In its third year PAX Unplugged continued to grow. There were more vendors and more people this year than before. I did more networking than I did in the past and that meant playing fewer games. But it was still a great con!

As usual my friends and I grabbed a table to use as a home base. I was able to attend all three days this year. First I stopped by AEG’s booth. They showed some of the new things they are working on including Lost Atlantis and Inner Compass. Lost Atlantis is a submarine game in which you must deduct to location of the Atlantis. You race around the map upgrading your sub trying to find the lost city. Inner Compass is an abstract with a unique theme. You collect life experiences to gain experience points to win.

I left there and cruised around the vendor hall for a bit. There were a ton of booths and I am still surprised by the sheer number board game companies there. Walking around it was impressive to see the different booths but also the artwork on board game boxes. There are a lot of good looking games out there people.

Up next was a meeting with Iello. They talked to me about the upcoming King of Tokyo Dark release. It is not a re-skinning of the original game, but a new game with mechanics and monsters that are being revealed slowly over the next couple of months.

Kosmos was my next meeting and I got to try out their adventure game series. It is a choose your own adventure type game where as a group you must interact with environment and make decisions about how to move from room to room. I also got to talk about Tribes: Dawn of Humanity, a civ-themed, engine-building board game.

At the Northstar Games booth I got to hear about Paint the Roses and Oceans. Paint the Roses should hit KS in March. It is an Alice in Wonderland-themed, cooperative abstract. Oceans shares many of its game mechanics with Evolution. Most of the game echoes real life but it adds the deep. The deep introduces mystical aquatic beasts to the game.

CGE had their own room on the bottom floor of the convention center. There I learned about Sanctum. In it you kill demons and take their loot. And you’ll need it. Because you must face off against the demon lord. The player with the most health left after defeating the demon lord wins.

Friday night I went to the Math Trade and then got to give Sanctum a try. It was fun. We all defeated the Demon Lord but I came in second. It is definitely a game where the first half is about gearing up for the second half.

On Saturday I brought my son. At first we walked the vendor area so he could see all the cool booths and take everything in. We played Architects with some friends and he won. It is a worker placement board game with some unique wrinkles. I want to try it again.

At the Fantasy Flight booth we saw the demo of Marvel: Crisis Protocol. The miniatures and terrain looked amazing but we didn’t get a chance to play it.

In the afternoon I got to try the Divinity board game. I was not sure how good it would be and the two-hour demo seemed like a steep investment. But I stayed the entire time and had a blast. The game was very fun and there are lots of cool mechanics. It is a cooperative, scenario-based campaign and your actions will change the game’s outcomes. You must explore locations and defeat baddies. In combat, you use action points to make basic or special attacks, cast spells and trigger your special abilities. Dice rolls and the attack you use determine damage and combat goes by pretty quickly. It is currently on kickstarter and you should check it out. I think the final product will be great!

I rejoined my friends and we played Valley of the Kings Premium Edition by AEG. I had played and reviewed the original and the Premium Edition doesn’t disappoint. It has larger cards, better art, and includes the base game and both expansions.

Sunday we stopped by the Blinks booth as my son thought they looked cool. Blinks are small magnetic hexes that are digital and have games programmed into them. My son was right. They do look cool and the games are fun too. They are expandable and you can add more hexes and more games should be coming out.
We also tried out Grind House, a horror-themed, story-telling board game. It went pretty quick, and was fun, but had its share of randomness too.

PAX Unplugged continues to grow and continues to be a ton of fun. This year I spent a bit more time networking but I still got to try out some new games. I am excited they have already announced the dates for next year!