Winning the PAX East Game - Appendix A: The Heart

Part of Winning the PAX East game has to be knowing what PAX is, where it comes from, and why it exists.  Answering these questions to my satisfaction would demand a wall of text that would inevitably cause you to bust out your 3DS in the middle of it and just start farming.  These links will have to suffice.

First, I recommend that you check out these episodes of Penny Arcade: The Series:

PAX East 2010 - A look behind the scenes at the first PAX East

Mike & Jerry - A personal conversation with the two guys that created Penny Arcade that reveals how, through PAX, they were able to bring together a world of folks that didn't fit in, and give them a community of their own.

PAX East 2012 - Take a brief look at last year's PAX East and get a little more insight into how Penny Arcade and PAX have both had a profound impact on the lives of so many of us.

Even if you're already here, take the time to watch them at some point.  They will absolutely enrich your PAX East experience.

Nightlife

As an appendix to Troy's segment, I found this comprehensive list for PAX-related nightlife.

“What PAX makes so very clear is that all of the aggression and all of the controversy and all of the conflict that you see online...all that, when you get into a physical space with people...it all just sort of melts away.  I’ve always described PAX as a celebration of the culture, but in that regard it serves another purpose...it reminds me of the humanity of our culture...and it’s becoming more and more important to me as far as that role that it fills.”  

                                                                         -Robert Khoo, Show Director

Winning the PAX East Game - Appendix B: Panels By Topic

Inside Game Companies

  • Friday 1::00pm FF Panel (Naga)
  • Friday 1:00pm Rooster Teeth (Main)
  • Friday 4:30 The Future of D&D (Corgi)*
  • Saturday 12:00 Irrational Games (Phoenix)+
  • Saturday 1:00 The Making of Dust (NAGA)*
  • Saturday 3:00 Fuse (Insomniac’s Game) (Phoenix)
  • Saturday 3:30 DayZ Panel (Wyvern)
  • Sunday 11:30 Doublefine Adventure! (Merman)+

Hi My Name is Luke Crane,  I’m Kind of a Big Deal (Panels Featuring Designer Luke Crane).

  • Friday 12:30 We make and publish our own games...AND it’ srad (TT)
  • Friday 2:00 The future of RPG design and publishing (TT)
  • Friday 6:00 RPGs are awesome (CORGI)
  • Saturday 3:30 The Campaign Doctors (Merman)*

I Do Head Shots Just to Feel Something. (Public Service Panels)

  • Friday 2:00 Its dangerous to go alone take this panel (wyvern)
  • Friday 3:00 We accept you...just don’t use the bathroom (Corgi)
  • Friday 4:00 Rethinking game addiction (Sphinx)
  • Friday 5:30 What’s your gamer type? (Sphinx)
  • Saturday 10:30 Blending games and life: Showing your passion (Merman)
  • Saturday 12:30 Sports and the benefits of gaming (Wyvern)
  • Saturday 2:30 Videogames and Ethics (Sphinx)
  • Saturday 5:00 Mental Health and Video Games (Merman)
  • Saturday 7:00 Violence, Video games and children (Sphinx)
  • Sunday 10:00 Fighting your inner demons Dealing with depression (Merman)
  • Sunday 1:00 You game like a girl (Naga)
  • Sunday 2:00 Sex and (non) Violence (TT)
  • Sunday 3:00 Help, I think my wizard is transgendered (Corgi)

Obviously Bowser hates Mario. He done did genocide on most of his people. (Education and Gaming...For the Children in The New Millenium)

