Over four years ago now, I started writing guides to help people get the most they possible could out of their PAX adventure. PAX Prime 2015 will be my fourteenth one, but I’ve also seen ten E3s and two Dragon*Cons. So, the idea here is to use that experience to help PAX rookies and veterans alike. Thanks to input from others over the years, I think we’ve got this guide thing down to a science. As such, this version of the guide won’t be a whole lot different from last year aside from some minor updates. But, if you’ve got any suggestions, please post them below.

Seattle

The Washington State Convention Center is a little old and a little small, but it is in a perfect location. Anything you could possibly want to see or do in Seattle is within walking distance (or maybe a short monorail ride). From the moment you get off your plane at SeaTac, you can walk to the Lightrail, pay a few bucks and ride all the way into downtown. At that point, you’re close to all the major hotels, the Pike Place Market, dozens of great places to eat, an arcade, a 5-minute monorail to the Seattle Center (Space Needle and music/sci-fi museums), and, of course, the convention center.

Giant Bomb @ PAX

Your best bet to meet the Giant Bomb crew is the meet-up on Thursday night, but if you missed out on signing up for that or you're not getting into town until Friday (rookie mistake), then these panels are going to be the next best chance. For the GB panel (and any "popular" panel) you're going to need to line up very early if want a good seat. Enforcers will not allow you to line up until the line for the previous panel goes inside, so...do what you need to do to get in actual line as soon as that happens.

For example, the panel that is in the room before Giant Bomb is "Foreplay: Romance in Games." It starts at 6:30 PM, which means their line will go inside somewhere around 6:15 PM. That's when you can "officially" line up for Giant Bomb. And, no, you cannot go to the Foreplay panel and stay in the room. The Enforcers clear the room after each panel. Good luck!

The Enforcers

Enforcers are a legion of volunteers that make PAX run efficiently. It would be a hot mess without them. In the old days, they would don the black. But, now that there are multiple versions of PAX, Prime Enforcers are coated in blue. If you need help with anything, just look for one of them. They’re never too far away. And if they ask you nicely to do something (like move out of an aisle/walkway), please do so.

#PAX

Even if you don’t normally use Twitter, you should sign up just to follow these accounts while you’re at PAX. It’s the best and easiest way to get up-to-the-minute updates on what’s going on.

• @official_pax - The important stuff.
• @pax_lines - Updates on theatre/panel lines and when they get capped.
• @rkhoo - The man that makes PAX happen.
• @pax_tourney - News on the dozens of tournaments going on upstairs.
• @paxparties - An unofficial feed for the unofficial parties going on all weekend.

The Packing List

Here's what you need to bring with you especially if you're coming in from out of town.

Money

Most places (including vendors in the expo hall) will take credit/debit cards, but it’s probably a good idea to carry a little cash just in case. And if you need to hit an ATM, do it early in the day as they sometimes run out of money later on.

Backpack

Whatever your style of choice is, bring one. Don’t rely on getting a free bag at the show. They’re often cumbersome and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one anyway. Trust me…carrying a bunch of random stuff you pick up throughout the day is going to suck without a backpack. If it has weight reduction effects, all the better.

Phone & Charger

Duh. You need your phone. But don’t be a dumb and forget your charger and/or wall plug. Pro Tip: Turn your brightness down as far as you can tolerate. Keeping up with your friends at night through texts and/or Twitter is gonna be tough if your phone dies by 2 PM.

Battery Pack

Strongly consider buying an external USB battery pack. It’s been a life saver for me the last couple years. Worth every penny. Plus, if you get an adapter, it'll keep your 3DS and/or Vita truckin' too.

3DS/Vita

You will undoubtedly find some downtime (like waiting in line), and you will never be in a better place for local, handheld multiplayer. And then there’s StreetPassing. Oh…the StreetPassing. I see that green light flashing in my sleep. But you gotta get them puzzle pieces! And the fish! Oh...the fish!

Hand Sanitizer

There will be dispensers scattered around the buildings, but do yourself a favor and toss a little bottle in your bag and use it every time you play something.

Poster Tube

If you can fit it in your luggage, this is a veteran move. You might get a cool poster at PAX. You might even get it signed by Todd Howard. Make sure you have a way to get it home without crushing it.

Trash Bag

Yep. A trash bag. Just throw it in your luggage. Using it for dirty clothes will keep your stank-ass, sweaty socks off of the cool stuff you bring back on the way home.

The Daily List

Here's a few things that you should do every day. Every. Day.

