I love that lanyard. What's the story with it? I've not seen that one before.
I think it's a PAC-MAN lanyard from the Bandai/Namco booth.
I was guessing it was a PA related lanyard, due to the quality(seems better than regular shitty giveaway ones) and the pacman-in-a-watch looking logo that repeats down the pattern.
Oh, it's apparently the Club PA lanyard. Surprised they haven't been sued.
It is the Club PA lanyard. Part of the Club PA exclusive merch. In fact, it's the first of that line! They're $10 so if anyone wants one and can give me cash, let me know!
*EDIT* I didn't click over to the new page before posting so i didn't see Scotts pointing out what it was. Doh!
After learning how much of a tabletop gaming noob i am, my friends are now on a mission to drag me to that area. I'm not complaining lol. It's about time.
Matt, I hear you may have advice for PAXing with small children? Wife and I are heading over to PAX south with a baby and a toddler. We fully expect not to do everything in PAX it will just be too much, probably go to nearby outdoor things for some of the time to let the little one run around. That said, any ideas for kid friendly things to do at PAX itself would be awesome
That is a tall order. I brought my daughter around the 9-month mark. As I am sure you are well aware, an infant (basic human needs) is much easier to handle than a toddler (actual small human). What age toddler are we talking about here? I am only now considering bringing my girl back, around age 4, but that's still highly unlikely to happen.
Rule 1 is to respect the schedule of the child(ren). We are an extremely regular family when it comes to the timing of meals and naps, so I make every effort not to change that.
As for kid-friendly activities at PAX, there are effectively zero. There are things you can do while also watching the kids, but I'd be hard pressed to name something the kids would actually want to do. A 3-year-old can be a capable board game player, but the PAX library is not stocked with awesome Haba/Gamewright/Blue Orange titles.
Get a serious kid carrier (I had a backpack style). Also consider picking up some hearing protection (we only got it for Expo, which can be quite loud). I ordered a pair of pink gun-range earmuffs for my daughter. They blocked out so much noise that she fell asleep in the backpack carrier and I did a several-hour stint of roaming the expo hall with her on my back.
PAX for me is a confluence of almost every social circle I have, so PAX w/ kid was just me walking around and observing stuff, checking stuff out at a distance, and doing an awful lot of socializing. It was worth it, but would have been a disaster had I not put my kid first while also severely lowering my expectations compared to a normal PAX.
Good luck, dude. You are going to have a good time, because it is PAX. Fun is mandatory.
Kids definitely come first, always. Baby is ~6 mo, toddler is ~2.5. Socializing and observing is about the level I was expecting (we have many friends coming that we do not see often). We decided to come to this PAX solely because it was nearby (we live just west of Houston) so it is not a big expense to get here and won't feel bad if we mostly abandon the show to do things outside. I found there are several nearby outdoor parks and an indoor play place at the mall across the street to entertain the toddler. For that matter we can even just drive back home if things go that badly.
We have two carriers, one is larger backpack style for big brother, it will be interesting to see if he will take a nap in it. Have a smaller one that we use for baby all the time. Hearing protection is a good call, have a pair I can bring for the baby.
As someone who is acquiring board games for conventions, I am really digging this children talk, do you guys have any other suggestions to make an event kid friendly?
Actually have kid games? You know what, in the next few days when I have a moment to sit down and really type, I will make a thread about games for little kids. Suggestions will be within.
As for other general "make an event kid-friendly" type stuff I'll have to give it some thought. Most aspects of a con are not outright anti-kid unless you want to get into restrictive policies on breast-feeding and such. It's just more along the sense of there being not much for kids to do.
Even recommending games is a tough one. Cons and liability is quite a rabbit hole. If I recommend one of the best kid's games ever, but it's only available as a German import b/c of product safety laws (small parts for chocking hazards, magnets, pointy corners, etc.), and a 4-yo gets hurt playing the game? Oh boy. An extreme and easily avoidable situation, but you get where I'm going.
Otakon, Anime Boston, and Connecticon all have had special kids rooms. These rooms are staffed and have special activities just for kids, usually arts & crafts type things. These aren't day cares. You have to say there with your child, but at least it gives you a home base you can use to swap out and enjoy the con. Only now do I realize that PAX and other gaming cons don't have this, and they probably should.
Most aspects of a con are not outright anti-kid unless you want to get into restrictive policies on breast-feeding and such. It's just more along the sense of there being not much for kids to do.
Fortunately Texas state law forbids restrictions on breast feeding, you are allowed to do it anywhere you yourself are allowed. Of course, that doesn't mean you would actually want to. I called the convention center and they said they have some mommy facilities which will help. We also made sure our hotel was right next door so we can just go back to the room for things like this.