  • Friday 3:30pm Design to do Good (Wyvern)
  • Friday 5:30 Does education need some stinking badges (Merman)Saturday 1:00pm Teaching Outside Aperture Science (Sphinx)
  • Sunday 11:00am Education Gamerfication (TT)
Um, yeah. It was on my RSS feed (Gaming Culture)
  • Friday 8:30 Dungeon World: Make stuff (Sphinx)
  • Friday 9:00 Giant Bomb (Phoenix)*
  • Saturday 10:00 Do JRPGs still matter? (Naga)
  • Saturday 12:00 Geeks get a +5 to crafting (Corgi)
  • Saturday 1:30 Practical Game Theory (TT)*
  • Saturday 2:00 Mass Effect- a retrospective (MAIN)
  • Saturday 4:00 Wood for Sheep: The What and Why of Board Game Culture (Sphinx)
  • Saturday 5:00 The fighting game community from niche to worldwide phenomenon (Arachnid)
  • Saturday 6:00 Improving Player Behavior in LOL (Phoenix)
  • Sunday 12:30 Gamers With Jobs -- Why We Game. (Arachnid)

No I’m not irresponsible. I’m just the cool dad. (Geek Parenting)

  • Friday 5:30 Parents as Characters (Arachnid)
  • Sunday 10:00 Geek Parenting (Wyvern)*
  • Sunday 4:00 Parenting and Video Games (Merman)

Dude, I could make a better game than this (Game Design, Publication, and Marketing)

  • Friday 1:00 Get hired in video game marketing (Arachnid)
  • Friday 2:30 Want a good story in your game? Get an Indie! (Merman)
  • Friday 3:30 Worldbuilding 101 (TT)
  • Friday 5:00 House rules: Taking games one step further (TT)
  • Friday 6:30 Game Design Workshop (TT)*
  • Friday 7:00 Twister Tales: Breaking into Gaming and Partying on! (Arachnid)
  • Friday 8:00 No, the Monkey Should Have a Chainsaw (Arachnid)*
  • Saturday 12:30pm Why would you WANT to be a Videogame Journalist (Arachnid)*
  • Saturday 6:00 Fantasy to Reality: Turning a Homebrew into a Published Setting (TT)*
  • Sunday 11:30 Pitch your Game Idea (Sphinx)
  • Sunday 2:30 Turning Your Gaming Passion into Profits (Merman)

Penny Arcade Panels

  • Friday 11:30am Penny Arcade Q&A #1 (Main)
  • Friday 2:30pm Strip Search (Men’s Room) ;) (“Arachnid”)
  • Saturday 10:30am Penny Arcade Make-A-Strip (Main)
  • Sunday 10:30am Gabe & Tycho Signing (Queue Room)
  • Sunday 2:00pm Penny Arcade Q&A #2 (Main)

Rusty Iron Daggers (Miscellaneous Loot)

  • Saturday 8:30pm Retro Games Roadshow (Naga)
  • Saturday 9:30pm Cards Against Humanity (Wyvern)*
  • Saturday 9:00pm The Escapist Movie Night (MerMAN, Dad...merMAN)
  • Sunday 11:00am Who Wants to Be a Nintendoaire (Arachnid)*
  • Sunday 2:30pm How to Play Pinball (Naga)*

*MGT Recommends

Winning the PAX East Game - Appendix C: Tournament Extras

Regrettably, we were unable to fit all of the details for the more complicated tournament and freeplay games onto our Quick Reference Guide.   Here are links to comprehensive info on the following:

Table Top Miniature War Games

Magic: The Gathering

Here is a breakdown of the Console Tourney details:

While the tournament start times are available on your MGT Quick Reference Sheet, the details for entry caps, bracketing, console, and sign-up requirements are listed below:

Persona 4 Arena
1v1
32 Players
PS3

Budokai HD Collection - Budokai 3
1v1
32 Players
PS3
No Custom Builds
World Tournament Ring only.

