We (or more likely just Rym) will be live at PAX Unplugged 2021 with a new talk! We did a pilot version of this years ago at MAGFest, and this is the "real deal" version.

Rare Game Mechanics
Friday December 10
1:00pm ET
Crab God Theatre

Note that we will not be attending PAX otherwise. Rym will only be in town for the panel on Friday. So for once, we can't say "come find us in tabletop!" because we simply won't be there. We expect to have full video and slides to share, likely before the end of PAX Unplugged itself that weekend!

As you all know, we have presented at a lot of PAXes. In fact, we've never missed a single PAX in the US since 2008. Over 13 years, 36 PAXes, and 58 panels, PAX is a huge part of our lives. We even flew to Australia twice for the first two PAXes down under. Giving a panel at PAX is something we look forward to every year, and every PAX.

We will, regrettably, not be attending or presenting at PAX West 2021.

We are not yet in a post-COVID world. The Delta variant is spreading fast. Not enough people are vaccinated. Frankly, it's too soon for a PAX.

Our official appearance policy is very simple, and we encourage you to consider it for your own personal safety. We will not attend or perform at any convention where masks or social distancing measures are required.

This is not because these measures are not effective. They are extremely important. It is because, as long as such measures are prudent and necessary, it does not seem safe or wise to attend any large indoor gathering. Especially conventions.

Stay safe, stay healthy, be careful, and we hope to see you again at a future PAX! But please, do not risk your health or safety for any convention no matter how much you miss them. It's just too soon, and the near future is too uncertain.

GeekNights will be live at PAX Online East 2021!

Atari Game Design
Saturday July 17th
1:45pm ET
PAX2 Twitch Stream

This is all new content! We did a version at PAX East 2016 that focused on multi-player games, which you can watch on youtube, but this time we're focusing on single player Atari games. When you can literally count the pixels with your eyes, and the code will fit in your calculator, the core principles of good (and bad) design become starkly apparent.

We will be in the PAX Discord to answer questions and chat during the talk. Hope to see you there!

Thank you PAX Online for a great crowd and a great time! We had one panel this year!

Where is the Finish Line?

Friday, September 18th
2:00pm PDT (5pm EDT)
On the PAX3 channel (Goose Theatre)

If you want to see more, check out this playlist with 41 of the other PAX talks we've given over the years!

We will be appearing at the Penny Arcade Expo Online on Friday!

We will be in the PAX Online Discord to answer questions and hang out with all of you during the panel. We will also be in the "continuing discussion" channel to keep chatting afterword for a while. Come say hi! Or, ask a question. This is the ONE PAX we're actually taking questions from the audience! ;)

Where is the Finish Line?

Friday, September 18th
2:00pm PDT (5pm EDT)
On the PAX3 channel (Goose Theatre)

All games must end. This is especially important for competitive games. A single-player game ends when you decide to stop playing. But a competitive game ends when someone wins. Or does it? Turns out a lot of competitive games are over before they're over. A good game can be ruined by ending too soon or too late. Too late, and you have players who have already lost trapped with nothing meaningful to do. Too soon, and you didn't even "get to the good part." If you're designing a game, how can you determine the best time for the game to end? The conditions that make it happen? Join GeekNights for a thorough examination of the common types of game ending conditions and exploration of a process to determine which one is best for your game.

We will be appearing at the Penny Arcade Expo Online! PAX Online will replace the PAXes we'd normally appear at in person this year, and we're really looking forward to playing some games with all of you! Also stick around for our brand new talk!

Where is the Finish Line?

Friday, September 18th
2:00pm PDT (5pm EDT)
On the PAX3 channel

All games must end. This is especially important for competitive games. A single-player game ends when you decide to stop playing. But a competitive game ends when someone wins. Or does it? Turns out a lot of competitive games are over before they're over. A good game can be ruined by ending too soon or too late. Too late, and you have players who have already lost trapped with nothing meaningful to do. Too soon, and you didn't even "get to the good part." If you're designing a game, how can you determine the best time for the game to end? The conditions that make it happen? Join GeekNights for a thorough examination of the common types of game ending conditions and exploration of a process to determine which one is best for your game.

We will also be at the Cruncyroll Virtual Expo with an all-new version of Judge Anime By Its Cover! Stay tuned for details on this one!

Thank you PAX East 2020!

If you caught our panel - Take Your #@*$ Turn! - on Saturday, you can download the slides here.

If you missed the panel, there's video of (mostly) the same panel from PAX Unplugged! We also have video of a ton of our other talks from other PAXes! If you saw us at PAX South, video of The 41 Tabletop Games You Must Play is on youtube, as is the completely different original 40 Tabletop Games You Must Play from PAX West!

If you are looking for slides or links from our MAGFest 2020 panels, check out the slides from "The Real Harm of Games", as well as video of the same talk (sans the doctor) from PAX East!

Good PAX. See you at the next PAX.