Hot on the trail of our talk at PAX South (on Grinding), we're on our way to PAX East 2017 to talk about Winning!

Play (Dirty) to Win
Friday 3/10 6:00pm
Bumblebee Theatre

Ostensibly, you play games to win. (Assuming we're talking about competitive games: you're not playing to "win" Dungeons & Dragons... are you?) But are really? Shouldn't you be winning a lot more often? Maybe you should try that cheap strategy you've heard about. Punch below the belt. Memorize the deck. Read the FAQ. What's the line between playing to win and cheating? Is "playing dirty" even really a thing? Come for the degenerate strategies, stay for the soul-crushing revelations on winning.

Come see us at PAX East 2015! We've got an awesome panel called What is Losing?!

What is Losing
Friday, March 6th
4:30pm
Bumblebee Theatre

The point of a game is to win. Or is it? Can you "win" Gone Home or The Stanley Parable? Is losing a game of Dwarf Fortress the same as losing a game of chess? Why is Super Meat Boy's difficulty exciting, while Silver Surfer's is painful? Does one lose Monopoly due to player skill, or because you flipped the table? What if we played games that focused not on the "narrative of victory," but instead on the "narrative of failure?" Do games need to have a way to "lose" in the first place?

Afterward, we will be able to answer some questions in the hall and hang out with you guys before we head back to Tabletop Freeplay!

GeekNights will be presenting their 25th PAX lecture at PAX East 2014!

Why No One Will Game with You
Friday 1:00pm
Badger Theatre

In gaming forums around the world, variations of the same thread forever grace the front page: “Looking for a Gaming Group.” Games are ubiquitous, barriers to entry are ever-lower, and the Internet (never mind conventions like PAX) provide what should be a sea of gamers ready and willing to play games with us. So why all the trouble? Why, in 2013, is it still so hard to form a gaming group? Why won’t anyone play Air Hockey with me?

In exploring the “LFG” space, there are a myriad of issues which come to light. Skill gaps leave players stranded. Matchmaking systems hurt as much as they help. The longer tail of games available spreads niche audiences further into increasingly specific sub-sub-sub-genres. Play styles differ. (Indeed, in some groups it is impolite to spend more than ten seconds on one’s turn, while in others spending less than ten MINUTES is the height of rudeness)!

Let’s explore why it’s so hard (or why it SEEMS to hard) to find people to play games!

Thank you all for coming to see us (or at least trying to) at PAX East 2013! Both lectures filled to capacity well in advance, and considering how many of you were turned away, we will try to have video up in the next week or so. The two events were:

Mastering Game Mechanics
Saturday 12:00pm
Tabletop Workshop

Practical Game Theory
Saturday 1:30pm
Tabletop Workshop

In the meantime, check out video of our talks from PAXes of yore (East and Prime) in glorious HD!

From MMORPGs are Anything But to Game Mechanics and Mechanism Design, How to Win at Games, to A Competitive Test of Skill: we've lectured on just about every aspect of gaming at some or other PAX over the years! Stay tuned for video from East 2013!

Last and not least, we took a step up to not only speak, but Enforce at PAX this year. It was an experience to remember, and I want to heartily thank our fellow Enforcers for making it a truly amazing weekend.

We are presenting two brand new lectures at PAX East 2013!

Mastering Game Mechanics
Saturday 12:00pm
Tabletop Workshop

Practical Game Theory
Saturday 1:30pm
Tabletop Workshop

Space will be limited, and we can't guarantee that either one will be videoed, so if you want to see them, line up early. We're not kidding.

We've been diligently working to get some of our lectures/panels online for the benefit of our many listeners who can not make it to the conventions we frequent. I'm pleased to announce that the entirety of one from PAX East 2011 is now available for your viewing pleasure in Rym's Youtube channel.

So enjoy The Triple Threat: Short Subjects in Gaming.