Hey everyone, hope you are all looking forward to PAX in ~1 week. If you’re attending, and are of the cardboard persuasion, here is all of the info that’s pertinent to you, from exhibitor info, to tourneys, to panels, and some other fun bits.Some highlights for PAX South 2017 are that we’ve grown the presence of tabletop booths between the Main Expo and Tabletop halls by a whopping 60%. We’ve also increased our open play space by 10%. We’ve added a game playtesting area, hosted by UnPub (Designers can sign up in advance for 3-hour blocks: http://unpub.net/events/pax-south/) . Lastly, True Dungeon is bringing a version of their live role-play/puzzle room experience to PAX!Court of Gamers (3PM to Midnight): https://www.facebook.com/events/816577678498406/ San Antonio Nerd Night charity board gaming event - Hosting at Grand Hyatt (7PM to 2AM) http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/209229/san-antonio-nerd-night-pre-pax-game-night/p1?new=1 Asmodee [Board game publisher]Cascade Games [Retailer]Catan [Board game publisher]Drinking Quest [Board game publisher]Fantasy Flight Games [Board game publisher]Fate of the Norns [RPG publisher]Foam Brain Games [Retailer with publisher sub-booths: Iello, Looney Labs, Czech Games Edition, etc.]Fowers Games [Board game publisher]Game Revenant [Party game publisher]Greater Than Games [Board Game Publisher]Gut Shot Games [Board Game Publisher]Hip Hop Cards [Board Game Publisher]Indie Boards & Cards [Board Game Publisher]Iron Forge Games [Board Game Publisher]Japanime Games [Board Game Publisher]Level Up Dice [Gaming accessories]Mayday Games [Board Game Publisher]Metallic Dice Games [Custom dice manufacturer]Partial Arc [Board Game Publisher]Q-Workshop [Custom dice manufacturer]Reaper Minis [Miniatures game publisher - painting area]SFR (Dragon Dice] [Dice game publisher]Steve Jackson Games [Board Game Publisher]Tasty Minstrel Games [Board Game Publisher]The Broken Token [Game accessories and organizers]The Game Crafter [Game manufacturer]Wyrmwood Gaming [Gaming accessories]Yanaguana Games [Board Game Publisher]Z-Man Games [Board Game Publisher]11 bit studios [“This War of Mine: The Board Game”]2C Gaming [“Epic Legacy” - D&D 5E supplements]AdMagic [Board game and card game manufacturer. Publisher under Breaking Games label]Albino Dragon [Board game and licensed playing card deck publisher]Atlas Games [Card game publisher: “Gloom”]Battlerock Studios [“Battle of the Cards” card game]Carolina Game Tables [Board game tables]Common Tongue [“Japanese: The Game”]CritSuccess [Dice rings]Cyanide & Happiness [“Joking Hazard” party game]DreamWrite [Print shop]Final War [“Final War: Tactical Card Game”]Foam Brain Games [Game retailer]Forged by Geeks [“Defense Grid: The Board Game”]Geek Chic [Game table and accessory manufacturer]Level 99 Games [Card game publisher. “Mega Man Pixel Tactics” card game]Mantic Games [Miniatures game publisher]North Star Games [Board game publisher: “Wits & Wager,” “Evolution”]Peterson Games [“Orcs Must Die: The Board Game”]Quick and Dirty Games Party game publisher]Red Raven Games [Board game publisher: “Above & Below,” “Islebound”]Sirlin Games [Card game publisher: “Codex”]SolarFlare Games [Board game publisher]Studio Tyrus [“Caps and Hammers: A Particularly Cold War”]Studio Woe [Card game publisher: “Gruff,” “Clash”]Superfight (Skybound) [Party game publisher]Third Eye Games [RPG publisher]Thompson Productions [Custom dice manufacturer]Toonhound [“Table Titans” RPG comic] - Pinny Arcade pin availableVersus Evil [“The Banner Saga: The Board Game”]Zafty GamesDire Wolf Digital [“Clank!” “Lanterns” apps] - Pinny Arcade pin availableMetaArcade [“Tunnels and Trolls” digital RPG port]Riveted Games [Digital tabletop war games]Secret Cow Level [Doomtrooper CCG digital port]We’ve moved! Due to improvements to the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center, PAX Tabletop will now be directly adjacent to the main expo hall. With the new space, our freeplay area is ~10% larger this year, and also optimized to fit even more table space within those bounds. Bring your own game, or check out one of the thousand-plus copies in the PAX Tabletop Library, then find a seat.D&D Adventurer’s League [RPG play area]Eat Villagers [Social game play area, series of Werewolf tournaments starting 9PM Friday. "Grand Championship" 9PM Saturday]Pathfinder Society San Antonio [RPG play area]Thornwatch [RPG demo area - sign up at TT HQ for play spots each morning]UnPub Network [Board and card game playtest area.Hit this link for the full Tabletop Tourney schedule: http://south.paxsite.com/schedule/category/ttt-s Some special events worth calling out are:Mega Catan tournament, a 32-player single-game Catan experienceScheduled “Epic Games” getting you a seat at hard-to-organize board game classics such as Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition, Game of Thrones: The Board Game, Twilight Struggle, and Chaos in the Old WorldPublisher organized play from FFG (Android: Netrunner, Star Wars: Destiny, Game of Thrones; LCG), Steve Jackson Games (OGRE, Batman Dice Game), and Plaid Hat Games (Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn)Cascade Games will also be hosting a variety of Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon TCG tourneys all weekend long: http://www.cascadegames.com/PAX-South.html FFG and Cascade have partnered to offer the Star Wars System Open series for the X-Wing Miniatures Game: http://www.cascadegames.com/star-wars.html . This event will be taking place off-site, close to PAX, but does not require a PAX badge.New to PAX this year is a live dungeon crawl experience. One-part escape room, one part LARP. True Dungeon will be a demo-scale version of the full 2-hour experience made famous at Gen Con, but will be offered to PAX attendees free of charge! Sign up on convention center level 3 each morning ( https://guidebook.com/guide/86449/map/85614/) Friday, 10:30AM, Main Theater: Storytime with Chris PerkinsChris Perkins is, at root, a storyteller - which makes him perfect for PAX South's Storytime. As the Principal Story Designer for Wizards of the Coast - legendary home of Dungeons and Dragons - his stories become places that you and your friends can live in. As the Dungeon Master for the players of Acquisition's Incorporated and many, many others, he's entertained hundreds of thousands over the years, and we're honored to have him spend a little time with us.Friday, 11:30AM, Bobcat Theater: Introduction to Modern Board GamingBoard gaming is going through a golden age with some very high-quality and immersive games constantly being released. The goal is to introduce the hobby to more people and introduce the varied forms that modern board gaming can take. This panel will also explain the distinctions between light, medium, and heavy weight games and identify games for different group sizes in an attempt to find the best games for different groups!Friday, 4:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Please Don't Punch the GM: More Adventures in Gaming TherapyGames like Dungeons and Dragons are in the middle of a resurgence in pop culture, appearing in television, media, and now even being used therapeutically. Join game masters Adam Johns and Adam Davis as they return from the frontier of therapeutic gaming to tell more stories, answer more questions, and keep celebrating how the the games we love can make us better people.Friday, 4:00PM, Cactus Theater: Grind Mechanics in GamesWe've all experienced it. We've all complained about it. Some of us secretly love it. But ask 100 people what it actually IS, and you'll get 40 different answers. Join us for a mechanical discussion of what "grinding" really means in games. Is it necessary for a "classic MMO?" Is it part of the genre of a "JRPG?" Does it exist in board games? Is it bad? Is it good? Is it necessary? Part storytelling, part game design, part game theory: let's explore the grind from all angles.Friday, 5:30PM, Cactus Theater: BINWIN'S MINIONSBinwin Bronzebottom is looking for a few good adventurers to help acquire all the loot from the Ruined Keep of Ikillyah. Are you brave enough to be one of Binwin's Minions? Join Table Titans creator Scott Kurtz (Binwin Bronzebottom) as he recruits members of the audience to join his team of minions on their quest for glory!Friday, 6:00PM, Armadillo Theater: Omegathon Round 2: TsuroWe are down to 16, folks! They are dropping like flies. And what is the next game to do the swatting? Tsuro! The gorgeous tile game of path following and board pushing and ... that's about it.Who will be following the Omegathon path to victory? Will it be you? No. Because you aren't an Omeganaut. But some of them will win, so good for them.Friday, 7:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Breaking into the Tabletop