Shower/Deodorant

For the love of Bristlebane, please! It’s not difficult. You're probably paying an arm and a leg for that hotel room you got, so use those amenities.

Eat/Drink

Walking around for eighteen hours a day for four days requires fuel. It may sound crazy now, but you might actually forget to eat and stay hydrated. There’s a ton of awesome places to grab food in downtown Seattle. Try to eat two actual meals a day and carry some snacks for in-between. Alternatively, you could attempt to live on doughnuts for four days. Just don’t get trapped by that Subway on the 4th floor. You’re better than that.

Sleep

Time is precious at PAX, but you can’t go non-stop for 100+ hours. Try to get at least 5 or 6 hours a night.

Get Out

Don’t spend all of your time in the convention center. Get out of there once in a while, get some air, grab some real food, see some of the city, etc.

Be Yourself

There’s a special vibe that envelops PAX. If you’ve ever felt weird or strange about the nerdy things you love, know that you’ll never be in a place with more people that enjoy the same things that you do than you ever will be. So, be yourself. Talk to random people in lines. You’re going to have a blast. Welcome home.

The To-Do List

Now that you've got a checklist of what to bring and some daily advice, here's some tips on how to prepare.

Download Guidebook

Guidebook is the best, easiest way to keep up with all the official PAX info (schedule, maps, announcements, etc.) Plus, @coonce works there now, so you know it’s gotta be awesome.

Gameplan

The schedule is out now, so start making a list right now of the panels you may want to see and any potential games you want to play. Compare your list with your friends and get a rough idea of what you want to see and do. Inevitably, you’re going to have make some tough decisions as multiple things you’re interested in will overlap. Accept the fact now that you can’t see/do everything, but if you go in there with no plan at all, you’re going to be overwhelmed.

http://prime.paxsite.com/schedule

Plan a Backup

Shit happens. Panels get full faster than you thought. Lines get too long to be worth it. The game you wanted to play might actually just be a presentation. Try to have a backup whenever you can. If all else fails, just go spend some more time in…

Indie Megabooth

Arguably the best part of PAX is the slew of indie games available. And, over the last few years, the Indie Megabooth has established itself as a primary feature of PAX. It houses over seventy games from nearly as many developers and you could spend hours there. It’s also great because you can play a bunch of games without waiting too long. If you see an open station, play it! I don’t care what it is.

Escape the Expo

The expo hall is an amazing spectacle. No doubt about it. But, it's also a trap. Get the hell out of there and do some other stuff once in a while. PAX has so much to offer aside from the expo hall and you shouldn’t miss it. Head upstairs to the Classic Console and Console Freeplay rooms. Hunt down the Classic Arcade. Head down the street to the Tabletop arenas. You get the point. Go do stuff.

The To-Don’t List

A couple little words of warning from a PAX veteran. You'll thank me later.

SWAG

We all love free stuff, but seriously…don’t be that guy. Don’t wait in line for 45 minutes to play a game you don’t care about just to get a shirt. And please don’t loiter around a headphone booth hoping to catch an inflatable hat. You will get free stuff without trying too hard, so don’t let SWAG ruin your PAX.

Lines

Okay, lines are unavoidable. If you want to do much of anything at PAX, you’re gonna wait in some lines. But, this is on the “don’t” list simply to help you make good decisions. Do you really need to wait in line for an hour to play Mario Maker when it will be out the next week? Think about it. Do you really want to wait in line for an hour to watch an Assassin’s Creed trailer that will be online Tuesday morning? Time is precious at PAX. Choose wisely.

The Optional List

Three PAX traditions that should not be ignored. Your interest will likely depend on who is involved, so take note.

Keynote

The “Storytime” session is typically a great opening ceremony for PAX, especially for first-timers. But the Penny Arcade Q&A no longer immediately follows the keynote, so unless you're a fan of the speaker, it may not be worth it. This year’s speaker is Kim Swift, who most people will know from Portal.

Music

On Saturday and Sunday night, Benaroya Hall will be rocking late into the night. Whether you know anything about the performers or not, the concerts are a great time especially if you don’t have any other late night plans. Saturday’s lineup includes 7bit Hero, Freezepop, and MC Frontalot. Sunday night, you can see The Returners, Bit Brigade, and The Protomen.

Omegathon Finals

The Omegathon is an elimination tournament that takes place throughout the entire weekend between a couple dozen attendees who were randomly selected prior to the show. The final game is always kept a secret until the very end. It’s usually a great closing ceremony, but it totally depends on the game. I’ve seen some great ones like Vs. Excitebike, Ikaruga, Trials Evolution, and (inexplicably) a stuffed animal crane game. But, I’ve also seen some pure train wrecks like Spaceteam and Cornhole. So, I can’t recommend it as much as I used to, but it still has the potential to be awesome.

