In its second year PAX Unplugged was bigger and provided even more opportunities for fun and games for all.

This year I went on Friday, Saturday and for a bit on Sunday. Friday started by grabbing a table for home base. Basically, my friends and I got a table where we could leave our stuff and always return to. It did mean that someone had to always stay with the stuff. But it was nice to be able to cruise the vendor hall without lugging our things around.

The vendor hall was bigger than last year and the booths looked great. Both the big names and smaller independent board game publishers had a presence and there were many booths dedicated to selling board games, dice and other accessories. I stopped by the Ares booth and picked up the Battlestar Galactica: Starship Battles starter set. It looks gorgeous, but I have not had a chance to try it yet.

My friend bought Railroad Ink by CMON and a group of us played it. It is a roll and write game where you need to connect rails and roads to exits for points. Routes that are left unfinished lose you points.

Next, we all bought Keyforge decks and while one of my friends read the rules. I went back into the vendor area to the CGE booth and got a copy of the Adrenaline DLC expansion. Another game that looks cool, but I have not played it yet. When I returned we played some Keyforge and had some mixed thoughts. In concept the unique, pre-built decks are nice and quick to get to the table and the game mechanics are fun. But one friend got a crappy deck (He had a bunch of cards for a specific creature set that was not well represented in the deck.) and did not enjoy the experience. I need to try it some more before I come to a conclusion.

After eating some pizza, we played Clank! It had a good theme and mechanics, but the end felt a little wonky. One of our friends got out then had to pretty much sit and watch until the rest of us escaped or died. That is thematic but waiting around to see if you win seems anti-climactic.

Friday night was the Math trade. In it I got some games I am excited to try out and some others I just expect to sell. But it was well run and went smoothly.

Saturday, I met with White Wizard Games and was excited to hear about Hero Realms and a game they are currently prototyping called Sorcerer. Hero realms looks great and I can’t wait to try it out with my kids. The character packs and campaign add a lot and make it different than Star Realms (which I also enjoy).

Fireball Island was demoing near our table and a few of us wanted to give it a try. The table had a steady stream of players but eventually we were able to play it. It was beautiful and fun too. I never played the original, but I could see my kids enjoying it.

One of my friends really wanted to play Blood Rage which we did, and I really enjoyed it. I want to play it again, but the mechanics are fun, and it seems like there are a few different paths to victory. I won by getting killed and gaining points when reclaiming my clan from Valhalla.

A couple of us were interested in DownForce. It is another game (like Fireball island) by Restoration Games but this one is a remake of Daytona 500 which I have played. It was a lot of fun. I want to play more and am hoping to get a copy to review.

The last thing we did Saturday was LARP. I had never LARPed but a friend thought we should try it. We were in a super hero themed room and had some fun with the roles and actors. It was different than I expected but don’t think there is more LARPing in my future.

By Sunday I was exhausted. I had some family commitments in the morning and was only at the con a couple hours. I didn’t play any games and mostly walked the vendor hall. I stopped by Button Shy games and got a copy of Sprawlopolis. It is another game I haven’t tried yet, but earlier in the week I got to play Circle the Wagons (which is similar).

One of my friends from out of town was staying with me so we gave Space Base a try. It is a fun dice-rolling, engine building game. I have played since and really liked it. Expect a review soon.

To recap I had a lot of fun at PAX Unplugged. It was great to meet different game designers and people in the industry. Everyone I met was passionate about making fun board games. I am glad I got to hang out with my friends and play new games with them. And though it left me exhausted, I am already excited for next year. It is absolutely an excellent board game convention that all should try to attend.