PAX Unplugged 2023 Report

Another year and another con in the books.

Day 0: I met Joshua in the mid-morning and we drove down together.  Arriving mid-afternoon, we ended up waiting in line with all the other vendors looking to get into the conference center and set up.  After getting through the line we set up, found out hotel rooms, then had dinner -- Megumi Ramen & Sushi.  Afterwards I did some exploring and bargain shopping.  A little later I met Dom, one of my booth-mates, and gave him his badge.  I then settled in for the night.

Day 1: I managed to get into the con sort of early, after a quick breakfast we reset the booth layout a bit.  After the con opened I ran multiple demos -- in the booth -- before lunch, which was a new experience for me.  I had lunch at Oishii Poke again, then did some shopping at Ebisu.  Came back and ran more demos until the Vendor Hall closed.  I sat outside the Vendor Hall for a while and decompressed, met Dom and Joshua for dinner at Ocean City, went to Target for a few things I forgot to pack, then called it a night.  I gave out 13 participation packs and ran seven or eight demos.

Hotel view.

Hotel view.

A different House of Dragons.

Day 2: I slept in by accident -- always check your alarm boys and girls -- had leftovers for breakfast, and still managed to make it in to the con early-ish.  I demoed for two hours which seemed to go by in an eyeblink.  Ed and his niece showed up so we went over to the Miniatures section in the main hall and started setting up for a full scale game.  I wasn't expecting anyone to show so this was a nice surprise.  We played until 4pm or so -- that's set-up to tear-down -- as there were a lot of people asking questions and we had a new player.  Then I went back to the booth for the final two vendor hours.  After hall close I tried to visit Fat Jack Comics but got blocked by a parade.  I managed to make it to Pho Mi Rittenhouse for dinner, then limped back to the hotel on tired, aching legs.  I only gave out 4 participation packs and I'm not sure how many demos I ran.

Day 3: Got up on time, packed up, then went to the con.  Found the "Fantastic Knickknackery" booth that I was looking for last year.  Con opened.  Had an excellent conversation with one of the creators of an "Infinity of Ships".  The rest of the day was kind of a blur.  I know I ran a few demos and talked about MFZ a fair amount.  Lunch was Crown Fried Chicken.  The con closed, we broke down the booth, loaded the car, had dinner at Terakawa Ramen -- which is always pretty busy -- then headed home.  I gave out 5 participation packs.

Con loot (pictures taken at home).

In Con purchases.

Snowy Owlbear from Metal Weave Games.

d20 from Fantastic Knickknackery.

Out of Con Purchases.

The Lazer Blocks and Mega Bloks sets are from

Burlington.  The others I bought at Ebisu.

Post Con Thoughts:

• The lead up to this con was stressful, and I know that I was not the only one that felt that way.
• It was nice to meet Dom from the Xenophilia discord for the first time.
• I sold 11 Rulers, 8 copies of Dinosaur Planet, 5 Starter Kits, and 4 Dice Kits.
• I gave out 22 participation packs.
• I quickly lost track of the number of demos I ran.
• I didn't see much of the con, I spent most of my time in the booth.

PAX Unplugged 2022 Report

Day 0: I got in to Philly at a reasonable hour after avoiding NYC entirely on the drive down.  I checked into my hotel and promptly got stuck in traffic due to a Christmas tree lighting event and putting the wrong garage in my satnav.  Got to the hall and the booth where everything was already set up and dropped off my stuff.  Joshua and I went into Chinatown for dinner, then I wandered around a bit, then I went to my hotel to catch up on my internet traffic and crash.

Christmas tree.

Zamboni!

Day 1: Got up early-ish, walked to the con with  friend, snagged a facsimile of breakfast, got to the booth, and did a little set up of my own.  Then I talked to the Miniatures section about using a table in their area instead of our assigned demo table, talked to Joshua, Hanna, and Evan for a bit, took some pictures, then went to set up the demo table.  I did one demo before lunch, talked to a few people, then finally ran back to back demos around 4pm.  Knocked off at 5:45, went to get Kung Fu Tea, did some bargain hunting, visited Fat Jacks Comics, got frustrated with the hotel wi-fi being out, then got pho for dinner before crashing.