PAX. PAX Never Changes.

Except when it does. There’s a few notable changes to PAX Prime this year that everyone who’s been before should be aware of.

1. The Queue Room is gone. The expo hall will now expand into what was the morning queue room, but not to add more booths. The idea is to make wider walkways and generally more space throughout the expo hall, which is a great idea. But, where do we line up then? They’re saying Enforcers will direct you where to go if you come in the main entrance of the convention center, which probably means you’ll be led outside of level four, which is where the overflow area was last year anyway. You can also line up at the annex across the street or at any of the theaters if you plan on going to a morning panel.

2. No stopping in aisles to take photos. This is primarily referring to cosplay. They’re encouraging cosplayers to congregate outside the expo hall for photo ops. Typically, the area around the merch booth on level 4 is popular for this anyway.

3. The registration desk is now at the Grand Hyatt, NOT in the convention center. That means if you did not get your badges mailed to you, you will need to pick them up at the Hyatt. You can do this on Thursday if you get into town early, which will be a lot faster than doing it Friday morning for sure.

<>

Well, that's all I've got. If you have any suggestions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, let me hear it. As always, hopefully this will help some people out and maybe I'll see some of you at PAX. Let me know if you spot my Mii in StreetPass too. I'll probably be the idiot who's most recently played game is the Seattle Mariners logo. Anyway, it's gonna be a blast. Have fun. Just remember...

YISSSSSSSS~~~

Thanks for the guide! This is my first PAX, so I'll be making good use of this. I'm there for work, but I should have time to check out a bunch of stuff I want to see and chat with some cool folks.

#RUNGFB

Wait, isn't "Giant Bomb Live, In-Person & Fully Clothed" on Thursday? Or are there two events at the Parlor?

Yes, it's Thursday. I fixed it now. But, yes, there will be other things at The Parlor. More about that should be announced soon. I will update the list then.

@marino: OK, cool. I'm passing through Seattle on my way to a conference in Vancouver and am working out how long it'd be worth staying without a PAX badge. I'm definitely going to Thursday's event but would stick around for a Friday Parlor event if there is one.

Guide definitely helped me last year when it was my first PAX so thank you for all the hard work. Gonna have to see when the Mario Party Live event is happening but I'm going to miss the Freezepop concert because GB panel is always more important!~

Good Luck Have Paxman <>

Updated the "GB @ PAX" schedule with more stuff at The Parlor. Times will be announced later.

Thank you! Did anyone notice on the PAX Guide under Giant Bomb Jeff is listed as "Nightmare Person" ?

Add a Monday afternoon panel that Dan is on to the "GB @ PAX" section. Here's a description of what it's about:

"Mental health issues are often misunderstood. According to video games and movies, if you're mentally ill, you need to be in a straightjacket or heavily medicated, but that's not really how it goes. You probably know someone who has a mental health issue, and you could be their hero just by learning a few simple facts. What to do, what not to say - and what it's really like. Presented by Take This."

Updated to show Giant Beastcast Live is now officially 11am-1pm Friday at The Parlor.

There will also be a miniature version of the Indie Megabooth there where you can play stuff before or after the show. Games include:

• Barkley 2
• Gang Beasts
• Mini Metro
• Rising Thunder/Stonehearth
• Sometimes Always Monsters
• Through the Woods
• Viking Squad
• Tabletop - Paperback
• Captain Forever Remix
• Armello
• FutureGrind
• Distance
• La-Mulana 2
• BELOW
• Galak-Z
• Tabletop - Skiptrace
• Universe Sandbox ²
• Brigador

Updated time for Mario Party Party 5. It'll be 2pm-6pm Friday afternoon at The Parlor.

4 hours of Mario Party? Man...

So here is a question that is sorta-semi kinda related but.

I don't do conventions, full stop. (severe social anxiety) but uh..I'd like to see as much of this as possible. So..

How much, if any, of this stuff is gonna be streamed, videoed and archived, and/or otherwise available for those like me? I'd guess some of it will be officially but, don't recall seeing any word about it? Anyone know?

1. My panel is at 2:30. (Also thanks for including it!)

2. Will Call/Registration is at the Grand Hyatt hotel this year, which is a change from previous years.

BladedEdge- I'm sure Drew will be filming the GB Saturday panel (as he has with previous years). Anything in the Hydra Theatre will be livestreamed at twitch.tv/pax2 so you can see the Rumble livestreamed/archived.

