As has been mentioned on both Bobby Blackwolf & OLR, Bobby will be trekking North from Atlanta and Rob will be trekking east from NorCal to attend PAX East in Boston in a couple weeks. I'm also aware the gals from ElectricSistaHood are attending as well, with this event being in their backyard and all! I think John from Critical Myth is coming too(?) and I'm probably leaving someone out (sorry!!!) so there will be a lot of VOG representation at the show.

It was suggested during the live shows last night we try and put together a meetup thread here on the forums. If anyone has suggestions for a time/place to meet up and say hello and maybe even play some video games together *gasp* let's do it!

I will be getting into town on Thursday myself, but leaving Sunday night... so any meetup I attend would have to be during the con itself. But it can be after the expo hall closes for the day or something. Friday might not be a good day for that though (see below)

A few years ago when I went to PAX, we did a big meetup and went to dinner, that was a lot of fun. If any locals have suggestions for that sort of meetup, that would be cool-- however keep in mind it needs to be the kind of place that can cater to a large party and the needs that come with a large party (separate checks!)

I do know ESH is co-sponsoring a party on Friday night http://www.eshne.ws/8BitBoston2 , and I'm highly likely to attend that in support of our fellow VOG family!

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Sadly I will be unable to attend, and so I am offering 2 Saturday and 2 Sunday passes at face value to member of the VOG family (hosts, listeners, contributors, and so forth!) as soon as I get them in the mail...

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Awwww, sad to hear you won't be there but fingers crossed those tickets can find a good home!

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Oh cool, there's a PAX East thread. I'm traveling there from Columbus with nine of my friends. Like last year, I'm taking the train from Bryan, OH to the Boston Back Bay Station arriving Thursday night around 9pm. There's no lounge car on the train this time, so we're going to want some real food real bad once we get off that train and checked into our hotel. Sunday night after the convention, we make it a tradition to go to Five Napkin Burger. We depart Monday morning.

At PAX East, I'll be entering every Tetris-related event. You'll find me in Classic Console Freeplay a lot.

Oh, and I have a Twitter account @hitstun that I basically only use to coordinate PAX trips.

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http://hitstun.bakamostudios.com

Serious question, and I fully intend on utilizing my California card here but: should I be worried about the snow situation?

Look I realize the news is probably overdoing it and the pictures I see of snow piled up to heaven are suburbs and stuff. My thought is that they realize thousands of people are descending on Boston for this, and the roads around the convention center and airport should be clear. Looking at the forecast though it seems like snow is still coming in bit by bit. I also heard there were transit issues-- but that's all been sorted out by now and it doesn't effect the airport or convention center, right???

This is also my first year at whatever venue they are at now... the first PAX East was the first time I went and that was elsewhere.

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Boston always has transit problems even on nice days, but snow shouldn't be a factor. If they get a major snowfall in the morning or late evening during the convention, shuttle buses might be affected for a few hours. I wouldn't try driving in Boston anyway.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot about the level of ridiculous snow Boston is getting right now. Uh, I dunno... http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/please-stop-snowing

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http://hitstun.bakamostudios.com

Hey all,

I will be coming in from New York Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. I will be staying in Somerville, MA, which is a suburb or Boston.

I am up in Boston very often (in fact I am here right now as I write this) and I can recommend a ton of places to eat but most are outside of the convention area. The area around the Boston convention center is kind of new, a little pricey and may be limited on options due to those eaterys being descended upon first by show goers come dinner time. If we're looking for something similar to what we did at the first PAXEAST (ie the food court near Hynes) then South Station (bus/train station) is close by.
I will do further research and get back to the thread this week.

As for Boston itself and the weather. The snow in the downtown area near the Convention center is slightly more manageable compared to the suburbs right now. There are big melted puddles on curbs and the sidewalks are mostly cleared for 2 way foot traffic. Hopefully the weather will cooperate like it has in previous years.

It will still be cold and especially windy since we will be near the harbor. Also expect to be waiting outside for some time because the convention center will likely implement the same security measures as last year (which was located outside). Security is quick and painless by the way. But still dress warm and be prepared to use the coat check.

Transportation wise. The airport, the subways and buses have been running fine. Rob and others coming from the airport shouldn't have any problems getting to your hotels from Logan. The Silver Line will get you to where you need to go (depending on where you are staying) and cabs are available as well. Protip for Boston cabs: if you want to pay with a card ask if they have the ability to take credit cards and if their card reader is working before entering.

I highly recommend not using the Silver Line when going to and from the convention center on day of the show. The line WILL be jammed wall to wall with people trying to get to the convention center and you will likely get stuck waiting for an unlikely empty car for awhile (unless you are getting on it from further away). My best piece of advice for anyone is to just walk to the convention center from South Station or from wherever you are staying at near South Station. I know it is a lot of walking to do in a day but you will save yourself a tremendous amount of aggravation waiting for the Silver Line to go the short distance. Boston is called "the Walking city" so have comfy footwear for it.

If anyone has any specific travel questions you can certainly ask me but also check out the MBTA website for updates on service and specific needs. Keep in mind that their transit system does shut down at around 2am every night.

For PAXeast I highly recommend getting the Guidebook app and downloading the PAXeast2015 book. The app and downloads are free and is especially useful for reminding/updating you about panels. The map with the current show floor layout is up and running.

I will update my post later with more information.

Super helpful information, Matt! Thanks so much!!

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http://hitstun.bakamostudios.com