The long view.

Armor!

Waiting line.

Snap Ships.

New demo set up!

Day 2: Got up before my alarm, dropped off and picked up stuff from the car, had a real breakfast, got to the hall early to set up and take pictures.  Ran a demo for a young girl right at the opening -- she was awesome -- then my friend Pete arrived, and I ran a refresher demo for Joe Sites and a couple of gentlemen from the day before.  Then the six player(!) game started -- yet another at PAX -- which took us roughly 3.5 hours from set up to tear down.  Went to dinner with Pete, took a walk to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and climbed the steps -- yes, those steps -- then went back to my hotel and crashed.

Pika!

Day 3: Got up even earlier, checked out of the hotel, dropped my stuff in the car, got breakfast, did some bargain shopping, got to the hall and chilled out in the booth.  Ran one demo almost an hour after opening.  Skipped back to the booth for some things I forgot, returned to find Pete running a demo.  Sat around for a while more, packed up, had lunch -- Tambayan in Reading Market, the best food I had at the con -- walked through the con and did some shopping, said my goodbyes and left early.

Christmas tree in daylight.

I love this entranceway.

Demo!

Random thoughts about the con.

• Sitting around between demos has not gotten any easier.  I had an interesting discussion about this with my boothmates on Sunday(?).
• The new demo kit worked well.  It still needs some tweaks to be where I want it to be, but otherwise it was a good start.
• Starting the Doomsday Clock at "5" for demos sped things up a fair amount and it felt like if removed some of the "dead space" of the prior way I used to do it.
• I got mad props for my Philadelphia Phantoms jersey.
• I believe I sold out of my left-over Rulers from the last con, which is cool.
• I was working on another retail item but the material didn't arrive before the con started.
• I've started thinking about producing Starter Kits year-round, instead of having to scramble before the start of every con to assemble them.
• We had a fair amount of interest in the game on Saturday but I have yet to see any pictures online.
• That game was pretty awesome.  I should have a battle report up on Friday.
• If we had one more player join we would have had to split into 3 and 4 player games.  Which would have been massive having two games running at once.
• Is it bad that I'm really looking forward to next year?

PAX Unplugged 2019 Report

So it's the Monday evening after PAX Unplugged 2018 and I'm finally typing up my notes.

I arrived in Philly around 7pm after getting stuck in traffic in NYC -- again -- and traffic in New Jersey after clearing the George Washington Bridge.  I found my hotel, parked my car in a better garage than last year, then dropped off my stuff at the booth.  I said "hi" to Meguey, Stephen, and Joshua.  Joshua and I then grabbed dessert at Mango Mango.  I went back to the hotel and did some exploring of my immediate area via Google maps before falling asleep.

Friday I managed to make it in to the hall an hour before opening after waking up at my usual time.  This morning featured my longest stay in the security line.  After making it in, I said "hi" to a few people in the booth, the grabbed my stuff and went searching for a place to set up.  I decided on a table in the Miniatures area.  I set up then did some exploring.  I ran one demo right after the hall opened then ended up answering questions rather than running demos -- as I put it to someone "lotsa nibbles, but no bites".  Went to lunch at 12:30 visiting District Taco and Kung Fu Tea.  I came back to Joshua running a demo.  Talked about MFZ to a bunch of people, ran a demo, then another for the same person plus two of his friends.  Ran a demo after that for four people, then one more for a single player before the hall closed.  I gave out ten participation packets and sold six Rulers.  I made the mistake of wearing a pair of boots for the entire day and it messed up my lower back for the rest of the con.  Remember, always wear good footwear folks.