I'm not even going to PAX and I think this guide is awesome. Enjoyed reading it, and it seems SUPER well thought out and done. Awesome job dude! Have fun at PAX everyone! I look forward to hearing about ya'lls adventures on the forums once its over.

@naoiko: Thanks! You're from Savannah? I'm in Macon. Maybe you'll be able to make it to a PAX sooner or later.

UPDATE: As Pat mentioned, registration is at the Hyatt, so I've updated the "PAX. PAX Never Changes" section.

Fantastic guide as always! Now that I'm a seasoned PAX veteran I feel certified to say that it'll save your dang life.

My friend and I will probably be wearing some manner of Giant Bomb shirt mostly every day during PAX, so if you see us feel free to high five! That's a pretty general field, so just high five everyone in a GB shirt until you get to us! You know what? Just high five everyone! Statistically, you'll probably end up high fiving us by accident!

twitch.tv/pax

http://www.twitch.tv/pax will be streaming the Main Theatre all weekend. That includes:

Friday

• 10:30AM: Storytime with Kim Swift
• 11:30AM: Gabe and Tycho Q&A
• 1:00PM: Rooster Teeth Gives a Long Division Tutorial
• 4:00PM: Gearbox
• 8:30PM: Acquisitions Inc.

Saturday

• 10:30AM: People Doing Panel
• 1:00PM: Penny Arcade Make a Strip
• 4:30PM: Dragon Age: Past Present and Future
• 8:30PM: Concerts - 7Bit Hero, MC Frontalot, and Freezepop

Sunday

• 10:30AM: Nvidia
• 12:30PM: Mike and Jerry Q&A
• 3:30PM: Polaris Presents: Markiplier and Friends
• 8:30 PM: Concerts - Returners, Bit Brigade, and Protomen

Monday

• 11:00AM: Mike and Jerry Q&A
• 1:30PM: Polaris Presents: Game Grumps
• 5:30PM: Omegathon Final Round

twitch.tv/pax2

http://www.twitch.tv/pax2 will be streaming everything from the Hydra Theatre, which includes:

Friday

• 11:30AM: A Mighty Chat with Keiji Inafune
• 1:00PM: Razer@PAX 2015: Designing the Next Generation Gaming Devices
• 2:30PM: Polaris Presents: Peanut Butter Gamer Hangout and Q&A
• 4:00PM: Twitch Town Hall: 1 Year Anniversary
• 5:30PM: YouTube Gaming
• 7:00PM: Modding 101 - A Crash Course in Cities: Skyline
• 8:30PM: Hitman

Saturday

• 10:30AM: Guilt Wars 2 - The Journey Ahead
• 12:00PM: Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report LIVE!
• 1:30PM: Polaris Presents: The Creatures
• 3:00PM: Obsidian Entertainment Presents: A Pillars of Eternity Retrospective discussion!
• 4:30PM: Final Fantasy XIV: Koji & Sokena's Wild Ride
• 6:00PM: Igarashi Panel: "WHIP IT GOOD: KICKSTARTING IGA"
• 7:30PM: An Evening with Kurtz and Son
• 9:00PM: Dropped Frames - An Evening w/ Twitch Streamers!

Sunday

• 10:00AM: The Game Industry Rumble! Live on N64! Reminder
• 12:00PM: Mindcrack: Creating Group Content
• 1:30PM: Polaris Presents: FRIENDZONE LIVE
• 3:00PM: Inside Marvel Heroes 2016
• 4:30PM: CD PROJEKT RED Presents: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Panel
• 6:00PM: Omnia Holder
• 7:30PM: Make Stuff for the Internet!
• 9:00PM: The Runaway Guys: Thrown Controllers

Monday

• 12:00PM: Polaris Presents: CRAFTERS CORNER
• 1:30PM: Battle for Zendikar Worldbuilding Panel
• 3:00PM: Dice, Camera, Action: Streaming Tabletop D&D Games
• 4:30PM: Poke Tubing

@marino: Oh snap! I've got friends in Macon. Been there many, many times. We used to go to the big mall there a few times a year when I lived near valdosta growing up. Didn't know there were very many GA duders =).

I'm hoping one day the hubby and I can make it to one. They always look like so much fun!

@naoiko: That mall is half gone now. Literally half of it has been torn down. The rest is half empty. That whole side of town is pretty sad really. I actually went to college down in Valdosta, so I'm pretty familiar with it too.