Otakon, Anime Boston, and Connecticon all have had special kids rooms. These rooms are staffed and have special activities just for kids, usually arts & crafts type things. These aren't day cares. You have to say there with your child, but at least it gives you a home base you can use to swap out and enjoy the con. Only now do I realize that PAX and other gaming cons don't have this, and they probably should.
When I searched prior to posting it did come up in places like PAX forums that PAX is definitely lacking in activities that kids would enjoy.
Our older son loves computers and will seek out games when we let him. It is amazing how often he will beat the innkeeper in hearthstone (though he gets pretty focused on attacking one board mob at a time). He will specifically launch games on my tablet when he gets his hands on it too, has unlocked a great deal of ridiculous fishing stuff.
Most aspects of a con are not outright anti-kid unless you want to get into restrictive policies on breast-feeding and such. It's just more along the sense of there being not much for kids to do.
Fortunately Texas state law forbids restrictions on breast feeding, you are allowed to do it anywhere you yourself are allowed. Of course, that doesn't mean you would actually want to. I called the convention center and they said they have some mommy facilities which will help. We also made sure our hotel was right next door so we can just go back to the room for things like this.
Otakon, Anime Boston, and Connecticon all have had special kids rooms. These rooms are staffed and have special activities just for kids, usually arts & crafts type things. These aren't day cares. You have to say there with your child, but at least it gives you a home base you can use to swap out and enjoy the con. Only now do I realize that PAX and other gaming cons don't have this, and they probably should.
When I searched prior to posting it did come up in places like PAX forums that PAX is definitely lacking in activities that kids would enjoy.
Our older son loves computers and will seek out games when we let him. It is amazing how often he will beat the innkeeper in hearthstone (though he gets pretty focused on attacking one board mob at a time). He will specifically launch games on my tablet when he gets his hands on it too, has unlocked a great deal of ridiculous fishing stuff.
United screwed with my reservation a bit. I originally took a late Thursday flight to nab a ridiculous deal. Used their changes as grounds to bitch and get a no-fee change, onto the much more expensive flight that gets in at 3. Would prefer even earlier but it is much better than 10PM. At least now I can sort out E stuff that evening, get a lay of the land, see some folks.
I've heard good things of Concordia but I've been unable to get it to the table. If someone is willing to break FRCF PAX Commandment #7 about teaching games at PAX, I'm in.
Comments
*EDIT* I didn't click over to the new page before posting so i didn't see Scotts pointing out what it was. Doh!
*EDIT* Churba - Sure thing, man. Message me the best way to handle it and we will get 'er done.
Rule 1 is to respect the schedule of the child(ren). We are an extremely regular family when it comes to the timing of meals and naps, so I make every effort not to change that.
As for kid-friendly activities at PAX, there are effectively zero. There are things you can do while also watching the kids, but I'd be hard pressed to name something the kids would actually want to do. A 3-year-old can be a capable board game player, but the PAX library is not stocked with awesome Haba/Gamewright/Blue Orange titles.
Get a serious kid carrier (I had a backpack style). Also consider picking up some hearing protection (we only got it for Expo, which can be quite loud). I ordered a pair of pink gun-range earmuffs for my daughter. They blocked out so much noise that she fell asleep in the backpack carrier and I did a several-hour stint of roaming the expo hall with her on my back.
PAX for me is a confluence of almost every social circle I have, so PAX w/ kid was just me walking around and observing stuff, checking stuff out at a distance, and doing an awful lot of socializing. It was worth it, but would have been a disaster had I not put my kid first while also severely lowering my expectations compared to a normal PAX.
Good luck, dude. You are going to have a good time, because it is PAX. Fun is mandatory.
We have two carriers, one is larger backpack style for big brother, it will be interesting to see if he will take a nap in it. Have a smaller one that we use for baby all the time. Hearing protection is a good call, have a pair I can bring for the baby.
As for other general "make an event kid-friendly" type stuff I'll have to give it some thought. Most aspects of a con are not outright anti-kid unless you want to get into restrictive policies on breast-feeding and such. It's just more along the sense of there being not much for kids to do.
Even recommending games is a tough one. Cons and liability is quite a rabbit hole. If I recommend one of the best kid's games ever, but it's only available as a German import b/c of product safety laws (small parts for chocking hazards, magnets, pointy corners, etc.), and a 4-yo gets hurt playing the game? Oh boy. An extreme and easily avoidable situation, but you get where I'm going.
Our older son loves computers and will seek out games when we let him. It is amazing how often he will beat the innkeeper in hearthstone (though he gets pretty focused on attacking one board mob at a time). He will specifically launch games on my tablet when he gets his hands on it too, has unlocked a great deal of ridiculous fishing stuff.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66589/navegador
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/124361/concordia
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/54138/imperial-2030
(Listed in increasing order of playtime - Navegador and Concordia are both games you can finish and say "let's play that again", Imperial not as much)