Saturday I got out early and bought new sneakers -- and socks which I forgot to pack along with a water bottle.  Set up on a round table -- planning ahead for the big game -- in the Social Gaming area, which was right next to the Miniatures area.  I ran an abbreviated demo right after the hall opened.  Then I ran a four player, a four player, and a three player demo right in a row.  I had spent the morning worrying about who was going to show up but we manged to have a four player game that started at 1pm and ran 'til 4:40pm.  I walked the Vendor Hall 'til  close.  I gave out six participation packs and sold two Rulers, three Expansions, and five Starter Kits.  I met Zero Revenge and Gatling Gouf from the Hangar.  I wanted to visit Cooperage Philly again but it closed back in August.  I went to Naf Naf Grill instead.

Sunday I did some shopping at TJ Maxx for a clone brick set before going in to the hall.  I set up in the Miniatures area again -- right in front this time!  Ran a one player demo right after opening, which I unfortunately won.  Ran a four player demo after that -- one of the players was Chris, out hype man from the big game two years ago.  Ran a two player demo.  Ran a three player demo, including my friend Witt, then went to lunch.  Oishii Poke and Kung Fu Tea this time.  I came back to find Joshua running a demo.  After relieving Joshua, I ran a demo for a kid with my friend Witt sitting in.  After that I closed up the demo table and went to see the parts of the con I hadn't along with doing some shopping.  I helped break down the booth and listened for a little while to the brass band that someone brought in to close out the con.  We loaded out then I headed home.  I gave out sixteen participation packs and sold two Expansions, and four Rulers.  I saw my friend Vlad again this year.

Random thoughts about the con:

• Once again I was worried/annoyed /frustrated on Friday morning by the lack of running demos.
• I got a suggestion from Chris about possibly getting more pictures online from future cons.
• I had an idea for renaming Expansion Packs to Booster Packs and actually making a larger Expansion Set.
• I gave away the same amount of participation packs as I did last year.
• I also ran the same amount of demos.
• Everyone I pitched the idea of a MFZ tournament to seemed receptive.

Armour Con 2019 Report

After a day off dealing with a migraine, I'm looking at my notes from the con and trying to form them into a cohesive narrative.

Day 0: The Vendor's Room was open for us to set up in the night before so I brought in all of my stock and the demo kit.  Talked to a couple of the vendors, set up the table quickly, and headed home to rest.

Day 1.  I showed up at 9 am and set up the standee, chatted a little with the other vendors in the room, and did some minor exploring.  Joshua showed up at 11 and started setting up his side of the booth.  I ran my first demo right before noon.  After that I ran a second demo for four players, including Joshua.  Sat down and had lunch because I was a tiny bit hungry.  Ran a third demo at 3 pm with Joshua and two players, one of them a kid who had really good dice mojo.  Ran a fourth demo around 4 pm.  Attendance kind of died off at 5 pm so we closed up early and headed out for dinner.  I sold two Rulers and gave out seven participation packs over the day.

Day 2.  Showed up a little before Noon after a detour to the bank.  Ran into Cmdr. Rook at the booth, then Occam's Spork showed up.  Ran one demo, sold two rulers, and saw my friend Tom.  Started gathering players and tables for the tournament.  We set up two tables even though we only had enough players for one.  Said "hi" to my friend PJ Nicht who was in the same room as the tournament and was trying out a game.  Ran another demo for one person then that person joined the tournament after borrowing a squad.  The tournament consisted of Cmdr. Rook, Occam's Spork, PJ Nicht, Tom, and David (new guy).  The next several hours was spent bouncing between the tournament and the booth.  Sold two Starter kits and three Expansion packs to an enthusiastic customer.  Ran my girlfriend through a demo -- I got destroyed -- then sold another Starter kit and Expansion pack.  Got back to the tournament to find out that Tom and PJ Nicht managed a tie after a hard fought game.  Packed up both tables, then covered the booth 'til closing time.  Went out for Vietnamese food for dinner with my girlfriend and Joshua.  I gave away three participation packs on the day.

Day 3.  Showed up at Noon and sold two Rapid Attack books right off the bat.  Joshua showed up a little after that having made a quick stop to grab a dolly at a yard sale.  But after that it was very quiet.  I ran one demo then we started packing up at 2 pm just like the other vendors.  Sold one Starter kit as we began packing up.  Sold the last Starter kit and Expansion pack as we finished packing up.  I gave away one participation pack for the entire day.

