Pax Unplugged 2023

[Punisher]

Just curious if anyone else 8s going.
So far my wife and I ate going.
Will depend on any last minute health issues for me mostly.
Already ordered tickets and made hotel reservation.

[AWS260]

I'm planning to go for all three days. My wife and son will come down for Saturday-Sunday.

I'm not thrilled that they dropped the mask requirement, but I can live with it.

[tylertoo]

I'm on the fence, even though I live 30 minutes away. Also not wild that masks were dropped.

[Punisher]

Question.
Has anyone gotten their badges yet?
If so do yours look fake? Mine came with what looks like a messed up print job and also look like it was cut out by preschoolers.
VERY rough cut on the bottom.

[Blackhawk]

Badges?

Badges?

Ah, nevermind. Over used and obvious.

[Punisher]

Badges?

Badges?

Ah, nevermind. Over used and obvious.

To be fair, other than the printing issues, they have no odor.

[AWS260]

Question.
Has anyone gotten their badges yet?
If so do yours look fake? Mine came with what looks like a messed up print job and also look like it was cut out by preschoolers.
VERY rough cut on the bottom.

Ours showed up this week (earlier than in previous years, which is nice). They seem fine.

[Punisher]

Odd. Here are ours.

[Isgrimnur]

That looks like a design choice, reminiscent of old VHS cassettes.

[Blackhawk]

That was my first reaction, too. I can't remember the brand, but there was one that matched that very closely.

[Isgrimnur]

[Blackhawk]

I knew you were going to do that.

It's scary - there are a half a dozen of those that I could swear I have sitting on the video rack. But I also know that I haven't owned any of them in at least 20 years.

[Punisher]

That was my first reaction, too. I can't remember the brand, but there was one that matched that very closely.

I was thinking of that but the way it's cut at the bottom nakes me think it wasn't.
If it was a normal smooth cut all the way around I could see it being a design choice.
The way its cut, especially since they are both cut differently, makes it look less like a choice and more like a handcut knickoff.
Especially since AWS says theirs is normal looking.

[AWS260]

Odd. Here are ours.

Ours are just normal on the bottom. You must have a rare variant worth thousands of dollars.

[Isgrimnur]

I knew you were going to do that.

After seventeen years, I may have a reputation.

[Isgrimnur]

[Blackhawk]

It almost looks like it was designed with a 'torn' edge (to look distressed/old), but they forgot to mount and laminate some of them.

[Punisher]

Yeah, that looks like a design. I think my torn bottom is what's bothering me.
I did a google search and none of the ones that i found have thst torn edge. They all have snooth edges.
Mine also dont have any barcodes used to scan but i also dont remember if they ever had them.

[AWS260]

No bar codes. I don't Pax has ever used them, but I'm not 100% sure.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, that looks like a design. I think my torn bottom is what's bothering me.
I did a google search and none of the ones that i found have thst torn edge. They all have snooth edges.
Mine also dont have any barcodes used to scan but i also dont remember if they ever had them.

When I looked last night, I saw multiple people with exactly the same question.

[Punisher]

And it's over...
Had a lot of fun overall. Had to take many breaks to recover from my issues but it was all worth it.
Got to play a 2 hour and 4 hour Walking Dead RPG session and they were a lot of fun.
Enough that I might try to see if anyone is running an online game of it as long as it's free. I alreafy have the full KS version and didn't think I'd ever actually play it. Just bought it for the reading.
I didn't do anywhere near as much shopping as I've done in the past. Picked up the Colinial Marines book for the Aliens RPG, some Turbo Dork paints, and Thunder Road: Vendetta.
I was looking at it all weekend but couldn't get a demo as it was always packed. Got into a game today towards the end and loved it! It plays pretty quickly and after a few turns got the basics down. Ended up winning the game too! Was super close and the last turn could have gone to either me or the only other player left. I lucked out because it was my turn to go first. Took a bunch of risky moves at the end because some of the rules weren't explained properly until close to the end so we all had to scramble to win.
If I played a second game (and remembered the rules) I might have done things different.
Went and bought it right after.
Nothing really left to do so left about an hour before closing.
I'm pretty sure i spent more on food than on purchases.

[AWS260]

Another PAX well-spent. I played a lot of games: a mix of new games from the "first look" section, old games from the library, and games that people had brought or bought. Standouts:

• Future Inc. - A very good economic game in a small package. I would have bought this after trying it, but two friends of mine did, and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing their copies.

• The Estates - An oldie but goodie. Had a lot of fun driving one of my opponents to a ridiculously negative score.

• Ku Ka King - A very silly set collection game.

• Bacon - A team-based shedding card game.

We bought very little; just Sea, Salt & Paper and Netrunner (the Nisei/Null Signal starter set). I swapped some games in the math trade, unloading some of my bigger boxes in exchange for smaller ones: Radlands, Kiitos, Now Boarding, Bruxelles 1897, Abomination, Fleet: The Dice Game.

For the second year in a row, I didn't attend any panels or talks. I've realized that I just want to spend my time playing games at an event like this.

[Holman]

I didn't make it to the con this year (despite living in Philadelphia), as I was down with something that fortunately turned out not to be Covid.

My oldest son (20) and his friends went and had a great time. Son has had a good track record with Leder Games and Wehrlegig games: last year he got into a test game of ARCS with Cole Wehrle present, and this year he got into a game of MOLLY HOUSE with the artist (I think). Also lots of panels and etc.