In several conversations over the last year, I've heard people express an interest in re-defining what they are doing from the term "role-playing game" or the traditional role-playing game culture. Once or twice, I've even heard the idea that GenCon and other gaming conventions are an artificial restriction on our sales and promotion.

Anyway, I found an awesome convention that focuses more on the hip, engaging nature of game enthuasists, and I was thinking about going and/or getting a booth there. It's the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, WA from Aug 24-26. If you're not familiar with Penny Arcade, it's a web comic about computer games, but has massive cross-cultural appeal. I'm not a frequent reader, but the expo looks great, with concerts each night, an amazing convention center, and seriously, it's in downtown Seattle.

I'm looking right now to see who else might be interested. It's right after GenCon, so I'm sure that many people wouldn't be available, but there's a few West Coasters that should consider it.

I would love to do something at PAX but it isn't clear that they have any structure for tabletop gaming events that are smaller than, say, a 40K tournament.

Hey Clinton, anything that gets you out to Seattle, I'm in favor of :)  However, so you know what you are walking in to, let me give an attendees perspective on PAX based on last year.

First of all, this is a huge show.  Not GenCon scale to be sure, but the Meydenbauer center in Bellevue was jammed to the gills with people.  The demographic is overwhelmingly late teens to mid twenties.  The focus is primarily console and LAN gaming, but there is secondary support for tabletop.  The organized tabletop focus was primarily D&D Minis and Warmachine, and a CCG (The Spoils) that was being launched at the show.  The folks from Gamestorm down in Portland had brought up their travelling game library, but at the time I was there there wasn't much tablespace available for pickup gaming.  I saw a few guys playing Puerto Rico, and that was it.

I had to stand in line for about 45 minutes just to get into the exhibit hall, and the two major impressions were crowded and loud.  There were two booths that I saw that were tabletop related.  One was Technomancer Press:

http://www.technomancer-press.com/

who do cheaply published RPG supplements, mostly d20 or systemless.  Interestingly enough, they had two volumes of Game Chef entries that they had put together that I flipped through:

http://www.technomancer-press.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6

The Technomancer guys seem to have been very successful at PAX, but they were mostly there to shift product.

There were also the guys who do the Hero Card modular games (Rise of the Shogun, et. al.).  They had posh booth, and really nice demo tables (the stand up high bar tables).  The only draw back was there were so many people that I got tired of waiting for a demo slot, and left.

There did appear to be a possibility of having a demo/booth outside the show hall, the Spoils guys had their tables in the boardgaming room, and were selling & demoing there.  However they also had some kind of big sponsorship thing going on and a major event, so I don't know if that translates for the little guy.

I'll confess that I bailed on PAX after a morning because I simply didn't feel like waiting in line after line to do anything that interested me.  (Want to play Guitar Hero?  Sure, stand over there, it'll be 30 minutes to an hour!)  I wound up walking down the street and buying pass to Dragonflight :)  The target demographic had their DS's and PSP's though, so they were good to go.

I think PAX might work better as an exhibitor.  You are certainly going to get an enormous amount of traffic, and its a different demographic than you get at tabletop focused cons, so hey, fresh meat.  Hopefully the crowding will be less intense this year, since they've upgraded to the Seattle Convention Center, which is huge, and that might also address the problem that last year the tabletop gaming was stuck in a hotel that was half hour walk away from the rest of the Con.  Presumably it'll all be together this year.

I don't expect the show floor will be any less loud though, which might be a problem for doing demos.  The Hero Card guys made it work, but they were only having to explain a fairly simple card based duelling game.  Also, they had obviously dropped a chunk of change on their space.  Getting space in the tabletop room(s) might be the better option IF the tabletop space isn't ghettoized this year.

And if you want to see a concert, get your wristband the moment the doors open in the morning.  One of my main reasons for going last year was to see MC Frontalot, but they wristbands were gone by the time I got there at 10am!

I'm willing to do support work / buy into a PAX exhibitor presence, but I can't be the primary organizer.

I think that going to PAX is a very good idea.

yrs--
--Ben

The exhibitor manager at PAX is super-nice and even read through my website before replying with information about their prices. They seem to want more tabletop guys. If the traffic is that insano, then their prices are good - it's $1750 for a 10x20 booth. Still, Wilhelm's warnings strike fear into my heart.

I've been wanting to go to this since it started but haven't been able to justify the air fare. Anyway just to add to the info, this year PAX will be at a larger convention center because they crammed out the Meydenbauer last year. I would imagine this is likely to mean more attendies. The front page says the Washington State Convention center is the new site.

Clinton,

I was thinking of going to PAX to hit the panels and perhaps run a few myself. I don't think that nailing down a table on the first year out there will be too useful. I think a year of exploration and networking would be in order.

Of course, I'm never opposed to a booth from which we can sell shit!

Oh, and I can totally go.
-L

I'd really like to do PAX. I think this would be a good aucience for Panty Explosion and my other games, possibly moreso then Gencon.I'll be interested in helping put something together.

Jake

Has anyone made any motions forward with this?

yrs--
--Ben

Not as far as I know, but I'm a bit out of the loop. I would like to go though, especially if there will be a booth presence. Although I can understand the logic of scouting it out this year in preperation for next.

Jake