Some random Thoughts.

• This con was really personal to me as it was my idea and I did the organization.
• As a first time convention there were some hiccups.
• I made some mistakes myself.
• I'm really hoping it makes it to a second year as it's really close to where I live.
• Figured out on Saturday I have to rework my pronouns for demoing.
• It was cool having a first-timer in the tournament but, I was hoping more people would make it out.
• Apparently there were a fair amount of people taking pictures of the tournament tables.
• Let's hope that turns into increased interest down the line.

PAX Unplugged 2018 Report

So it's the Monday evening after PAX Unplugged 2018 and I'm finally typing up my notes.

I arrived late-ish Thursday evening after getting stuck in some horrendous NYC traffic.  I helped to set up  the booth for the first time at any PAX.  Afterwards I grabbed a late dinner with boothmates Sean and Tanner.

Friday I managed to make it in early, being in a hotel across the street from the convention center helped, grabbed my gear and walked over to the Tabletop Freeplay area to set up for demos.  I ran one demo between hall opening and breaking for lunch at 1pm.  This had me worried/annoyed /frustrated but things picked up after I got back.  I ended up running six more demos, Shades Corvid ran one while I took a break, even one with Jerry Holkins watching and color commenting.  I continued giving away participation packets as I did at PAX East, ten on the first day.  After hall close I had dinner with Shades Corvid and my boothmates, Sean, Joshua and Ben.

Saturday I got in early again and set up in a different location, the "Social Zone" where there were round tables which I prefer for demoing.  I did two demos and Shades did one then we broke for lunch before the full scale game.  We gave out four participation packets for the demos we ran.  Hydromancer watched the table for us while we grabbed banh mi.  The "big game" was great.  It was just Hydromancer, Shades Corvid, and myself.  I finally got to display a table setting I had been working on for at least a year.  It seemed to attract a lot of attention as the three of us kept answering questions from passers-by.  I may be exaggerating but I think at one point all three of us were talking to curious people at the same time.  I'll try and have the battle report up soon.  We finished the game and broke down the table by 5pm.  I wandered around the con for a bit and then left when the hall closed.  I sold out of Starter Kits sometime in the afternoon on Saturday, which made me happy.    Ended up taking some quiet time for myself after the main hall closed.  Chilled in the hotel room for a bit then walked over to Cooperage Philly.  I did a little research before heading down and this place was on my radar.  The food was good and the whisk(e)y list looked interesting.  I'll see if I can drag more of the crew over next year.

Sunday I slept a little late but managed to make it into the hall early again.  Set up in the same spot as Saturday.  Started kinda slow but Shades and I managed seven demos in total, with him running two of them.  My friends Vlad and Ryan managed to make it to the table and get in a few demos as well.  The general vibe for Sunday seemed more relaxed but that may have just been me coming down from the rush that was Saturday.  I sold out of Rulers this day and also gave away seventeen participation packets.  After knocking off around 5pm I grabbed a quick bite then helped to tear down the booth after the hall closed.  A short rest at the hotel room then a very fast 4.5 hour drive home finished out my PAX Unplugged 2018 experience.

Some random thoughts.

• This con felt a little more personal to me.  Maybe because I had material for sale, or maybe because I was sharing a room.
• I felt like I didn't spend all that much time with my boothmates this year.  Probably because we were all getting pulled in separate directions and there were more of us than in previous years.
• I'm glad there was strong interest in the Starter Kits I created.
• I had ideas for an expansion pack before the con and I'll implement them for the next PAX.
• There seemed to be a lot of interest in MFZ at the con, yet the community in general seems to be at its quietest.
• I talked with Shades Corvid and Hydromancer about ideas to increase the presence of the MFZ community at PAX Unplugged in coming years.

PAX East 2018 Report

So it's the Tuesday after PAX East and I'm finally typing up my notes.  Yes, I finally took notes about my experiences.  Unfortunately I spent yesterday either in bed or on the couch with a migraine.

