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Description
Enter Rome at the time of the slave uprisings under Spartacus! The escaped rebels have managed to gain influence and power. Rome is attempting to undermine the stronger armies of the slaves in order to restore "pax", or peace – but only for personal gain.
Will the Empire collapse under the strain, or will their promises to insurgents succeed in drawing them to their side?
The players play the part of the escaped slaves who try to increase their sphere of influence and undermine the Roman establishment. Using their cards, they expand their power in seven different categories. At the end of the game, each player tries to be stronger than Rome - and, of course, stronger than any opponent. Through intrigue, however, a player can join forces with Rome and thus contribute to its victory over the slave revolt.
PAX is a multi-faceted game of card management and influence in which each card requires a tricky tactical decision. With two copies of the game, up to eight players can compete for a foothold in the Roman Empire.
Year Published
2011
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Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video BrU6qWE_kAo
game_review at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 51429 · mention_pk 151892
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging engine-building with dynamic route planning
- Clear path from turn one to endgame with ongoing engine growth
- High-quality components and art with Portland flavor
- Expansions add strategic options and asymmetry
Cons
- Main image of the Kickstarter page could be improved to attract more initial interest
- Rule complexity and potential learning curve may be challenging for new players, though online rules and starter guides alleviate this
Thematic elements
- airline empire building, strategic planning, and operational efficiency
- Pacific Northwest and global airline network, centered around Portland, Oregon
- traditional Euro-style engine-building with local Portland flavor and easter eggs
Comparison games
- Tempo Tiles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- asymmetric player powers — Specialists provide asymmetric powers to accelerate or alter strategy and pace of play.
- Asymmetric powers (expansion module) — Specialists provide asymmetric powers to accelerate or alter strategy and pace of play.
- engine building — Players develop an engine that activates from turn one, with growth through routing, scheduling planes, and chaining rewards.
- Mid-game adaptation — Routes can be rearranged or flights canceled to respond to opponents, maintaining dynamic tension.
- Network/route building — Planes are scheduled on routes; players land planes to collect rewards and connect destinations, with mid-game route rearrangement possible.
- Private goals (expansion module) — Company shares introduce personal goals that influence decisions and provide private incentives.
- Route scheduling and route renewal — Planes are scheduled on routes; players land planes to collect rewards and connect destinations, with mid-game route rearrangement possible.
- Suitcase-driven planning — Suitcases act as a secondary resource to plan and sequence future actions, enabling multi-step engine growth.
- Turn-by-turn pacing and planning — Players optimize action sequences to maximize engine output while minimizing wasted moves.
- worker placement — Main actions are taken via worker placement; players also use suitcases to plan future turns and to set up combos.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "This is a game you're going to love to bring to the table"
- "The engine building is superb. The worker placement is really clever and fresh"
- "PDX uses familiar mechanics in fresh ways"
- "A traditional Euro style engine building game where your primary goal is to connect the things"
- "It's straightforward to teach, deeply rewarding once it clicks. If anybody knows what that might happen be called, post in live chat"
- "Shipping anywhere in the United States of America" is $4; that's surprisingly reasonable
- "Portland doing it big"
- "Face freight canceled. Aspen glow and then tempo tiles"
- "This is a love letter to Portland"
- "Back today for the very best price on PDX and help bring this game to market"
- "The rule booklet is beautiful; the online rule experience is excellent"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 8R3enOPtEKU
Beyond Solitaire interview at 15:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8681 · mention_pk 103789
Click to watch at 15:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Provides insight into how format affects interaction and performance; ties to public health concepts
Cons
- Context-dependent; limitations in generalizability
Thematic elements
- disease spread and containment; study contexts including digital vs board versions
- zombie outbreak context
- experimental board game study
Comparison games
- Buffalo
- Pandemic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative Game — players cooperate to contain outbreaks; study design varied by conditions (digital/board versions)
- cooperative/competitive dynamics with disease management — players cooperate to contain outbreaks; study design varied by conditions (digital/board versions)
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Play has to be free.
- designers solve problems; artists cause problems.
- Games carry meaning in them whether the designer intends that meaning or not.
- Chess has a social hierarchy built into it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video d4C2pzhuzOM
Unknown Channel general_discussion at 14:34 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6711 · mention_pk 19962
Click to watch at 14:34 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- elegant, flavorful design with depth
- works well at all player counts (1-4)
Cons
- can be fiddly for new players
Thematic elements
- rebellion, power dynamics, and empire management
- ancient Rome; Gladiator War context
- elegant, strategic negotiation and influence
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area_majority — control of seven areas to accrue influence
- hand_management — managing a hand of cards to optimize actions
- open_drafting — drafting cards to shape turn options
- set_collection — collect sets for scoring and combos
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- For a quick two-player game, it really packs a punch.
- I'm thrilled to see Baron make a comeback with a new addition, allowing even more players to experience this fantastic and elegant game.
- Linko remains one of my favorite card shedding games, and I continue to enjoy it often.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3