PAX Prime 2013 Table Top Gaming

PAX Prime 2013 is upon us once again! With shimmering media passes, some of us on the Dorkadia crew are going to be doing their best grown-ass-adult impressions to get the scoop on the newest video games. I’m not sure if our bluff checks will be enough, but I hope that PAX subscribes to the fail forward philosophy and allows us to come back with some interesting results if we don’t ace our rolls.

But those media passes won’t keep me from experiencing what I still claim is my favorite part of PAX: the table top free play area. It’s easy to get caught up in the glamour (and lines) of the expo floor, so I want to draw your attention to some of the board game and RPG attractions that you might otherwise miss. Trust me, you’ll eventually going to want to sit down, put down your swag filled bag, and meet some of your fellow kindred spirits attending PAX.

Table Top Free Play

Board games are an ideal way to meet people at PAX. The Table Top Free Play area is a series of dedicated rooms for you to borrow full board games for absolutely zero dollars. You can then sit down with you friends (or new friends) to take all the time you need to assemble and learn how to play it. The check out room for board games is a veritable Wonka Land of board games, stacked with multiples of every game you’ve wanted to play and many you’ve never heard of. The table top free play area is a flexible stop at PAX: spend 20 minutes between panels playing Zombie Dice (which you’ve been meaning to play for ages!) or sit down with strangers to churn out a six hour long epic game of Twilight Imperium. (which you can never get your friends to commit to!)

PAX Prime will be having two check out areas, one at the Table Top headquarters in room 204 of the WSCC building and one on the third floor of the Hyatt Olive 8. The Olive 8 is just a hop from the Convention Center and is boasting a much larger free play area.

Indie Games on Demand

Do you enjoy table top RPGs but have yet to get your hands on such indie mavericks as Apocalypse World, Mouse Guard, Fiasco, and Big Motherfucking Crab Truckers? Indie Games on Demand is exactly what you’re looking for. Much like the Table Top Free Play area where you check out a copy of a board game, the Indie Games on Demand are allows you to check out a real-ass human being that knows how to play your indie RPG of choice. They’ll sit you down with other players and run a 2-hour demo game, fresh to order.

The single time I went through Indie Games on Demand was during PAX 2012 and I played the 13th Age demo that sold me on the system. My game group has been playing it for months happily. Stop by rooms 305 and 306 in the WSCC to try some new imagination games.

Table Top Tournaments

Nerds tend to be a competitive lot. I was not surprised to find that the 2013 Table Top tournaments have a whole venue dedicated to them on the third floor of the Hyatt Olive 8. The full schedule is stunning. Over twenty titles are present, from board game staples to miniature war games and CCG/LCGs. Whether you’re bored of your local opponents in Android: Netrunner or you’re the best damn Settlers of Catan player and you’re out to prove it, those with a competitive streak will find other like minded Spikes to play against. You’ll want to check out all of the regulations and guidelines in this PAX Forum post to make sure you can bust heads in the game of your choice.

For those of you concerned that you’re trading PAX for a tournament, many tournaments are run using a “heat” system, allowing participants to get the most out of their precious PAX hours. They will have multiple qualifying heats during the day and the winners move on to a Semifinal and Final rounds later in the day. For example, being the qualifying winner during a 11:00-12:00pm heat would allow you to leave the tournament, enjoy PAX, and then come back at 5:00pm for the final rounds of the tournament.

I implore you, do your best to pull yourself away from the jumbotron screens in the expo hall and wander through the table top gaming areas. If you see something that catches your eye, as the strangers playing it what it is, ask if there’s room in the game, and make some friends! PAX is a uniquely social event that brings together like minded nerds in a non-commercial venue, and the table top area is the best way to take advantage of that fact.