I arrived Thursday -- after taking the train and the Silver line in to the convention center -- toget in line just as the doors we're opening.  After a not too bad wait, I met up with Joshua and headed down to the booth.  Said "hi" to everybody who was there and grabbed some table space for demos.  After setting up I ran demos 'til about 4pm when I stopped to grab food at one of the food trucks.  After a quick bite and a meet-up with another member of the Indie Bazaar to drop off a badge, I got back to demoing.  After a couple more hours we broke for dinner.  After dinner I headed home.  I met Ben Platypus and Brantuan for the first time, and saw my friend Stevenik and his nephew again.  All told, I think I ran 10 demos.  That number may be a little high looking at my totals for the following days.  I also started giving away participation packets this year, thirteen on the first day.

Friday's entrance was a little easier as I didn't have any bags.  I also got in a little earlier and got to walk through the electronic games hall before the show started.  The aisles seem wider this year, and the booths more spread out.  I set up in a prime spot on the first table on the aisle and waited for the con to open.  I ran a bunch of demos.  Tom and GrafVonBarnes showed up and I corralled them in to helping out for a few.  Kept going 'til about 2pm or so then went out to the food trucks again.  Waited in line in the snow for half an hour and spent 45 minutes or so eating and chilling out.  Back to the table for more demos, we knocked off around 7pm.  I ended up giving out only seven participation packets this time.

Saturday I got in early again, went through the Exhibitor line, but still made it in quickly even with a bag check.  I set up on the second row of tables and ran a demo for an exhibitor from another booth who was running demos of his own game on an adjacent table.  Had a bit of down time before the maddening crowd made its way back to us so I set off for the Chessex booth on the other side of "the wall".  After that I started running demos.  Like the day before I ran until 2pm or so.  This day featured my longtime con-friends Vlad and Ryan showing up and sitting in for a four player demo.  Then I took a break and went into Chinatown for some food.  After that I came back and ran a few more demos before knocking off around 7pm again.  I gave out fourteen participation packets this time.  I also sold out of Rulers sometime in the afternoon on Saturday.

Sunday was another early morning.  I set up on the first table again then walked around and took a bunch of pictures before the con opened.  I managed to get Vincent to sit in on one of the four demos I ran that morning.  I also gave away the remaining six participation packets.  One o'clock rolled round really quickly and I started setting up for a full scale game.  Only Vlad and Ryan showed up for this so we got right to work.  Three and a half hours later the smoke cleared -- hopefully I'll have the battle report done by Friday -- and I was completely spent.  Vincent ran a few quick demos for a few people then we cleaned off the table and called it a day.  I grabbed a quick bite, finally, and then hung out in the booth and wandered around for a little bit until the con closed.  Then I helped to take down the booth and pack things into people's cars.  A short wait at the train station, an hour train ride, a fifteen minute walk home, and PAX East was done for another year.

Some random thoughts:

• I saw a lot more cosplayers this time around.  I'm not sure if it was because I was there for the entire con this year but it seemed like the cosplay presence was greater.
• It seemed like there were less smaller booths this time.  Especially on the Tabletop side.
• The same standard question, "How do I get the pieces to play?"
• I will make more Rulers for the next con, maybe twelve this time instead of nine.
• I will also make more participation packets, 50 instead of 40.
• As usual, I had a great time and look forward to the next PAX.

PAX Unplugged 2017 Report

It's the Monday after the inaugural PAX Unplugged and I've been home for several hours.  Having had a nap after the trip home and a decent dinner I'm finally sitting down to try and get my impressions recorded.

I arrived late at my hotel in New Jersey Thursday night as I got a little bit lost after coming off the New Jersey Turnpike.  But thanks to Google Maps that was fixed pretty quickly.

I got up at my regular time on Friday then met other people from the booth that were staying at the hotel.  We drove in to Philadelphia, and after some minor issues finding parking, headed for the con.  After saying "Hi" to everyone at the Indie Bazaar, I, Joshua, and Cmdr Rook went to find table space for demos.  We -- Cmdr Rook and I -- set up on two tables then proceeded to run multiple demos for several hours.  We cleaned up, knocked off, and I grabbed some food in Chinatown.  After going back to my hotel room and eating I went out for a walk.  Luckily enough, there was a Toys'R'Us, Dollar Tree, and Walmart across the street.  I got a phone charger, something to drink, and a new for 2018 Creator set.  Then I went back to my room and crashed for the night.