As for PAX, getting to Boston is a lot cheaper than Seattle obviously. I can't recommend it enough.

@marino: Just curious, how much does it run to fly out to ether of those? I only ask since I'm guessing you've been to at least one. =)

And they tore half it down? Awwwwww thats a bummer. I haven't been back since I moved to Savannah...don't know if I'll recognize anything there if its changed so much. Oh man I freaking love Valdosta. It's pretty, not as packed as bigger cities but still with stuff to do. And Wild adventures is supper fun to go to. Way cheaper than bigger parks, and way less wait time on rides. Win win!

If the prices aren't to bad we might make a trip out to PAX in the future. They always look like a ton of fun! =)

@naoiko: My flight from ATL to BOS this year was $260. Depending on how close your hotel is to the convention center, it's gonna be about $200/night. Those are obviously the two most expensive things. Once you're there, you don't actually have to spend that much. You can walk to most places in downtown Boston and the subway costs like $2 per ride no matter how far you go.

The GB panel will for sure be archived and typically goes up within a week within PAX ending. The other stuff is almost always recorded in some way with only the occasional missing panel or two. Most likely anything on GB that is streamed will be in our chat but I'm not 100% sure what is streamed and what isn't this year. So be sure to check back closer to PAX.

I also wanted to mention that I went to PAX East in 2014 and, like you, do get bouts of social anxiety. I wouldn't call mine severe but I become very shy and self aware. I'm better either all alone and wandering or with a group when in more social of situations. That said I had a blast at PAX. I had a good group of friends, whom I had never met but knew online, who helped make that experience a great first time.

If you can convince a friend or two to go with you, which might make the cost a bit more manageable, then by all means give it a shot. Even if you aren't experiencing every panel, and every game, and every little bit of PAX just being there and attending at least once it worth the trip imo.

I waited in that DNF line in 2010. I just had to know.

My friends didn't believe me about lines until we waited 4 hours without moving in an Old Republic line at PAX East. No line is worth it at that point.

Marino is a wise man. Pick your line battles and don't wait around like a chump.

I haven't been to Prime in several years, do they still have the beanbag lounges? If so, never understimate the refreshing power of taking a couple minutes to flop.

@marino: Oh snap that isn't that bad at all! For some reason I thought it would be way worse. Might have to start saving up for that so we can go in the next few years (or sooner hahah). Thanks dude!

@burger_time: The bean bags are still there, but not as many. Those "Handheld Lounge" areas are mostly taken over by Nintendo now, which makes sense of course, but it means that there are demo stations throughout that area instead of just a sea of bean bags.

It's crazy how different the show is compared to when I first went in 2008.

Excellent guide, though I'll probably ignore most of it (I will be showing everyday but I don't really need a guide to tell me that). This will be my second PAX, and my first Giant Bomb pre-party. Perhaps I'll see you there!

Loving the classic EQ icons!

;)

I don't expect anyone to notice where they're from, but I'm glad at least a few people do. And, for the most part, they fit the category I assigned each one to.

One quick tip from a new local: Do NOT Jaywalk.

Seriously, don't.

Downtown Seattle traffic isn't great, drivers are irritable and distracted, and the police are jaywalking ticket happy. Even if you see others getting away with it from a traffic perspective, don't risk the ticket. The weather's going to be gorgeous; stand at that intersection and enjoy one of the most gorgeous cities in America.

If you see a fat guy in a Washington Nationals shirt, it might be me. Say hi! I don't bite.

Yeah...about that...

@marino: I swear I looked yesterday and it was clear. It's been dry as a damn bone here since January.

That caption on the final pic is the best!
Oh, and nice guide @marino

Its rained like once here in 6 months though. If it does rain I won't complain, rain is awesome.

Real bummer this isn't in GB chat because the YT chat manages to be just as bad as Twitch chat even though it has far fewer people in it.

EDIT: Nevermind, based @edgework put it up on the giant bomb chat.

I just wanted to add that "Razer@PAX 2015: Designing the Next Generation Gaming Devices" was the best panel at PAX Prime 2015 so far.
http://www.twitch.tv/pax2/v/13272758?t=0h21m0s

It's kind of funny that I can stream from my Xbox with the effort of a single sentence but a tech event with a massive budget can't afford to equip all panels with that ability.

So where and when can I watch the 404ing It: Breaking (Down) the Internet panel?

Is that Austin Walker in the duke nukem queue ? It so looks like him. reminds me i never bought the game, probably never will now. man i had such a great time with the old dukes