Where are we playing?

[Spenser TR]

In Flykiller's "The Game" thread the issue of where to play figured in, and it seemed like a worthwhile thread topic itself.

When you play, where does that happen?

Is it organic and changes session to session? What are your requirements? Have you ever paid for space, like at a game store that has special rooms?

For most of my campaigns, it's been "the kitchen table" because the table was big enough and frankly, purchased with campaign RPGing in mind. I like to keep it in the same place, and my strong preference is for a few hours on a weeknight.

When I was recently in Chicago for a few months we played in ( of all places ) a hotel lobby. The workers there grew to know us and love us, and it was the perfect balance of public and private, snacks and whatever were readily available, and we could have our space at a giant table with nearby handy electric outlets until the wee hours if we wanted.

I'm back home now, and it's looking like we'll use a coffee shop for our venue. The place closes at 5pm, but the owner is a friend and former gamer so he offered up the place. "Just sweep up the blood after your done" is the running joke.

How about you? Where do you play, or where have you played before? If you could choose or design the perfect place to play, where would it be?

 

[Thanos]

Usually play RPG's at someone's house. I have a tabletop gaming group that meets Mondays in a bar. As long as we order stuff we're welcome.

 

[aramis]

D&D at the game store
everything else - usually at someone's house.

I've never paid for space outside conventions, but have used university rooms.

 

[ffilz]

These days for me, I'm at my desk in the basement. The other players seem to be at their desks in their respective homes...

Electronically, we are playing on Google Hangouts.

 

[creativehum]

Regular Monday night game coming up on two years now.

We played at my house for the first year and a half.

My friend bought a lovely house house with an awesome big table for gaming. (Though I do miss, sometimes, the scrunch quality of everyone all bunched up of a smaller table.) Anyway, he's got this big house and big table. So he's taken over the last few months.

It will probably switch back with time.

 

[Quint]

Living room at home, and I'm still adapting (over the course of years) to not sitting around a huge gaming table (I sacrificed that for the current house).

D.

 

[Whipsnade]

Over the last decade or so? Various FLGS, university's "student union", and, rarely, someone's house.

 

[atpollard]

In the ether of Cyberspace (PbP) ... alternating between a desktop computer (at a desk) and an iPad at my favorite recliner.

 

[Bravesteel]

I haven't had much gaming lately, but when we did game it was almost always at someone's house. I found that a lot of stores, at least around here, would rather their table be available for miniature/card gamers than RPG players. This especially holds true to games they can't actually sell in store, such as Classic Traveller, or OSR #34523.

 

[rhialto]

Always at one of our homes, with the exceptionally rare session at a convention.

 

[coliver988]

Games I ref, in my basement on comfy sofas and the occasional cat. I really want a game table, alas, no space or funds.

Games I play with the gaming club are in a FLGS.

 

[Spenser TR]

Interesting, about the in-store dynamics. I've played in gaming stores before, though not Traveller. I was part of a "Millennium's End" campaign that ran for about 2 years, run by the local game store owner. It was a pretty sweet set up because we could go past closing time.

I don't have experience with a wide variety of game store environments, but it always seemed to me the store would be happy to just get players in, with the possibility of perhaps buying. This is if they didn't have a pay-for-table-space policy, of course. But I can certainly see how some stores might want the tables for card games or what could be bought in the store. Hmmmmmm. If my local game store didn't want me playing a game because they weren't selling it, I'd feel not-bad-at-all about getting my materials somewhere else.

An interesting dynamic, that.

I've played a few convention games ( also non-Traveller ), all experiences there left me pretty "meh."

 

[aramis]

Interesting, about the in-store dynamics. I've played in gaming stores before, though not Traveller. I was part of a "Millennium's End" campaign that ran for about 2 years, run by the local game store owner. It was a pretty sweet set up because we could go past closing time.

I don't have experience with a wide variety of game store environments, but it always seemed to me the store would be happy to just get players in, with the possibility of perhaps buying. This is if they didn't have a pay-for-table-space policy, of course. But I can certainly see how some stores might want the tables for card games or what could be bought in the store. Hmmmmmm. If my local game store didn't want me playing a game because they weren't selling it, I'd feel not-bad-at-all about getting my materials somewhere else.