Saturday started a little differently as there was a half marathon being held in Philadelphia and some of the streets were blocked off.  This led to us taking the train in then walking to the convention hall.  We waited in the Queuing Area with everyone else then headed in to set up.  After setting up I ran two demos -- I swear I blinked it was two hours later -- then Cmdr Rook relieved me.  I went back to the booth, chatted a bit, and got in the majority of a demo of Tiny & Chrome.  Tiny & Chrome is Lego based, tabletop wargame that is built on elements of MFZ.  It's also created by Eliot Baker, that's right, another member of the Baker clan.  After that I grabbed some coffee and a snack before heading over to the demo table for the big game.  I met sBritcher, Hydromancer, and Cmdr Rook for a full scale game.  We started at 3:30 and finished at 6:00.  We were moving pretty fast and I don't have many pictures but I may have a battle report for the game at some point.  We also had a gentleman named Chris hang out for the entire game basically cheerleading.  It was awesome!  After breaking down the table we headed out with a bunch of people for dinner.

Sunday I drove in by myself.  I got in pretty early and had to wait for someone with an Exhibitor badge to walk me in.  After setting up, I ran three more demos.  One was for Chris, the gentleman from the night before.  Vlad, whom I've mentioned before in my PAX East posts, also made it to the table and played in a few demos.  Cmdr Rook ran a demo then we knocked off, cleaned up, and went to actually see the convention -- instead of just the booth, the demo table, and the stretch of floor between the two.  After the con closed at 6:00 I helped break down the booth and load stuff into people's cars.  Then I headed back to my car and home.

So I totaled up at nine full demos run and one full scale game played for the three days of the con.  I had a great time, met a bunch of cool people, and I'm looking forward to next year.

PAX East 2017 Report

It's now the Monday after PAX East 2017.  I'm sitting here typing and trying to remember everything that happened over the weekend.

Saturday I showed up a little late after getting through the line.  I met Dark Cloud Blogs inside and we headed to the booth.  We said "hello" to everyone and set up the table.  We ran several demos for people, trading off who was running the demo, until 1 pm.  Then we cleaned everything up, moved the chairs and tables, then set up for the Minifig scale game.  This lasted for four hours -- setup to breakdown -- and was a lot of fun.  Hopefully I'll have the battle report done by Friday.  It seemed like it attracted a lot of attention from passers-by.  After that we were done for the day and I explored a bit of the con.  I made a stop at the Chessex booth and stood in line for a while to get another set of dice for MFZ.  After that I dropped in on a panel, then chatted a bit with friends before going home.

Sunday I managed to make it in before the crowds and get the table set up in time for the opening rush.  I ran demos for two hours until Dark Cloud Blogs showed up to give me a lunch break.  After that we tag teamed the demos until the closing announcement.  My friend Stevenik showed up and played a few demos along with Personzz.  I also saw a few other friends while I was at the demo table.  After the con closed I said "bye" to my booth-mates and headed home.

I had a lot of fun this year and I'm looking forward to next year.

PAX East 2016 Report

Once more I have returned from PAX East.  I only attended Saturday and Sunday this year due to life getting in the way.

On Saturday I got there a little late but cruised through the line in record time.  I helped to set up and then started running demos.  All told I ran seven demos, several of them involving kids which is always cool.  I met Xenovorous from the Hangar and he sat in on a demo.  I talked to a fair amount of people and the Gundam models seemed to be a big hit.

Sunday I actually arrived on time as the doors were opening.  It only took a minute more to get through this time so ingress speeds were consistent.  I got down to the booth and helped set up the demo tables.  It was supposed to be my "day off" but I ran a demo for someone.  I then went off to explore the con.  I purchased a few things for friends that I said I would then wandered around the hall.  I made it back to the booth before our scheduled game was supposed to start.  While I was waiting for the group to show up I ran two more demos.  Jay Biquadrate from the Hangar was there for the game and helped with the demos.  Then Stevenik showed up and we got to playing the full game.  Details will follow soon.  After the game finished I ran one last demo for a gentleman that had waited patiently to try it.  After that we broke down the tables, I did some last minute shopping, and Stevenik and I left to go grab some dinner.