IndustryDo you want a career in tabletop games? Join our semi-esteemed panel of industry insiders as we discuss our own experiences building a career, along with tons of advice on what to do, and what not to do, when it comes to trying to turn your passion for games into the thing that pays your bills. This won't just be a fun cheerleading panel about "following your dreams," but rather a hard look at the realities of the industry and what it takes to push your way in.Saturday, 10:00AM, Cactus Theater: The Art of the Table: GMing Beyond the BasicsDragons, cyborgs, and eldritch horrors aren't the only challenging things to be found at the gaming table. How do you structure an interesting plot to keep your players hooked? What helps a group remain friends when out of game drama threatens to disrupt a session? And just how DO you get a table of kill-crazed murder-hobos to explore a bit of story-based roleplaying? Join our panel of experienced GMs and industry veterans as we answer your questions on how to turn a good RPG into a great one!Saturday, 2:00PM, Main Theater: Acquisitions Incorporated Live at PAX SouthAcquisitions Incorporated: The Series—live, on the main stage at PAX South for the very first time! Join Jim Darkmagic (Mike Krahulik), Omin Dran (Jerry Holkins), Viari (Patrick Rothfuss), and a very special guest!Join the adventurers, along with Dungeon Master Chris Perkins, on an epic adventure about adventuring. Much adventure will be ventured.Saturday, 7:00PM, Bobcat Theater: Gary Gygax's Vodka Skull Mug and Other Stories: A Q&A with Mike SelinkerDesigner Mike Selinker—co-creator of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and the upcoming Thornwatch game from Penny Arcade and Lone Shark Games—will open a tasty beverage and talk about all his adventures in game and puzzle design. You can ask him any questions you like, and he will probably answer them. There might even be special guests asking the questions, some even scheduled in advance. Come find out!Saturday, 9:30PM, Falcon Theater: RollPlay: Four Years LaterJoin JP "itmeJP" McDaniel and Adam "skinnyghost" Koebel as they talk about RollPlay, a tabletop franchise spanning across multiple genres, rulesets, and shows.Sunday, 10:30AM, Armadillo Theater: Cardboard Kabuki: An Intro to Asian Board GamesBoard games have been getting more popular in the United States with the help from shows like Tabletop, Dice Tower, and Game Night. However, when talking about games, it often seems the Asian market gets overlooked.This panel will provide a general overview as to some of the reasons why along with a glimpse of some of the goods you may be missing out on. You'll even get tips on how to import many of these games, for those who are feeling adventurous.Sunday, 11:00AM, Falcon Theater: Omegathon Round 5: Evolution: The BeginningNow is the chance to figure out the final competitors for the Omegathon. It will require cunning, strength, guile, and the ability to adapt ... or EVOLVE!Yes, the board game Evolution: The Beginning is on the menu for this round, and believe me, it is going to be a whopper. Who will emerge as the dominant species?Sunday, 2:30PM, Cactus Theater: Promote Your Tabletop Game Like a Damn ProfessionalYou've made a great tabletop game, but nobody cares. We've gathered seasoned professionals in tabletop creation, manufacturing, events, design, and marketing to teach you how to get people to give a heck. Bring your questions for a Q&A at the end.Sunday, 3:30PM, Falcon Theater: PAX South Plays Pure Chess—Audience vs GrandmasterWant to play a crowdsourced game of chess against a chess Grandmaster? With just your phone or tablet as your weapon, you'll be able to vote on the chess moves to make against Grandmaster on stage, and see whether a room filled with PAX attendees can win together. Watch the Pure Chess action unfold on the big screen, and if the audience wins, everyone will get a free game courtesy of Ripstone Games.Sunay, 4:00PM, Cactus Theater: The Life and Times of a Board GameHow do tabletop games go from ideas to actual games you can buy? Join us for an informative look at the entire process of making rad tabletop games. Concept and design, production and logistics, distribution and sales; we'll cover it all. It won't be quite as cool as when Mr. Rogers visited the crayon factory, but I can guarantee there will be a lot more terrible jokes along with your learning!