Preview of Pax Unplugged 2023
Coming this December, PAX Unplugged is ready for everyone to experience tabletop gaming. Starting December 1 and concluding on December 3, the Pennsylvania Convention Center will be filled with analog gaming. Unplugged will be housing a large vendor hall, multiple panel rooms, endless table space for gamers to play on, and more! Everything that people love from other PAX exhibitions is included in this show. That includes cosplay, community events, pin trading, and inside jokes. If this is your first PAX event or need a refresher on what to expect at Unplugged, then this handy outline will help get you excited for some stuff to experience!
Location:
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is located at 1101 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19107. It’s easily reachable by public transportation and within walking distance of garages. However, the main entrance for the general public will be located at 1113 Market St. This is a little further away from the doors of the convention center, but it has the space for people to queue up which comes in handy in case of bad weather. Trust us on this one, last year we waited outside on Arch Street in the cold rain on Friday & Saturday mornings and we’d rather walk the extra block than do that again.
However, this could only apply to the morning schedules, so if you could catch it later in the afternoon or evening that entrance route could change based on the crowd levels or another entrance is available. But if you want to maximize your time, you will be arriving in the morning hours!
Vendor Hall:
One of the big aspects of Unplugged is its collection of vendors lined up to showcase their products. From game merchants, game companies, and indie craft shops, there is a ton of stuff to check out. You can spend hours checking out displays and talking to merchants before you even play a game. With the holiday season underway, it is easy to find a perfect gift for someone here or get something for yourself as a reward for making it this far in 2023. We usually do a lot of interviews and fact-finding in the vendor hall. You can meet many game designers and company representatives demoing products and giving insights about the development process.
There are lots of creative people to meet and plenty of sessions to watch or join, we recommend keeping an open eye and mind while browsing here. It’s also a great way to find new games for your game night and the developers are usually more than happy to explain how to play or even take you through a short demo game. Part of the fun of Unplugged is a bunch of strangers coming together to play a game they’ve all never seen before.
Freeplay Area:
Looking to pick and play whenever with whoever? Then the Freeplay area is the place to be. Rows and rows of tables and chairs await players are read rules and starting games. There are tables in the back where games can be checked out for free. Some groups will place markers on their table if they are looking for extra players or are open for anyone to come join them. It’s a great community-building area that showcases an inclusive element to gamers. This selection opens in the late morning and runs late into the night, so you can find many games to play and many gamers to play with at all hours of the day.
There are also games in this area that are making their US debut, having only been available previously overseas and this may be your only chance to check them out with your fellow gamers. Remember to be polite and respectful, no one wants a rude player sitting next to them. This is also where Unplugged staple Crokinole is located, a game we have to play every time we come to the con and is sort of like a tabletop version of shuffleboard that always leads to big reactions and tons of fun. There are also huge, immersive environments set up for players of Warhammer and other miniature war games.
UnPub Room:
Speaking of gaming experiences, we also recommend checking out the Unpub area. Usually located in the downstairs selection of the convention center, the Unpub room is filled with upcoming game designers and products in various development phases. Some game designers are looking for gamers for playtesting. Some will be looking to get feedback on their game concept to see if they need adjustments. Playing and talking to these game designers can help lead their products in a good direction.
However, you have to understand that these games are not finalized products. There are a lot of placeholder items and small errors can occur. We have started a game session before and the designer realized he was missing tokens that explain what to do next, but it was overcome by just skipping steps and speeding up other mechanics. We watched a few games that were in the Unpub room go from early demos to finished products, so it’s really worth playing in this room to be part of the process!
Classic Cardboard:
Another of our favorite areas of PAXU, the Classic Cardboard area features tons of classic and nostalgic board games. If you had a favorite board game as a kid, there’s a highly likely chance that it will be available to play in the Classic Cardboard area. It’s tons of fun to dig through and see childhood favorites, games based on movies and TV shows, and bizarre forgotten oddities. There are usually also some VHS board games available to check out, like Clue or Nightmare. We’ve had a blast at previous PAXU conventions playing games like Mall Madness with a group of friends. Usually somewhere nearby and with a similar vibe is the Classic RPG/Tabletop area, which has tons of old-school rulebooks and guides for things like the Star Wars RPG, Cyberpunk, and TMNT along with obscure oddities like RPGs based on the TV show Dallas or Men in Black.
Tournaments:
If you are skillful with dice throws or you are lucky with drawing cards, then you can sign up for a multitude of tournament games. There are official games already on the PAX Unplugged schedule and pop-up games to join by various vendors. But even if you are not practically skilled in certain games, it’s fun to join in the chance the competition gets a streak of bad rolls or cards and the odds turn in your favor. Many of these games can lead to prizes, but ones that give you bigger prizes usually involve playing multiple rounds. So be prepared for the long haul if you plan to collect prizes.
But if you are more in the mood to cheer up the competition, then check out the Omegathon. These champions of tabletop gaming were invited by PAX to come play rounds of gaming to find out who is the best of the best. Each day there will be competitions at set hours until the final day on Sunday where there will be one Omega gamer left standing.
Guest and Special Events:
Each day there will be guest speakers and hosts to check out. These guests are invited to Unplugged for their creative contributions to the tabletop industry and beyond it. You can attend these free sessions to hear fun stories and insights. This keynote speaker this year is Mathew Mercer. Mercer’s many credits include the Game Master for the web series Critical Role, Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Trafalgar Law in One Piece Film: Red, Jotaro Kujo in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders. And among other things, he is also a huge nerd.
Tickets:
PAX Unplugged offers a few ticket options tailored to accompany your level of attendance. Suppose you are a veteran tabletop gamer, who has a set of dice already polished and bagged for games. Then you will most likely enjoy all three days of gaming. But if you want to dip your toes into experiencing this event, then there are individual day passes. Friday is good to get a sense of the scale and the flow of the crowd. Saturday will be the busiest with players seeking games and glory. Sunday is good for purchasing items but you risk losing out on exclusives or inventory selling out. Regardless, it’s always a fun time with all the events offered.
Last details:
PAX Unplugged offers lots of fun experiences under one roof. Some of which you can’t get anywhere else within the limits of PA or NJ. The crowds and talents come from all over to celebrate the joys of old-fashioned analog gaming. This of course involves lots of creativity and innovation to convey game mechanics. Some games can be 10-minute or hour-long sessions. Some might be epic campaigns that will last weeks at bars and homes. Others, like Trade Carding Games, will be new passions that will provide nearly endless fun for years. Unplugged offers these activities for people to try, the rest is what you make of it. Assuredly you will find something to enjoy that will make you eager to return again and again.
That about does for our run down of cool sights. We will be hopping around vendor booths and panel rooms throughout the whole event. We have interviews and demos lined up, and we can’t wait to read up the coverage for it. You can check out our daily social media posts as we venture around the show. And possibly challenge us to some retro games in the Classic Cardboard room. See you on the show floor!