PAX Founders: PAX Unplugged Houston 'Is Essentially Unplugged Philadelphia's

Interview

Written by Robert Scarpinito

Published: September 11, 2026 9:00 AM

Last week, PAX revealed its new show PAX Unplugged Houston for the weekend of June 25-27, 2027, reviving the expo's presence in the South while responding to a surge in tabletop demand. This puts the concurrent list of shows back at five per year for co-founders Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, and to them, there was no question that this show had to focus on tabletop.

"Something is happening in board gaming," Holkins said. "Some dark energy has been released, and it can only be contained by an excellent Houston show from the people that brought you PAX Unplugged."

My colleague Andrew Otton and I sat down with them on the fourth floor of the Seattle Convention Center's Summit building, in a room that felt too swanky for all four of us. When we weren't chatting about scented dice or how Gunpla could disrupt the Warhammer market, we talked about why Houston made sense for PAX's next step.

A Global Hunger for Tabletop

I've been to PAX West every year since 2019 (sans the COVID year), and every time I walk through the tabletop area, it's buzzing with people. The same seems to be true for PAX East, too.

Holkins mentioned how the convention in Boston has to lock up all the video game stuff by a reasonable hour for security reasons. After all, the tech is expensive, and there would probably be a lot of consequences if someone stole some alpha builds or equipment. However, the tabletop side of the expo hall stays open for much longer, and it usually garners a massive crowd that plays late into the night.

"It was already sort of like two conventions at East by that time, because it was such a big space. They would wall off, you know, they would close off the Exhibition Hall. But then you still had this massive tabletop convention," Krahulik said.

The story rings true across the Pacific as well, with PAX Australia also experiencing a a lot of success in its tabletop presence.

"Its tabletop area is massive. And dense. And stocked. I think it just could be that that hobby is accessible and blowing up," Holkins said.

"The fact of the matter is, I thought about upgrading my video card a couple years ago, and I couldn't afford it. You know, it's like, maybe there's something to that, too," Holkins added. "It's actually physically possible to purchase a board game."

So it's no surprise to hear that the next PAX show ended up being an Unplugged affair. It's a space where people can gather, try out new games, and enjoy each other's company.

"I mean, for us, it really was that PAX Unplugged just exploded," Holkins said. The two mentioned that last year was the first year Unplugged sold out. "Houston is essentially PAX Unplugged Philadelphia's child.

"But I'm shocked at how many people wanted that tabletop show or a different type of tabletop show, because there are very, very large tabletop shows, but they aren't PAX shows, whatever that means, like, however that feels to the attendee. And I think that we've all been really shocked by how strong that show has been, like, strong enough that it seems like another one's a good idea."

The (Boring) Logistics Behind a Convention

It should go without saying, but throwing a convention for thousands of people requires a lot of planning. Holkins and Krahulik have learned a lot in their two decades of running conventions, and they wanted to apply as much of their learnings as possible before the first PAX Unplugged Houston.

"PAX has very specific needs and requirements," Holkins said. "The full matrix of decisions is full of a bunch of boring shit."

The two volleyed back and forth, listing "boring shit" like hotel numbers, size, and local governance. To Holkins, it's important that the city that hosts them cares and wants to be a partner for the show.

"But the main thing, I think, is that we wanted to get back South. For us, that's a big deal," he said. "Everyone who attended [PAX South] loved the show."

"I always liked PAX South a lot, even though the show didn't take off like we hoped it would. That was a great vacation for me," Krahulik joked.

He also pointed out that PAX has had a history of changing convention centers often after their first show. PAX Prime moved from Bellevue, WA, to Seattle. In Boston, PAX East moved from the Hynes Convention Center to the Thomas M Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (formerly known as the BCEC). The same happened for Australia, too. For Houston, they didn't want to repeat the story.

"If we're going to put a show somewhere, we're thinking about that show in five years, right? And we feel really confident in the town and the venue that—if people really want to take us up on our offer and really want to enjoy our hospitality, well, the best place to do it is in this center. And it has room for the most maximal version of the show," Holkins said.

Funnily enough however, the duo weren't involved in narrowing it down to Houston from a list of other potential cities (if there even was a list). They delegated that task to people who understand the logistics and infrastructure well.

"We're mascots, you know?" Krahulik said. "We love the show, and we feel like it's important that the show go on and be good, but they're not asking us about the details."

"And also, even if I was part of that process, I wouldn't know the right things or ask the right questions. That's not my specialty," Holkins added.

"Yeah, we're fortunate that we're allowed to basically stay in our lane. We do what we like to do and what we're good at," Krahulik said.

We asked them what a successful first year of PAX Unplugged Houston would look like, and they continued to show just how humble they are about these widely beloved expos.

"A successful Houston Unplugged is a show that you can come back to every year with your friends and play games," Holkins said. "My fantasies for it are very grounded."

Robert Scarpinito | Features Editor

Robert Scarpinito is the Features Editor of TechRaptor. With a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Ohio State University, sharing compelling stories is… More about Robert