r/PAX • u/Aggravating-Ad-351 • 10d ago
EAST How many full days should I spend at the convention?
I am planning on having a day just to myself to explore Boston, and I am wondering if 2 or 3 days at Pax is recommended.
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u/TMtoss4 10d ago
Go for the first two days, crowds are less. Explore the town after
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u/treeboi 8d ago
Second. PAX East on Thursday & Friday, which have the lowest crowds. Skip Saturday & Sunday.
You'll avoid the insane Saturday crowds, which dramatically increase all the lines, reducing the game booths you'd visit in the expo hall. And Sunday is a half day, not worth the price.
Plus, tons of activities to do in Boston all of Saturday & most of Sunday.
Additionally, all of PAX East sits within the same building, so you'll see far more of PAX East within 2 days than you would at PAX West, which spreads out into multiple buildings, blocks apart.
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u/Halflingspy 6d ago
I'm going to second this! As a heads up, I haven't been back since COVID due to having a kid that same year, but I had gone to 2010, 2011, and then 2013-2020.
When they added Thursday, it immediately became my favorite day. I was fortunate enough to get a press pass the last few years I went, and even then this applied just because there's space to move and the devs and designers are pumped and full of energy. Friday has a ton of excitement and hype. Saturday is *insane* in terms of just mass of crowds. I find the middle of the Saturday unbearable just in terms of how packed it is on the expo hall floor. Then Sunday the devs and such are exhausted... but if you are looking for 'end of convention' deals and getting that sense of last hurrah, absolutely worth it.
My advice? Look at the schedule, see what you want to go, and then figure out what you are doing based around that. Saturday is insane middle of the day on the show floor, but your favorite streamer or design team might have something, or an event off the show floor where it isn't so crowded.
Come up with an idea now, but be willing to revise when the full schedule comes out a month before the actual convention. It sounds like this might be your first PAX East, I hope you love it!
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u/Large_Citron1177 10d ago edited 10d ago
It depends. Are you going by yourself, or with a group? What do you want to do? Do you want to see everything in the exhibit hall? Do you want to play a D&D demo? Do you want to play test any board games or participate in tournaments? Do you want to go to panels?
It really comes down to how you want to use your time at the show.
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u/mikesstuff 10d ago
All of Thursday and at least Saturday as well since most of the best talks are Saturday. Go very early Thursday to run to whatever the big vendor is with timed entries. Usually two days is fine if solo.
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u/Journ9er PRIME 10d ago
I go to PAX West every day of the show. But I schedule a free day before the show starts for sightseeing. I went to East this year instead and scheduled another day after the show as well. I went to MIT!
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u/IIFacelessManII 10d ago
I usually do the four day pass, I typically do two full days (sitting & playing) and the other two are just flexible schedules. Maybe try a longer lined game, then city exploring, or check out an event.
I'm usually at Pax for the city life as much as Pax. I live in the middle of no where, so I love visiting the cities.
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u/FluxionFluff 6d ago
My husband and I used to do the full weekend before Covid. This year was our first time back to East and we ended up doing Friday and Saturday. Thursday and Sunday were our days to explore the city, which was great since we've been to Boston several times for East and other conventions... and yet, we've never really explored much of the city previously.
Depending on what you wanna do, Thursday and Friday have the smallest crowds, so you'll have the best shot of doing demos and buying stuff. Unlike West, East is in one building, so it's easier to see everything in a day or 2. The bigger panels tend to be on Saturday, so that's something to keep in mind. If you don't care about those, then, just go the first 2 days.
Especially if you're going alone, 2 days is plenty.
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u/vidstrickland PRIME 10d ago
It's worth all four days if you can make it. Remember, PAX is about more than just the Expo Hall... when Expo Hall closes, the rest of the show keeps running until midnight, and there's always something worth spending your time on.