If you’ve ever gone to PAX East before, you know how insane today is going to be. If this is your first time trying to go, consider this your warning. At 3 pm Eastern Standard Time, PAX East tickets are going on sale. It will be a mad house, where only the strong or the determined will survive.
PAX East is an event that happens at the Boston Convention And Exhibition Center every year in the winter. This year might be one of its earliest yet, with PAX East 2020 starting on February 27th and going until March 1st. While most details (like the schedule, who will be giving concerts, and which vendors are going) aren’t revealed until much closer to the date, we do know that this will be the third PAX East convention that will be four days long instead of three.
The ticket prices for PAX East 2020. Hope you've saved up!
Perhaps of more importance: this will be the first convention in many years that will offer a full 4 day pass instead of having to buy daily.
I’ve been going to PAX East since it first started in 2010, and always have a blast. Still, ‘ticket day’ fills me with a sense of wonder and dread. For many years, the day was kept entirely secret, leaving thousands of people anxiously anticipating when to log online and start refreshing the website. The fact that this year they announced the time that the tickets are going on sale ahead of schedule… well, this should be interesting. In the past, the whole weekend/Saturday passes would sell out in less than twenty minutes, if that.
The growth of the PAX Arena and E-sports events have changed the style of PAX events in recent years.
Anyone want to take bets at how fast they sell out?
An Experience Unlike Any Other – One That’s Worth Trying
We’ve written about PAX East every year here, and that’s because all of us fell in love with this convention way before we began going as press. PAX events were some of the first massive conventions that felt solely dedicated to regular gamers instead of as publicity campaigns for publishers and developers, and we love it for that. Stuffed with great panels, music concerts, tournaments and events, there really is something here for every gamer. We’ve even gotten into the habit of writing an updated guide every year in the hopes to make the experience more enjoyable.
PAX has changed over the years, that’s absolutely certain. It’s gotten more expensive, and the hotels in Boston certainly jumped their prices. It’s become a more crowded event, and with the explosion of streaming, the show floor has been altered repeatedly. E-sports arenas have appeared, while some publishers have stopped coming to PAX directly, instead hosting events around the city in other hotels.
Going to PAX East is like going to a fireworks show and watching from directly underneath it: you end the weekend with your ears ringing, exhausted, and wondering how you spent so much money. Maybe it’s just getting older, but I have many friends who have stopped going, while other friends become more excited, saving up for a year or two to have a chance to go. Either way, I’ve never had a friend that regretted going at least once and getting lost in the crowds.
If you are on the fence about giving PAX East a shot, I surely hope you find a way to go and have a blast. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Editor-in-chief, Co-founder
Whether he's worldbuilding for Dungeons and Dragons or figuring out what to have for dinner, Wyatt is usually in a whole different world. A player of all games, from the first person shooter to board games, Wyatt will happily throw down with plasma rifle on LCD screen or an army of metal miniatures just the same. Sprites and Dice is his dream to stay active in the community that he knows and loves.
Whether he's worldbuilding for Dungeons and Dragons or figuring out what to have for dinner, Wyatt is usually in a whole different world. A player of all games, from the first person shooter to board games, Wyatt will happily throw down with plasma rifle on LCD screen or an army of metal miniatures just the same. Sprites and Dice is his dream to stay active in the community that he knows and loves.