An interesting dynamic, that.

I've played a few convention games ( also non-Traveller ), all experiences there left me pretty "meh."

I should mention - my current traveller group is hybrid. I run from Oregon, while the players meet at GD's apartment in Anchorage. I skype in.

In re Store games - my current Star Trek Adventures group spun off from players I met at D&D encounters. Stores are more happy to have players playing things that sell, but neither FLGS I've done play at is unwilling to allow out of print games, provided that the space isn't in use at the desired time. Wednesday or friday, however, forget it.

In re Con Games: the big issue I have had with con games, and with organized play, is the roughly 1 in 20 players who are unreasonable, and the 1 in 10 who are whiners. I've had fun with con games over the years, even tho' the cons were all local things. Actually, those are probably the best con games - if everyone is drawn in, they can spawn new gaming groups readily.

There are those who cannot envision gaming with strangers. To them I say, "Everyone but family was once a stranger to you."

 

[Jason Breck]

What little RPG gaming I've done in the past 10 to 15 years has usually been at someone's house. Where I am, game stores are a thing of the past. I never really thought about using Skype or similar but that sounds promising.

Things are definitely not like when I played back in the 70s & 80s...

 

[JimMarn]

From 1980 to 1985 I gamed at home, several game stores, and at CoastCon in Biloxi, MS. Years after that I ran the occasional Toon game at CoastCon.

I'm looking at using a VTT, Epic Table, as some of my players want to get back together and we don't live near each other anymore.

Game stores and the convention was a hodgepodge of players. I ran a toon game one year and got a very excellent gorup in the morning, but the afternoon group had apparently never seen cartoons before... that session fell flat. I almost fell asleep.

The game stores had many players. Sometimes it was only people I already knew could game, some tried, and others did their best to not learn the game. I had a few who tried to be disruptive, I just kicked them out of my game world and the store managers backed me up.

I did get to play Classic Traveller at someone's home on a weekend about 1983, but the referee just couldn't explain things. Even the other players who knew him complained. But I am working on my ATU, and I hope to learn the game so I can run a few sessions.

 

[Barsanuphius]

I've gamed in mostly someone's house at the dining table. My wife and I game in our living room for er solo campaign. :rant: (sometimes I hate it, it's her character in a party of 4 to 5 and I'm everyone else![not really solo] ).

Anyway,our FLGS are open and free spaces. one is just that a gaming store with lots of space, very active. The others are comics and collectibles. Some space. The one I'm most familiar with is small, one table and she offers up prizes for lottery wins and a champion pull for the "Victor" of the night. mostly mini's or card games. sometimes for RPG's. pretty cool.

I have been wanting to pull together a local "guild" but my wife has issues with people she's never gamed with before. One of these days days I'm just going to tell her, ▮▮▮▮ it. I'm going to play in a group....Come along or don't. end:rant:

I almost don't care if it is a Sword and Spell or a Blaster and Psyon game.

Right now I'd like to write and run a Trav Campaign. You all have just inspired me. OMG...what am I to do! I may have to be creative!:CoW:

 

[Spenser TR]

You all have just inspired me

Always a good thing

 

[SanDragon]

Not playing now, except solo, and that's in a cave-like box underneath my loft bed.

Used to game in a cabin in the back of the yard that had a Franklin stove for heat. In summer, we set up a fan.

One guy was a whiner about the inclement nature of the cabin, so we moved to his apartment. Damned place was a warehouse of crap that belonged to him and his sister.

 

[sabredog]

Twice a month at a local game store. For two years now we have been the only ones using that particular table since it's reserved in perpetuity by my game and one of my player's campaigns on the days I'm not running mine.

 

[Chris Barlow]

Where are we playing

Games I referred - table or back room of a bar. As long as we bought some drinks or snacks. In the past a group of mixed RPGers/wargamers/boardgamers we hired a Hall once a week though that did involve every attendee paying one British pound per evening. Fine once you got used to the noise.

Games I played - usually the kitchen/dining room table of the referee's home.