Room Escape Artist

For a few years now, I have been attending PAX conventions and reporting back on the products and games I found to be the most interesting. In early December, I will be headed back down to Philadelphia to attend PAX Unplugged again. PAXU is all about analog gaming: board games, tabletop role-playing games, and miniature games. Here are some things I’ll be keeping my eye on while I’m there.

Key Information

Date: Friday, December 6 to Sunday, December 8, 2024
Venue: Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
Price: Daily badges are $43 per day; three-day badges cost $91 (note: three-day badges are sold out at the time of publication)

The Puzzle Hunt

There will be another puzzle hunt that will take participants through the many areas of PAXU. This year’s game is called Poached Eggs, and it is a collaboration between Lockwood Immersive and Co-Operatives Puzzle Room. Co-Operatives is the company that has been bringing short-form escape room style experiences to PAX events for a few years now. Lockwood Immersive is a relatively new company with ties to Secret City Adventures. Team registration is $15, and teams that complete the hunt will be entered into a raffle that will be drawn on Sunday.

Jubensha

Jubensha is a genre of murder mystery social deduction LARP that has been gaining popularity in China and across East Asia. It has been a topic of interest in the REA Patreon Discord channel and was the first thing on my PAXU to-do list. There will be jubensha events running every day at PAXU starting at 10am. More info will be posted to the host’s website KMS Games as the event approaches.

Sunday will also see a panel about jubensha. At 3pm, one of the co-creators of KMS games will talk about the origins of jubensha and how these games are being brought into English.

Speed Puzzling

PAX Unplugged is adding a speed jigsaw puzzling event this year, hosted by Ravensburger. It’s a series of speed puzzling events, actually. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will host a singles, pairs, and team event, respectively. Pre-registration is already underway!

The Expo Hall

The expo hall will be packed full of games and products, and it’s always worth wandering the aisles exploring everything.

Perennial favorite PostCurious will be in booth 2707. Be sure to stop by and see their newest game, Golden Lock Award winner Ministry of Lost Things, as well as all the other great games and art they always have on display.

A few other games have caught my eye while looking through the online expo hall. I’ll be taking a look at Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, a large format (4-12 players) crime solving game with deception elements. I want to believe in a game called SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. SETI is about the exploration of space, with the hope of finding someone else out there. Spectral is a logic deduction game with haunted house elements. Finally, the goal of SpyOuts is to crack three codes, and it’s hard to ignore a game with codebreaking elements.

These are just a few of the hundreds of games that will be on display. It will take a while to explore them all, but there’s always something interesting around the next corner.

Quick Tips

• Download the PAX Nav app and plan your schedule.
• Pay attention to registrations! They usually fill up quickly.
• Visit the tabletop library. There are a large number of games to try out.
• Stop by the First Look section to see games that are new to the US market.
• Use public transportation if you can, as parking can be expensive.
• Eating at Reading Terminal Market is an experience. It’s right across the street from the convention center, and it gets busy.
• If you find yourself wanting a convention break, we’ve recently updated our Philadelphia Escape Room Recommendations.

Grab your pass to PAX Unplugged 2024, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.