Something that should not be forgotten about the tabletop gaming convention PAX Unplugged, or really any convention, is the city it takes place in. For PAX Unplugged, that means Philadelphia and in particular Center City.

The Center City neighborhood is home to great food choices like the Reading Terminal Market which is right next to the convention. It has over sixty food offerings, all in a walkable space where I spent a lot of time. If you sit down there, I recommend Pearl’s Oyster Bar or the Dutch Eating Place, which has a great Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast.

There are many great local restaurants and historic Irish bars like the over 150-year-old McGillins too for those who enjoy a drink with their convention going. When I stopped in it was crowded, but in the best Irish American bar tradition you got a seat and a stout fast.

The food was great with a Christmas menu at the time, so I got Blitzen’s Chicken Roulade that had chicken wrapped around dates, blue cheese and bacon with a cherry jubilee sauce. The coffee was quick, hot and not over roasted (more Dunkin than Starbucks, thank you very much).

Now back to the show. The third day of Pax Unplugged on Sunday didn’t let up for entertainment, and many have started to call the final day of the show “family day.” That’s because PAX Unplugged allows children six and under to get in free throughout the convention when accompanied by a badge-carrying adult. Sunday also discounts kids’ badges for children between seven and 12.

There were specific events on all three days that were rated for children too, and there were lots of family friendly venues throughout the weekend. I noticed that couples would bring their children and would trade off, with one playing a game while the other went to kid-friendly events or enjoyed the city of Philadelphia with their children.

There were lots of panels with something for everyone, but the two that brought out the heavy hitters was the panel on Ebberon and the actual play of Desiquest.

Held at 11:30 was the “20 years of Ebberon” event. That panel had Keith Baker (Ebberon’s creator), Christopher Perkins, Bill Slavicsek, Jeremy Crawford, Imogen Gingell and moderator Rebecca Gray. The guests discussed how more than two decades ago, Dungeons and Dragons was looking for a new setting and out of the 11,000 submissions, they picked the one from Keith Baker, which was a pulp, noir themed setting with magically propped up skyscrapers and lightning powered trains.

Ebberon increased the science fantasy element for Dungeons and Dragons. It brought the artificer class along with a “fast travel” element that used flying airships, rail and mechanical beings like Warforged, which are the androids of that realm.

The Desiquest panel, held later in the afternoon, had Dungeon Master Jasmine Bhullar and players Sandeep Parikh, Anjali Bhimani, Rekha Shankar, Omar Najam, Jeremy Crawford and Kris Straub. Desiquest uses the Sanskrit derived word Desi to describe the people and cultures of the Indian subcontinent. The game uses these elements for the actual play. Jasmine Bhullar, Jeremy Crawford and Kurt Straub are part of this project, along with many others for Dungeons and Dragons.

Bhullar, who has written for Critical Role and Wizards of the Coast, has a long running channel on Twitch and YouTube. She ran the game with a quick wit while making connections with her players and the world of the actual play game. Bhullar plays and reviews video games, Warhammer and many other RPGs in addition to Dungeons and Dragons which gives her a breadth of content to view.

If all this sounds good and you want to visit next year, there’s many hotels that partner with PAX Unplugged and offer better than normal rates. One year I stayed at The Notary Hotel which is a 1926 building that kept much of its art deco interior and the furnishings from when it was a government building. It can be on the more expensive side, but it is close to the convention center and is elegant and very well run and managed.

If all the hotels that partner with PAX Unplugged fill up, which they do quickly, there are many others. This year I stayed at the Double Tree, which was less than a mile from the convention center. It gave me a great view of all the holiday lights during my walks to the convention. It is a great place to stay and has a really good breakfast you can get with your stay. I ate at two places nearby, Miss Saigon which has great Vietnamese food, and a 24-hour IHOP that is there for you whenever you need it.

PAX Unplugged is an amazing convention that keeps getting bigger and better. It’s at the point now where it fills up very quickly, so get those badges early if you want to join me and many others in attending this amazing show next year.