PAX East 2015 Report

I'm back from PAX East.  Only a semi-wonderful time as I had a bad headache on Saturday.  Although the six player game of MFZ on Sunday kinda made up for it.

I managed to get in early on Friday which was nice as it gave me and one of the other guys that was helping demo time to set up the table.  I ended up demoing MFZ: Rapid Attack at least fire times and MFZ: Intercept Orbit twice.  I actually saw a RA team with Artillery win the demo game twice!  We also had two one-shot kills in two different games -- one RA the other IO.  I stopped demoing around 6:30 pm as my voice had taken a bit of a beating during the first IO demo.

Saturday didn't start out so well.  I woke up with a bad headache that would not go away all day.  I got in a little late after the con floor opened, 10:30 am.  I managed to run three IO demos, and one RA demo -- although it could have been more.  The first IO demo featured a Ram Attack that ended up destroying both ships.  The board looked like an interstellar junkyard by the end of the game.  My last IO demo was for Golden Meanie from the Hangar and his two sons.  Vlad and Ryan also stopped by the table to say "hi".  I quit around 4:00 and decided to go home.

Sunday was my day to enjoy the con so I wandered around with a friend for most of the day checking out the computer gaming end of the hall as I don't really spend much time there during PAX East.  I did run one demo of RA though.  Which I did right before the big event of the day.  My local MFZ gaming group all had tickets for Sunday, so we got together and played a game right there at the con.  Vlad from New Jersey, whom I've mentioned before on this blog, and Rob joined in to make it a six player game.  From us sitting down at the table to me putting the final pieces back in my travel bag it ran four hours, 1pm to 5pm.  It was a blast.  The lead see-sawed around the table, alliances were made and shattered, and fun was had by all.  I've already discovered four pictures from the game on Flickr.  My friend Ron, who was observing, took a bunch and I know the other players did too.  Hopefully I'll have a battle report done by the end of the week.

I met a lot of people, some for the first time, others again.  I'm horrible with names so I'm not going to try and make any shout-outs other than the ones I've already done.  It was great seeing all the friends I've made through the con again and I look forward to next year.  The are a couple things in the works for next year but I'll talk about that later.

PAX East 2014 Report

I'm back from PAX East.  Once again I had a wonderful time, and -- again -- I added a day of attendance.  I'm trying to type this up on Monday morning and it's all a blur of experiences and events.  I'm not going to give a recap by the day as I've done before as it would take too long for me to type out.  I guess I'll just give out impressions.

• There were bag check lines this year.  Thank you, Tsarnaev brothers.
• I moderated a panel for Indie gaming on Friday which was a new experience and a fair amount of fun.
• Joshua didn't get the chance to show me Alpha Bandit until Friday evening but it is really neat and an interesting twist on the base rule set.
• Soren's ship designs are going to blow your mind.
• I managed to wander the con on Friday afternoon after doing the panel and running some demos.  I saw a lot of interesting things but not a lot of stuff I wanted to buy.
• Saturday is just a mental blur of demos and talking to people about MFZ.  :-)  I did get to run my friend Tom through a demo of Alpha Bandit that morning though.
• Sunday is mostly the same.  I did get to meet Vlad and Ryan again, whom I met the first time I did PAX East back in 2012.  It was great seeing both of them again.
• Flakmaniak from the Hangar stopped by and showed off a number of his creations at the same time Joshua and I were talking to Vlad and Ryan.  We all had a great time ogling his mecha.
• I came real close to losing my voice on Sunday.  I haven't done any talking yet today so we'll see how it is later.
• I think the two main things people brought up about the game were, "How do you get the Lego to assemble the models?" and "The game is great but I have no one to play with."
• If I'm forgetting anyone, I'm sorry.  I met and talked to a lot of people over three days.

