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View Full Version : Location, Location, Location



Ason
2011-09-09, 12:58 AM
After a long period of fruitless searching on the internet for existing answers, I am turning to you all for advice. I have a strong circle of gamer friends who are really passionate about the hobby, and in the near future, we should all finally have enough time to play consistently again. My only problem? We can't find a place to meet!

For a variety of reasons, our homes are not viable options for regularly hosting, and the closest gaming store is too far away for it to work either. Do any of you have alternative suggestions for places to meet to play D&D? Ideally, it'd be somewhere indoors, but I also want some amount of privacy, as frequent interruptions killed the last campaign I joined. My google-fu has failed, and I can't figure out a solution for the life of me.

Where have you met for game nights? Any advice or ideas for me as I help my gaming circle find a base of operations?

Tvtyrant
2011-09-09, 01:04 AM
Some college libraries have tables set up for studying that work if your willing to go in at 3 in the morning :P

Or just rent a study room; they are perfect for it.

SowZ
2011-09-09, 01:09 AM
If your players smoke, I know of Hookah Lounges that encourage this kind of thing. Chill ones, rather than bar like ones, would probably be best. That's one solution.

Togath
2011-09-09, 01:34 AM
Often times libraries are fine with either letting you reserve or rent one of their spare rooms for gaming for a few hours(standard small libraries even), at least in my experience, I'm not sure if that holds true in other states or countries though.

drakir_nosslin
2011-09-09, 02:45 AM
If any of you go to university, or some other school where you can come and go as you like during evenings/nights you can just hang there. Or you can check with your local uni if it's possible to rent a room there for a couple of hours in the evening.

caden_varn
2011-09-09, 08:50 AM
A lot of schools round this way rent out rooms in the evening - you may find something like that.

Ask around amongst your friends (not just gamers) to see if anyone is part of a group that needs to rent rooms - lots of things like travel clubs, book clubs etc. need rooms. They may be able to point you in the right direction.

JonRG
2011-09-09, 10:56 AM
My sophomore year, our college D&D group didn't even bother renting a room. We just found a nice classroom building's lounge and gamed there. The security guard didn't hassle us and would even warn us if a crime had been committed nearby.

There was also a nifty conference room off of the uni's computer lab for meetings. The downside to that and the library is that there are rules about food/drink, noise, and how late you can game.

Ursus the Grim
2011-09-09, 11:01 AM
The title's thread reminds me of a Demetri Martin joke.
It's very easy to turn a toy into an adult toy -- location, location, location.

Back on topic, before my group moved into somebody's place, we played in a university lounge, the same room where they had pool and table tennis before remodeling it this semester.

If you don't mind revealing your general area, that could help immensely. You'd be surprised what the chances are of somebody from the area being a member. I met two people I don't know IRL living in the same town as me.

LibraryOgre
2011-09-09, 11:03 AM
Check with your local library; I know that ours has rooms that you can reserve for free (the ones downtown require payment), you just have to use it during library hours. Community centers might be similar.

As mentioned, check with local colleges, and see if they have spaces for study. Depending on your work, you might also be able to snag a conference room after hours, if no one minds. Churches, too, sometimes have meeting spaces, though they can get more picky about what you do with them.

Ason
2011-09-09, 11:26 AM
Thanks for the advice everyone! (and for the joke, Ursus)

We're all out of college by this point, so we can't use our own schools, but I'll look into the local J.C. and high schools and see what their rules are. The public library here could be an option, but it closes around 9 and is entirely shut down on Fridays, which hurts our ability to play. And actually, Mark Hall's suggestion about using a church is a distinct possibility, as I have pretty strong ties to my local one- I'll look into that.

Any other ideas? My town is a commuter city in California, but that means that most of the fun/specialized places are in the local city and not here. If you have any out of the ordinary locations that worked for you, I'm interested to hear it.

razark
2011-09-09, 12:16 PM
Get a motel room.

LibraryOgre
2011-09-09, 02:10 PM
Get a motel room.

Usually kind of expensive and small, but it does suggest another option:

Check your local Dennys. I know the ones in my area are always advertising that they've got free meeting rooms. Dennys is open 24 hours, you'd have a ready supply of munchies and drinks, and just need to tip the waitresses (lavishly, especially if you have a lot of demands).

Hotels might also have meeting rooms, but they're usually going to want money for them.

Edit: Oh, and on the church front? Bribery frequently works. "Hey, if we clean up after ourselves and [mow the lawn/clean the bathrooms/police the sanctuary after service], would anyone mind if we met here?"

Dimers
2011-09-10, 04:20 AM
A local coffee shop or cafe might do the trick, especially one that doesn't have tons of business. Would advise asking first, though, and make sure that you tip any servers/baristas throughout so that they all look forward to having you there.

Quietus
2011-09-10, 12:57 PM
A local coffee shop or cafe might do the trick, especially one that doesn't have tons of business. Would advise asking first, though, and make sure that you tip any servers/baristas throughout so that they all look forward to having you there.

This is what my group did. Meeting at the local coffee shop, find a quiet side of the store. People more or less leave you alone unless they happen to be gamers as well, and as long as you're clean, not too loud, and respectful, the people working there generally don't mind. Do make sure to ask if it's alright though, and don't go during busy hours.

Dsurion
2011-09-11, 04:12 AM
Edit: Oh, and on the church front? Bribery frequently works. "Hey, if we clean up after ourselves and [mow the lawn/clean the bathrooms/police the sanctuary after service], would anyone mind if we met here?"That's terrible.

And you're a wonderful person for suggesting it because it works.

big teej
2011-09-11, 03:55 PM
places I've played:
My house
Buddy's house
Buddy's Garage
buddy's Basement
Conference Room - Student Center
Conference Room/teacher break room - Class Building
Study room - Class Building

places I would look to play if NONE of the above were available.
other class buildings
dorm common area.
Library study rooms
(town) Library study rooms

caveat: I'm a college student, so your mileage may vary.

dsmiles
2011-09-12, 07:42 AM
We always play at someone's house, nowadays, but in the past, I've met:

Living Room
Dining Room
Enclosed Porch
Basement
Garage
Student Lounge (College)
Common Area (College Dorm)
Cemetery (Bad idea, you'll get chased out)
Local Library
Local Community/Rec Center

I've never played at, nor will I ever play at a gaming store.

Fhaolan
2011-09-12, 03:17 PM
A lot of towns have Community Centers hidden away in odd corners that make rooms available for non-profit clubs and the like. They can be tricky to find, if you're not used to looking for them. Some YMCAs used to do the same thing. When I was in high school (over thirty years ago, yikes!), the rocketry club used to meet at the YMCA.