PAX (event) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids PAX
Status	Active
Genre	Gaming (video game, tabletop, CCG, role-playing)
Venue	Various Current PAX West: Seattle Convention Center PAX East: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center PAX Aus: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre PAX Unplugged: Pennsylvania Convention Center Former PAX South: Henry B. González Convention Center PAX East: Hynes Convention Center PAX Aus: Melbourne Showgrounds PAX West: Meydenbauer Center
Location(s)	Various Current PAX East: Boston PAX Aus: Melbourne PAX Unplugged: Pennsylvania PAX West: Seattle Former PAX South: San Antonio
Country	United States Australia
Inaugurated	PAX West: August 28–29, 2004 Other PAX(s) PAX East: March 26–28, 2010 PAX Dev: August 24–25, 2011 PAX Aus: July 19–21, 2013 PAX South: January 23–25, 2015 PAX Unplugged: November 17–19, 2017
Most recent	PAX East: March 23-26, 2023 Other PAX(s) PAX Unplugged: December 2–4, 2022 PAX Aus: October 7–9, 2022 PAX West: September 2–5, 2022 PAX South: January 17–19, 2020 PAX Dev: August 27–28, 2019
Next event	PAX West: September 1-4, 2023 Other PAX(s) PAX Aus: 6-8 October, 2023 PAX Unplugged: December 1-3, 2023 PAX East: TBA 2024
Organized by	Penny Arcade RELX

PAX (which stands for Penny Arcade Expo) is a super fun series of festivals all about gaming culture. These events celebrate all kinds of games, from board games and arcade games to video games.

PAX events happen every year in different cities. You can find them in Seattle, Boston, and Philadelphia in the United States, and also in Melbourne, Australia. There used to be a PAX event in San Antonio, United States, too.

PAX was started in 2004 by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. They are the creators of the Penny Arcade webcomic. They wanted to create a special event just for gamers, where everyone could celebrate their love for games.

At PAX, you can expect lots of cool stuff! There's usually an opening speech from someone famous in the gaming world. You can also listen to concerts inspired by game music, attend talks about game topics, and visit booths from big and small game makers. Plus, there are LAN parties for multiplayer games, tabletop game tournaments, and areas where you can play video games for free!

The History of PAX Gaming Festivals

The very first PAX event, then called the Penny Arcade Expo, took place on August 28–29, 2004. It was held in Bellevue, Washington, at the Meydenbauer Center. About 3,300 people came to this first event.

PAX quickly became popular! It was held every August at the same place for the next two years. The number of people attending grew fast: over 9,000 in 2005 and more than 19,000 in 2006. In 2009, Penny Arcade teamed up with a company called ReedPOP to help organize the events.

By 2007, the event had gotten too big for its first home. It moved to the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, and an amazing 39,000 people attended! The crowds kept growing, reaching 58,500 in 2008 and 60,750 in 2009. By 2011, about 70,000 people were coming to PAX.

PAX Prime 2013 was a special event because it was the first PAX to last four days, from August 30 to September 2, 2013. Tickets for PAX Prime 2013 sold out super fast, in just six hours!

Expanding PAX to New Cities

In 2010, Penny Arcade held its first PAX event outside of Seattle. This new event was called PAX East, and it took place in Boston from March 26–28, 2010, at the Hynes Convention Center. PAX East was a huge success, with 52,290 attendees. This made it almost as big as the original PAX in Washington, which was then called "PAX Prime."

The Boston event moved to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in 2011. An agreement was made in 2012 to keep Boston as the home for PAX East until at least 2023.

2013 was a big year because PAX went international for the first time! PAX Australia 2013 was held from July 19–21, 2013, at the Melbourne Showgrounds. The next year, it moved to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where it is planned to stay until at least 2022.

The first PAX South event happened in San Antonio, Texas, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from January 23–25, 2015. It actually set a new record for the most people attending a first-time PAX event! However, in 2021, it was announced that PAX South would no longer happen because it hadn't grown much since it started.

New Kinds of PAX Events

In 2011, Penny Arcade started a new event called PAX Dev. This event is just for game developers, so they can talk freely about their work and focus on making games. Unlike other game developer events, PAX Dev doesn't allow reporters. About 750 people attended in 2011.

At PAX South 2017, Penny Arcade and ReedPop announced another new event: PAX Unplugged. This event was held from November 17–19, 2017, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. PAX Unplugged is special because it focuses only on tabletop games, which were just a small part of other PAX events.

How PAX in Seattle Got Its Name

The original PAX event in Seattle was first known as the "Penny Arcade Expo." But people quickly started calling it "PAX" for short. As PAX expanded to new cities, the Seattle event was renamed "PAX Prime" in 2010. Then, on November 18, 2015, it was quietly changed again to PAX West.

Fun Activities at PAX

PAX events are packed with exciting things to do! Here are some of the main activities:

• Freeplay Areas: You can play all sorts of games for free! This includes:

* Console games (like PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch) * Classic console games (older systems) * Handheld games (like Nintendo DS or PSP) * PC games * VR (Virtual Reality) games * Tabletop games (board games, card games, role-playing games)

• Tournaments: Test your skills in competitions for console and tabletop games. Sometimes, game companies host their own special tournaments too.
• Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC): This is a big LAN Party where you bring your own computer and play multiplayer games with others.
• Panels and Talks: Listen to game creators, voice actors, and other industry experts talk about games, answer questions, and even sign autographs.
• Concerts: Enjoy live music inspired by video games.
• PAX Arena: Watch exciting eSports tournaments where professional gamers compete.
• The Omegathon: A unique tournament that runs throughout the festival.
• Exhibition Hall: Explore a huge hall filled with game studios, places to buy cool merchandise, and the Indie Megabooth, which showcases games from smaller, independent developers.

The Omegathon Challenge

Every PAX event has a special competition called the "Omegathon." This is a tournament that lasts the whole festival. A few lucky attendees are chosen randomly to compete in different games. The grand prize changes each time, but it could be a huge collection of games, a trip to Japan, or even a trip to any PAX event in the world! The final round of the Omegathon is a big part of the closing ceremony at PAX. Some past games for the final round have included Tetris, Pong, Halo 3, and even skee-ball.

The PAX Enforcers

In the early days, PAX events were mostly run by a large group of amazing volunteers called "Enforcers." Even though it's now a paid role, most Enforcers are still not professional event organizers. Instead, they are chosen from applications submitted by people who love PAX and want to help out.

Different PAX Events

Active PAX Events

• 

  PAX West (formerly PAX Prime) happens every year in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 2004.

• 

  PAX East happens every year in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, since 2010.

• 

  PAX Aus happens every year in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, since 2013.

• 

  PAX Unplugged happens every year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, since 2017.

Past PAX Events

• 

  PAX South was held every year in San Antonio, Texas, United States, from 2015 to 2020.

• 

  PAX Dev was held every year in Seattle, Washington, United States, from 2011 to 2019.

• 

  PAX Online was held online in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Timeline of PAX Events

See Also

In Spanish: Penny Arcade Expo para niños

• E3
• ChinaJoy
• DreamHack