Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Auctions determine and discover the value of things.
From the Auctions and Bidding Mechanics panel at PAX West 2025:
youtube.com/watch?v=gYmznBakGJU
Tabletop games are usually defined by the combination of mechanics they incorporate and usually have one "core" mechanic. We'll say something is a "worker placement game with card drafting" or a "deckbuilder" or an "engine building victory point salad" game. This is part of our gaming lexicon. More importantly the mechanics of a game are fundamental to how it plays. To master games and game design one must master game MECHANICS at a fundamental level. Join the GeekNights crew for a deep dive lecture into the world of "auctions" and "bidding" in tabletop. From Amon Re to Modern Art 18xx games to Power Grid.
#pax #paxwest #gamedesign #auction #bidding #tabletopgaming
Auctions determine and discover the value of things.
From the Auctions and Bidding Mechanics panel at PAX West 2025:
youtube.com/watch?v=gYmznBakGJU
Tabletop games are usually defined by the combination of mechanics they incorporate and usually have one "core" mechanic. We'll say something is a "worker placement game with card drafting" or a "deckbuilder" or an "engine building victory point salad" game. This is part of our gaming lexicon. More importantly the mechanics of a game are fundamental to how it plays. To master games and game design one must master game MECHANICS at a fundamental level. Join the GeekNights crew for a deep dive lecture into the world of "auctions" and "bidding" in tabletop. From Amon Re to Modern Art 18xx games to Power Grid.
#pax #paxwest #gamedesign #auction #bidding #tabletopgaming
![The Princess in Slay the Princess is a reflection of YOU
The Princess in Slay the Princess is a reflection of you, the player.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and #metacontextualism in #videogames and #gamedesign.
Games can be viewed through the lens of the environment in which they were made. The same as film, literature, and art in general. We commonly see parallel artistic and philosophical movements with the same name and many shared ideas. E.g., Classicism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and… what?
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg The Princess in Slay the Princess is a reflection of YOU](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s-GXncMP_5g/mqdefault.jpg)
![The reflexivity of Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is a game about context, metacontext, and reflexivity.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and #metacontextualism in #videogames and #gamedesign.
Games can be viewed through the lens of the environment in which they were made. The same as film, literature, and art in general. We commonly see parallel artistic and philosophical movements with the same name and many shared ideas. E.g., Classicism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and… what?
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg The reflexivity of Disco Elysium](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sgYKni6hCx4/mqdefault.jpg)



![The Narrator in “Slay the Princess”
Slay the Princess has a uniquely unreliable narrator.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and #metacontextualism in #videogames and #gamedesign.
Games can be viewed through the lens of the environment in which they were made. The same as film, literature, and art in general. We commonly see parallel artistic and philosophical movements with the same name and many shared ideas. E.g., Classicism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, and… what?
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg The Narrator in “Slay the Princess”](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tY6GqdACkOw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Game Mechanics are art
Roger Ebert was dead wrong about it. Games are art.
Presented at Super #magfest 2026 on Saturday, exploring #modernity and metacontextualism in videogames and game design.
What’s after Post-Modernism? Perhaps “Metacontextualism.” This is a movement of art and design, unique in and catalyzed by the existence of videogames. Remember that videogames are a literally new form of art. They were invented in the lifespan of people who are attending MAGFest today.
Panelists: Rym DeCoster [Producer of GeekNights, frontrowcrew.com] Emily Compton [Art Director, 3D Artist]
Full lecture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xey7NqSFg Game Mechanics are art](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tbPnBsuRu-g/mqdefault.jpg)



