Hey Gamers! I hope you all had an amazing weekend – I know I did! Another Pax Unplugged has concluded and once again I had a ton of fun. From playing new games to meeting new people, and of course buying loads of games from my wishlist, it was a great time! This year was the first year I met with a few publishers, gave out some business cards, and now have a bunch of games on the soon-to-review list (so keep an eye out for those!) Check out below for some fun things I talked to people about and con photos! If you’d rather check out what I played all week and see those photos click here!
Day 1
Met With: Various Reviewers and Publishers
At: A Pre-Con Mixer
What We Did: We couldn’t stay long, but we were able to play ArchRavels, which was incredible, and Silver, which was also neat! I also got to try a Frosthaven themed drink – delicious – and meet some new people. It was a little overwhelming due to a lot of people in attendance in a small space, but it was super cool to do something new!
Met With: Michelle Ridge
From: Girls Game Shelf
What We Did: We hung out for a while at Queen & Rook Game Cafe and played a few games! We got Azul, Mystic Vale, and Lanterns to the table, and had a blast. We each even won a game (including my husband, haha). She was also kind enough to give us some “What Did Bunny Play?” pins, which were super cute! It was great to meet her and just hang out for a bit to share our love of gaming. Thanks for meeting up with me, Michelle!
Day 2
Met With: Rory O’Connor
From: HUB Games
What We Did: Rory showed us a bit of Adventure Mart, which I have the privilege of previewing and am very excited about! This is a different take on a deck building game where cards go directly into your hand instead of your discard pile. Additionally, it has interesting ways of spending your cards. Can’t wait to play a full game!
After that he played a game of Prisma Arena with us as well. This is a simple arena type game that would be great for families and kids that want to get into gaming. The characters will have restickable stickers to make them super customizable, but still keep the overall price point down. It plays very smoothly and has simplified rules so as to not over-complicate the mechanic, which is what Rory said he really wanted to create!
Met With: Chris Solis
From: Level 99 Games
What We Did: We only spoke briefly, but Chris told me about some new Exceed products that are coming out early next year, so that’s super exciting! I am also excited to review a few of their current Exceed products very soon – so keep an eye out for those if you’re into head-to-head battle card games š
Shout Out: Quick shout out to Paul Shapiro who saw me and stopped me in the expo hall just to say hello since he follows me on social media. It was so great to meet you!!
Day 3
Met With: Ross Thompson
From: The OP
What We Did: Talked games, of course! Ross told me that The OP is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary this year, which is super cool, and a fun fact that I didn’t realize was that they put out 30-40 games per year – impressive! While they are known for a lot of licensed and party games, there’s still a lot of substance to be found in their titles, and these games are super fun!
Ross was excited to share that The OP will have all new media kits next year, which is great news for reviewers and consumers alike
Ross’s Favorite Game From The OP: He said that he had a ton of fun with Die Hard, which I know has been a pretty hot game recently. He also really enjoys Geek Out! Disney, and we agreed that it’s a great time for a game like that with Disney+ being out, and Disney now encompasses everyone’s faves from the classic animations to Star Wars and Marvel as well!
Ross was able to give me a copy of Geek Out! Disney (as well as a few other titles, which will remain a surprise for now!) and I can’t wait to play them all š
Met With: Todd Rowland
From: AEG
What We Did: Todd told me about a lot of new, upcoming games, all which sound very exciting! Lost Atlantis will come to Kickstarter in March 2020 and it is an undersea exploration type game. Players will measure where their ships can go and lay out tiles to explore, which opponents can not touch. They might encounter monsters along the way, but are looking for clues to find the portal to Atlantis!
A Tiny Towns expansion is coming in Quarter 1 as well, which will have new buildings and monuments and introduce coins, which will help players get more victory points!
Finally, Todd told me about Inner Compass, which I will have the privilege of reviewing, It is by the same designer as Flamme Rouge and is a little abstract in nature. Players have pieces that represent themselves and they work on creating lasting memories and developing personality traits. It sounds super cool, and I can not wait to play it. It may very well be the game I’m most excited about!
Todd’s Favorite Game from AEG: Todd called Smash-Up his baby, and said it will likely always be his favorite, but admitted he might be a little bias, haha! Other than that though, he said Curios (which I’ll also be able to review) and The Captain is Dead are some of his favorites!
Day 4
Shout Out: I got to meet Keith Matejka and Tim Virnig from Thunderworks Games! They were both super nice guys and it was such a pleasure to say hi. Keith was also nice enough to give me a few games to review, so I can not wait to check those out!
Wrap-Up
All-in-all it was a really great con and I had a great time! Thank you again to the publishers who were nice enough to meet with me, accept my business card, and/or give me games to review, I’m so excited! Thanks to the PAX Team for another great year! See you all next time!
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