Topic: Where have you gamed?

[Terry K. Amthor]

I of course feel very fortunate, not only as a co-designer of RM, but as one who has played under the masterful GM power of Pete Fenlon. The man could paint a picture, not only with his maps, but in the living game we played in. He created at least three great characters for me.

But I meant to ask here, what was the most interesting environment you have been in while you played? At UVa, we sometimes snuck into the engineering school, which had these multi-level grated rooms with huge machines (they could be sets for movies), and cool small rooms with blackboards we could use, which we did all weekend. But we also would have a few games at homes in Charlottesville, almost like the Shire in some neighborhoods.

[RandalThor]

I have a couple (both were when I was in the Marine Corps):

First is when I was at Mt. Fuji basecamp. We were snowed in and everyone was getting real stir-crazy. I already had about 10 people for my AD&D Oriental Adventures campaign, but that got bloated to 20 for the few days we were cooped up in the quansan* huts. It was insanely awesome: we would get up and choreograph some of the fight scenes - at least when it was between two humanoids. That was a lot of fun.

The other was when I was in Desert Storm, I ran both AD&D and some Top Secret SI - I remember getting a 2-foot tall box full of game stuff (mostly Battletech and MechWarrior) that I ordered before we were sent over there delivered to me in Saudi Arabia. (Now that I look back on it, I wish Al Qadim had been out then, I would have played that there.)



*I can't remember how to spell it, but they are long, half-round, corrugated metal structures.

[Lord Garth]

Most notable gaming sessions are at airports with my friends (Plane delayed? No problema) and on double decker buses on our way to the Alps. People HATED us on those buses as instead of sleeping we kept shouting for hours whilst we gamed away. Good times.

[Cory Magel]

Nothing really all that interesting for me.  A hotel in Leavenworth (not the jail, but a tourist town in Washington).

However, a friend knew some guys that were going to go gaming in an old cemetery at night and he figured he'd have some fun with them.  There was a fog that night that sat just about head level when you were sitting down.  You could see the people around you, but not much further.  Pretty much the freakin perfect setting for some games.  So, he sneaks up behind a wall not far from them and start whispering like "You're all going to die" and "We're going to kill you" quiet enough that it wasn't super obvious, but loud enough that someone finally did the "Shhhh! Did you hear that?" ... silence...  "Dude, you're just getting creeped out" ...then... "Shhh! Listen!" and they all finally start to hear it when they listen more carefully.  Then he lets out this blood curdling shriek and everyone at the table just freaks, table gets knocked over in the panic and they scatter.  Now, keep in mind this is a cemetery in a roughly chest height fog... and there are tombstones you can't see too well until you're just about on top of them when you're running.  There were a few bruised knees and shins the next morning.

[ironmaul]

Cory, that is hilarious! 

Can't say I've had any great places to play at, just a few night session with candles. Unfortunately one of us was a bit of a pyromaniac and kept setting things on fire.

[Thom @ ICE]

I've done the gaming at the cemetary, but unfortunately the guys I was gaming with were more into the fact that we were out of the house and they began focusing on the beer instead of the game.... waste of a gaming night.

I almost went to UVa-Engineering, but opted for the small, liberal arts college instead. I've often wondered how things would have been different if I had gone to UVa.  I guess for one I may have been lucky enough to run into the folks from ICE earlier (but since I met my wife through friends from the school I did go to - and because of my wife I ended up connected to ICE - it all worked out in the end). 

I've sent multiple care packages with the local pack from Boy Scouts of America to US troops overseas and have often wondered how they made out.  Were they enjoying the gaming over there?  Did it help them get away from the realities around them?  Randal - ever hear of rpg books coming into camp in care packages?  How were they received?  I've got loads more...

As to the actual question...
Most interesting environment for me is pretty boring.... mostly at home, a few times in local library or church, when travelling to San Diego a lot on business I'd run games at one of the local bars in the back room, and Gencon was a blast when I played a halfling cook (thief) and managed to work myself into position as cook to the Captain of the Guard. What made it interesting was that there were 30+ people playing in the game with multiple GMs and depending upon where our characters were physically we'd sit with a different GM and only the players whose characters were in our proximity.  As for the actual location, not much to speak about (as I said, "pretty boring") but it was my most memorable location.

[markc]

 Nothing wild for me just friends houses and at Cons.
MDC

[vroomfogle]

Pretty much at homes in most cases. However at college at RIT in Rochester I lived in 'Photo House', where we were all photo majors.  We had our own darkrooms and photo studio.  Well we'd sign out the photo studio and turn it into a game room - it was perfect.   That was when I was running RM with 10 players - yikes, not even sure how I managed all those players back then.

[intothatdarkness]

Nothing especially exciting, I guess. I did run a Star Trek Klingon campaign in an Air Force barracks in Germany for time (some sessions did carry over to the pizza shop in the rec center across the way, which confused some of the patrons...), but the most memorable was a session of Top Secret run in a tent in a campground near Mount Rushmore.

