks can be a socially maladroit group, so if someone is shyly lurking by your table, invite them to join. Be patient, be nice. Please don't flip your table.
HOW IT WORKS
1. The Cookie Brigade will be staffing the info table. Additional volunteer staffers are always needed, so step up if you want to take a shift for an hour or two that evening!
2. LexiconGrrl (me) will be off enjoying the fruits of my labors for the first time in this event's history. I'll be "that" middle aged drunk woman with the glasses loudly doing Rammstein Karaoke at the table while everyone else pretends not to know me.
3. If you've got a game and are looking for players, put the box top of the game vertically on your table. This is the universal sign for "I don't care who you are, please join us"
4. If you're looking to join a game, look for vertical box tops.
5. We will have a hosted checkout system at the info table. You can drop off games to loan or borrow games there. If you're dropping off, I recommend doing this:
Weekend Gaming
The mezzanine will open for weekend gaming at 5:00pm on Friday, and the tables will remain up through Sunday night/Monday morning.
Never Been? Here's what you should know:
You don't have to pay to get in, it's open to the public, all-ages, and people are really nice. It's a great way to come and kick off PAX with a massive group of friendly, like-minded PAXers and the selection of boardgames is mindblowing. You can bring your own, or find someone to borrow a game from. There is no central game library but lots of people bring private collections to loan out during the event while other folks prefer to set up a single game ahead of time that they bring. It's very free-form and is a completely volunteer, community run event.
Backstory
This event is getting more and more difficult to wrangle each year as PAX grows and space becomes increasingly scarce. This year it almost didn't happen until one specific manager at the Westin stepped in and rescued it. We're fundraising to buy her a thank you gift that will come from the whole PAX boardgame community.
The Gift
We're getting her a fancy day spa package; you know something that she would probably like but wouldn't necessarily spring for normally. The specific package will depend on how much we raise but I'm looking at the Mandarin Oriental or if we really raise some funds, an overnight at the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod. The gift will come from the "PAX Boardgame Community"
If you love this event and want to contribute, please use the link below, which has been pre-approved by forum administration.
https://www.gofundme.com/PrePAXGameNight
The link will stay live until the Friday after game night, so that any walk-ins on Thursday have a chance to contribute if they didn't know about it before.
Thanks!
She was so helpful last year too. I must have called 3 or 4 times to have tables sent to different areas and they were up within 5 minutes!
Amazing idea, thank YOU for getting this together!
Open your hearts and wallets people...everyone has a dollar to spare!
Codenames - well known party game where two teams of spies try to contact spies from the same faction using obscure words.
6 Nimmt - Anti trick card game that takes up to 10 players
Coup Rebellion - Variant of Coup with lots of different roles
Abluxxen - German card game requiring people to create tricks via series of cards
Blood Bowl Team Manager - Staple deck building game
Impulse - 4x space exploration game that is made up of a bunch of cards
No Thanks - Risk reward based trick pulling game
Lords of Scotland - Elegant and combative card game that has players mustering Scottish clans to gain their support for the throne
I shall also be bringing along Forum Badges for people to pick up. Note: No questions need be answered if you pick the badges up from this event or the Pre PAX Dinner
Somebody needs to mashup the Terry Pratchett "Scone of Stone" into a Scottish-themed boardgame.
That one's free.
How much are you shooting for on the GoFundMe campaign? https://www.gofundme.com/PrePAXGameNight
I'm not sure if this is in the cards, but a jar or something at Info might be the best method. You're more likely to get 10 people giving $2 than one giving $20.