Lumines Live!
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

Soul Calibur 5
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

NBA Jam On Fire
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Ultimate
1v1
64 Players
Xbox360

Goldeneye
4-way Free for all
32 Players
N64

Kirby's Dream Collection: Mini Games
4-way Free for all
64 Players
Wii

Super Smash Brothers Brawl
1v1
128 Players, divided into two groups of 64. The second group will start two hours later. You'll know which group you're in when you sign up.
Wii

Chasing Aurora
5-way Free for all. Not a typo. That's right, 5.
80 Players
Wii-U

Trials: Evolution
Supercross Only
4-way Free for all
64 Players
Xbox360

Geometry Wars 2
Deadline Only
4-way Free for all
64 Players
Xbox360

Puzzle Bobble
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

Tetris Attack
1v1
32 Players
SNES

Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition
1v1
64 Players
Xbox360

Twisted Metal Black
4-way Free for all
32 Players
PS2

Halo 4
4-way Free for all
64 Players
Xbox360

J.S.Joust
4-way team battle, 3 players per team
48 Players
Please sign up as a team.

Beautiful Katamari
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

Virtual On OT
1v1
32 Players
Xbox360

Pac Man Championship Edition DX
1v1
32 Players

Xbox360

Details on PC Tournaments from the Penny Arcade Forums:

PAX East 2013 PC Tournament Schedule

Minecraft

Type: 1v1/Free For All/Time Trials

Format: Feed The Beast

Player Cap: 100

Starts: Friday at 8PM, Check-In 7PM

Counter-Strike: Global Offense
Type: 5v5 Teams
Format: Defusal
Player Cap: 160
Players Per Team: 5
Max Teams: 32
Mode: Single Elimination
Starts: Saturday at 2PM, Check-In 1PM

Warsow
Type: Free For All
Format: 1,000 Frag
Player Cap: 100
Starts: Saturday at 9PM, Check-In 8PM

Shootmania
Type: 3v3 Teams
Format: Elite Mode
Player Cap: 96
Players Per Team: 3
Max Teams: 32
Mode: Single Elimination
Starts: Sunday at 1PM, Check-In 12PM

Details on the Hand Held Tourney Info from the Penny Arcade Forums:

All sign ups begin Friday morning when doors open.
This year we're putting aside the pick-a-first-round method. Just your standard start times means more games for you!
Please bring your own device for the tournament! Unfortunately we don't have any to loan out.
Your own copy of the game is needed unless otherwise stated. Very few copies for some games are available on first come, first serve basis.
Every tournament will have at least 64 slots open. In the event of an odd number of players, we'll make it work!
When in doubt, as an Enforcer at the HH desk! We don't bite.

Mario Kart 7 : Friday 3/22/13 @ 2:30pm : Nintendo 3DS

We here at PAX run a clean race. We also run an easy race! If you're new to it, this just means grand prix races with random courses and no character or car restrictions. See? Easy peasy. All you have to do is bring your A game and those thumb callouses you've been working on.

Star Fox 64 3D : Friday 3/22/13 @ 6:30pm : Nintendo 3DS

Nostalgia plus new game play? Awwww yeah, good times. Every round you'll be flying 'til you can't in dogfights. Best 2 of 3 moves on to the following round. Have fun going against old friends and new! (Unless they play as Slippy. You know why.)

Spaceteam : Saturday 3/23/13 @ 5:30pm : iPad/iPad Mini/iPhone

Do you enjoy hurtling through the cold embrace of the universe, in a ship doing its best to fall apart, while trying not to create a HR nitemare because Jim in communications can't get his act together? Have we got the tournament for you. Oh, and I hope you like a couple modes you haven't played before. You'll get the full details day of. Just be prepared for fun!

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed : Saturday 3/23/13 @ 1:30pm : PlayStation Vita

*Seeeegaaaaaaaaaa* You wouldn't think the world's favorite blue hedgehog needed a car for racing, but I guess he wanted to give his buddies a fair chance. We'll be running basic grand prix races for each round without any vehicle, course, or character restrictions. Don't have to be the first off the line, just the first to cross it!

Mario Kart DS @ 11:30am/Tetris DS @ 4:30pm : Sunday 3/24/13 : Nintendo DS/DSi(XL)/3DS(XL)

We're taking a day to play two of our forever favorites. We're focusing on fun, but there are still medals to win. Rules will be the same as ever. If you're not sure, just ask at the desk!