[Keen_Man]

best location i used to have was a glass enclosed balcony with trees growing all around it and a kitchen table in the middle. Like sitting in a sheltered forest with none of the bugs lol

[Grinnen Baeritt]

I wouldn't say it was exactly ideal.... but at a night club.

The game was Tunnels & Trolls, 8 players (6 blokes, 2 girls) plus 2-3 passing female strangers who just got involved.

A very  loud setting. Much shouting...more drinking.. mostly avoiding/forgetting the rules and losing the dice amongst spent drinks glasses.

Apparently went on for 2-3 hours... not that I can remember much about it... and I was running it!!

[RandalThor]

Nothing really all that interesting for me.  A hotel in Leavenworth (not the jail, but a tourist town in Washington).

Been there, done that. I was born in Bellevue, Wash (not the famous psychiatric hospital which I believe is in NY or thereabouts, but the city) and lived in Everett (just north of Seattle for you non-locals and non-Shadowrun players  ) for about a decade and Bridgeport (eastern Washington near the Chief Joseph Dam where my dad worked for about a year. Been through Leavenworth a few times, and I think we stopped and ate there each time. It has the Swiss-looking architecture, right?

Thom, I would have loved it, but then again I am a total gamer and cannot speak for anyone else. (OK, a few guys who I knew as gamers, but that's it.) It would probably be better to send novels, as they would have more overall appeal to a larger group. Let me know if you plan on sending anything and when, I got a good used book store here (and extra books myself) and I can put together a package. I will also need to have an address to send them to. PM me the info, or just post it here so others can do the same.

[Cory Magel]

Been through Leavenworth a few times, and I think we stopped and ate there each time. It has the Swiss-looking architecture, right?

Technically Bavarian, but yeah that's the place.   VERY popular at Christmas and for Octoberfest, but great place to visit in the summer too. (For non-locals, it is in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, so there's usually a couple feet of snow or more in the winter, but it gets up to 70-80F/21-27C in the summer).

I guess I should mention that the night we gamed there in the hotel room was partially due to the fact that we'd each drank around 3 Jolt Colas (rather famous for it's caffeine levels) in half an hour and were WIDE awake at 3am.  We eventually had to go out and snow-sled to burn some energy off.

The four basic food groups of gamers: Sugar, Grease, Caffeine and Salt!

[PhillipAEllis]

The four basic food groups of gamers: Sugar, Grease, Caffeine and Salt!

I believe there's actually five for avid gamers: Sugar, Grease, Caffeine, Salt and the Scenery!

[jdale]

We gamed in an inflatable planetarium once. A friend was working at a science museum...  It was cool, the downside is darkness plus white noise = sleepiness.

Normally I save the set design for the LARP, but I do like creating in-game looking documents as props.

[Athelstaine]

Mostly at home with one exception. We played some Palladium Robotech at the library at school during lunch hour [High School]. It came to an end when the librarian saw what were were doing. She said that even though we were quiet and unobtrusive we had to stop. The school did not allow those activities. This was during the days of "If you play RPG's then you are in league with the devil days."

[mistrornge]

I can understand that Athel.  One of my games was in this huge inflatable bubble that housed 300+ Army troops during that Panama cluster fudge.  Some dumbasses lost their weapons so the CID people accused the gamers as we were obviously insane.  Made for interesting discussion with CID.  Even got asked which class I played (said magic user instead of thief for obvious reasons). 
Played a bit without dice in basic training barracks. 
Best Rolemaster campaign I ever played in was in the common area between dorm rooms in the Army at Fort Polk.  Great campaign.
Otherwise just at friends homes or my own.
Charles

[arakish]

When I lived in Wilmington, NC, we would sometimes LARP in the woods and wetlands behind my house and business.  It was even more fun and exhilarating at night since there were no "city lights" nearby.  Also see attached (once approved) large scale map.  I made this from an old aerial photo for my first Intro GIS project many years ago.

After leaving Wilmington, it has always in the home.  Here in Albuquerque, they have groups that hold LARP events from time to time in some of the city parks.

rmfr

[sunwolf]

Back when you could still wait in the terminal for someone arriving on a plane we played in Metro Airport.
Also have done a little bit of board gaming in RavenWood Castle ( a bed and breakfast in SE Ohio), hope to make it to one of their game cons now that the place is under management that is running some.

[TerryTee]

• Lots and lots of gaming session in various woodland cabins, most of them without electric lighting (nor running water or a proper toilet for that matter).
• A couple of games on train rides.
• Several sessions in tents, during scout camps or canoe trips.
• One Call of Cthulhu session in a really creepy attic in an old house (the GMs neighbor’s house).
• A couple of session in the garden. Not recommended unless there is NO wind.