The question is: Where’s My Favourite Place to Play?
Hmm.
Some of these questions are quite hard to answer, aren’t they?
I guess my perfect place is at a convention, as it’s an opportunity to meet new people, play new games, and not feel that the outcome has to be perfect. It’s about fun and the enjoyment of the new.
Of the conventions I’ve attended, my favourite place to play would be THE KRAKEN, at Schloss Neuhausen.
You can find out a bit about the event on THE KRAKEN website, but basically, it’s the successor to the Tentacles Convention and has had a strong association with Chaosium. In the present incarnation, it’s a relaxed event laden with players, GMs and a scattering of Actual Game Designers, that takes place in the German countryside over several days.
It has finite spaces for attendees, but a wealth of games to play, including roleplaying, board, and card games. You play most games in a big old house — but sometimes in the garden or tucked away on some stairwell in the guesthouse — with pause for lunch, cake, and dinner. Drink flows, games are played, and conversations meander across all kinds of topics.
In the beginning, I had a lot of anxiety about attending, but I voiced that anxiety and hoped that I would be welcomed. I can’t think of much that’s as ordinary yet uncomfortable, as going to a country with a language I don’t speak to spend a week in unfamiliar surroundings in social contact with dozens upon dozens of people I don’t know. But, the attendees of THE KRAKEN were so welcoming.
Last week, I ran games of Into the Odd, Salvage Union, Symbaroum, The Dee Sanction and Divided Horizons, plus I played games of Dungeons & Dragons, Questworld, and Basic Role Playing. I also gave a 45-minute seminar on the trials and tribulations of running historical adventures.
That’s a lot more than I could have ever imagined, but I’m still stressed and anxious. I still have to spend time alone and decompress. But, it’s an incredible experience spent in the company of wonderful people. Without equal, THE KRAKEN is My Perfect Place to Play.
RPGaDay is a prompt-driven experience in tabletop roleplaying, initiated by Dave Chapman of Autocratik, and powered by me and you.
The prompts for this year are as follows — and you can find out more on Dave’s website.
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