See you next year!

PAX East 2013 Report

Once again, I will report that PAX East is awesome.

I actually attended two days this time around.  I was there for eight hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday.

Saturday: I arrived a little late -- 10am -- due to the Silver line running slow.  I spent the first hour or so re-assembling most of my squads and stations as I had to run and catch the Green line for the first leg of my trip.  Which led to my Lego bouncing around inside my bag and turning into a pile of random parts.  Sometime between 11:00 and 12:00 things picked up with people stopping by and asking to try the game.  I ran three short demos back to back.  This lasted 'til maybe 2:00.  Then we managed to start up a full game with four people.  Let me say, a game with four people on the tables we were using was claustrophobic.  I much prefer the round table we were using last year.  The tables this year weren't as heavy as the round table we used last year so they moved if you leaned into them.  That game played out over the next couple of hours.  I was lucky to have an experienced player at the table and he helped to move things along.  It also allowed me to talk to passers-by who had questions.  After that I ran another demo for four people.  Later I transitioned into another game for six (!) people.  Luckily they were split into three teams of two.  That was the last demo I ran for the day.

Sunday: I got in a little after 2:00.  This was planned as I wanted some time to recover and relax in the morning.  I met a friend and we talked  for a bit before I grabbed my kit from the both and found an empty table.  When I grabbed my kit I ran into someone looking for a demo.  Between my friend and myself we got the table set up pretty quickly.  Teams were chosen and the battle joined.  It lasted three rounds before the gentlemen had to go.  Luckily a trio of young kids had come along looking to play.  We hit the reset button, the kids chose teams and we went to battle again.  One of the kids had to leave right after we started but the other two stayed right to the end.  They even gave impromptu names to the mechs in their squad!  I really hope they picked up a copy of the rules.  This was the last game of the day for me.  It was a shame because the kids came back for another try.

I got to meet a lot of cool people this year, among them a couple of people from the Mobile Frame Hangar.

I did take some photos with my smartphone so those will be posted later in the week.

See Y'all next year!

PAX East 2012 Report

PAX East was AWESOME!

First off, the floor space is huge.  It's easily twice the size of the main floor at Gencon.  The people are all enthusiatic and upbeat.  I will try and make it there again next year.

I arrived a little after 9:30am and began setting up.  Luckily I had some time as the floor didn't open up until 10:00.  It took me a little while to get all the terrain set up the way I wanted it and the cheat sheets for all three teams filled out.  After the floor opened I spent some time answering questions and talking to people.  Sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 one of the people I was talking to mentioned he had brought a team of mechs with him.  From that point on the day took off.  We started a game right then and there which quickly morphed into a five-way scrum as another con attendee showed up with a set of mechs.  This game gave way into another and then a third.  We had several people cycle in and out over the course of these games.  It seemed like we always had a crowd of observers and people curious about the game.  It also seemed like every other person I spoke with was a backer on Kickstarter.  Interest and support for this game is very high at the moment.  Let's hope it continues onto and past the publication of the game.  I managed to keep going until 4:00 when I ran out of steam.  Joshua took over for me and I went for a walk to relax and recharge.  I came back around 4:30 to watch and answer questions for people.  I jumped back into the game when Joshua left.  We wrapped things up sometime after 7:00.  Frank, Vlad, and another player -- who's name I unfortunately don't remember -- helped me clear the table and put things away.  Thanks guys, I hope to game with you again next year.

At some point Jerry Holkins, Tycho from Penny Arcade, showed up and watched us play.  Apparently he's a huge fan of the game and is really looking forward to playing.  I damn near crapped my pants when I realized who  he was but I gathered my wits and talked to him for a bit.  He came back three other times during the day to watch and talk with Joshua Newman.

I had an immense amount of fun.  I'd like to say thank you to everyone who participated, who asked questions, and those who just watched.  You made my day fly by and enjoyable beyond belief.

If you're a reader and have photos of the table from any point during the day, please send me a link.  I forgot my camera yesterday and I'm still kicking myself for that.