Why are there thousands of tabletop role-playing game players in Philadelphia this weekend?

On Friday morning, Kayla wore glittery makeup and a big smile as she stood inside the Convention Center. “I used to live in Philadelphia and I came to be with my siblings, and we all love board games, so it’s just a great time,” she said.

The Crestview, Fla., resident is a former Philadelphian who came back to the city to attend Pax Unplugged, the gaming convention she loves returning to.

On Friday, the massive main hall at the Convention Center was crammed to the brim with booths selling game accessories, memorabilia, and whimsical gifts like plushies and stickers.

On one side, gamers were engrossed in games of Magic or Dungeons & Dragons. Influencers sat in special areas to meet fans and sign autographs amid a constant hum of chatter and excited energy.

While other conventions in the Pax family include video games, Philly’s Unplugged focuses on tabletop games. Anyone looking for the Valhalla of tabletop role-playing games, accessories, merch, and communities was in the right place.

Since November 2017, Pax Unplugged has become a major event for fans of Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering, and other tabletop role-playing games, and it’s held only in Philadelphia. Pax, “a celebration of gaming and gaming culture,” holds conventions in other cities, like Boston (for Pax East) and Seattle (for Pax West), but the Unplugged convention is exclusive to Philadelphia, drawing fans, vendors, and special guests from all over the country.

The 2025 edition of Pax Unplugged plays host to major Dungeons & Dragons stars and personalities — like Dropout TV standouts Ify Nwadiwe and Aabria Iyengar as well as Critical Role star Matthew Mercer, the last of whom also lent his voice to the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Heidi Archer, who owns and operates Meloria Maille — which sells handmade jewelry, trinkets, and stickers — travels from Derry, N.H., every year to run a vendor booth at Pax Unplugged. “I love gamers and I’m a nerd myself, and the fact that I can bring my handmade goods to the nerd populace … it makes it worth it,” said Archer, who has worked at Pax three times. “And I bring them stuff that represents queer pride in fandoms that people might not otherwise have access to.”

At Archer’s stall, there were stickers and other items that represented the LGBTQ+ and Dungeons & Dragons communities. A sticker on sale proclaimed “Naturally Genderfluid” with a 20-sided die as a reference to rolling a “natural 20.”

This inclusivity is a big part of what brings fans and merch-makers back to Philadelphia every year.

Chris Vicari had traveled from New York City to attend his fourth Pax Unplugged. “[It] is a great representation of how inclusive the community is.” said Vicari, the author of Behind the Screen: A Dungeon Master’s Guide to Crafting Campaigns, who also runs a Substack about crafting Dungeons & Dragons games.

“This is the warmest tabletop show. It’s not the biggest, but it’s the warmest,” said Patrick Rami, the owner of Lethal Shadows, which makes “miniatures” — small figurines used for gameplay during Dungeons & Dragons. This was the fifth time he had traveled from Seattle to attend the convention.

“This is one of everybody’s favorite shows as a vendor,” said Quentin Weir, a managing partner of Elderwood Academy, which makes Dungeons & Dragons dice sets and other items.

“It’s a consumer show, so you’re talking directly to the community. It can be hard to make this work in other markets, but Philly has been great,” said Weir, a Ypsilanti, Mich., resident, who once had to deal with a dead car battery at a previous Pax Unplugged visit. Without hesitating, he said, Convention Center staffers gave the car a jump.

Weir and his team have been to Pax Unplugged seven times.

Across three days, Pax Unplugged offers panels, vendors selling all kinds of TTRPG-related goodies, and even massive table setups where people can hang out and play marathon rounds of whichever games they want.

There’s also quite a bit of cosplay action, as many attendees show up in elaborate costumes.

One fan, Emily, was dressed as her Dungeons & Dragons character Mara, carrying a staff and adorned in a mushroom-themed outfit complete with a cap. (For those in the know, Emily informed us that Mara is a “nature slash death cleric.”)

“I feel like there’s not much else locally that’s available for our community,” said Emily, who lives in Lancaster and has attended six Pax Unplugged conventions.

From stalls full of intricately carved miniature figurines to brand new independent tabletop role-playing games on display, Pax Unplugged is a feast for any TTRPG fan. In an increasingly divided world, it’s thrilling — whether you play board games or not — to spend time in a space where people feel free, happy, and literally playful.

Pax Unplugged runs through Sunday at the Convention Center, 1101 Arch St. unplugged.paxsite.com