GeekNights will be live at PAX East 2025 with two brand-new lectures!

The Everlasting Game
Friday 10:30am, Condor Theatre

Most games are worth a few plays but you eventually are done with them. Many tabletop games will rarely survive more than four or five plays. But then there are those legendary games that seem to stick around forever. The lifestyle games. From Counter Strike to Magic: The Gathering Chess to Ice Hockey some games transcend the pattern. What's their secret? What are the real mechanical and design differences between a game you'll play once and a game you'll play for the rest of your life?

Game Mechanics in Tabletop Design
Sunday 11:00am, Bumblebee Theatre

Despite the staggeringly vast variety of games out there in the world they draw primarily from a core set of basic mechanics. Many games which at first seem very different share fundamental design patterns subgames and strategies. What is a "draft " and more importantly what is its true function? Where to rondels come into play? What is the purpose of an arbitrary decision? What does "skill based movement" mean for a game? Are all auctions created equally? Whether you are a player maker or even simply observer of games understanding these core components will provide a surprising degree of insight into their nature.