I thought I would start this thread up based on the conversation in the main CitOW thread. There seemed to be interest in a game of Chaos face to face for the UK players, so this is to see what people think to the idea and maybe organise something.
I'm not sure that I know all the UK players, so if you are in the UK and interested let us know.
These are the people I know of...
@Flimflammery@Tayrun@Belfast@BobCesca@Cutfang
I'm told
@pesky is as well but am not sure.
So the general plan if people are interested, pick an area everyone is happy to travel to, meet up and have a few games and maybe a few drinks.
My initial thought was somewhere like Birmingham may be the most central location for everyone, but lets discuss.
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Sounds like it might be difficult for Tayrun to get down for a just a day trip though!
Last time I listen to Blah
Also, probably can't do this 'till September. I also have a spare room with a (not very comfortable) sofa bed which I could offer to one lucky player if it is needed.
If we do end up doing Brum then I'm sure there are pubs that will let us play in them, and I was hopeful that you may knows somewhere being local. Thought this would be preferable to inviting a load of strangers to your house, though is totally cool for you to offer.
I tend to find that picking a date and seeing what people say is a good plan, so lets start by saying, the 15th/16th of September, if we said that weekend how would people feel?
A quiet but spacious pub would probably be the best bet; would be nice to see Birmingham again, I've not visited for a while, despite having spent most of my formative years there. Thanks for offering your house, though, Bob!
I do have cat allergies, much to my annoyance
We'll sort those details out closer to the time, as long as we have enough interest and can agree a date. Though looking good so far.
I'll happily write some sort of report up with pictures etc
Yeah so I'm still up in Scotland. The train tickets are weird. They seem to be about £120 for a return to Brum, but now an then, like once per day with no clear reason how it is chosen, one particular journey will be £60 return.
Much as I love you guys, I can't really justify that expense for this alone. I'll see about doing an extended journey where after this I move on to London to visit friends or something.
Or maybe Birmingham on the way back would be easier. Hmm, hmm.
What kind of day of the week and times of the day are we thinking of?
Anyway, I thought it may be a bit of a pain for you, but when we spoke about it previously you spoke about visiting other friends near the time so thought it was worth including you. See if you can do something the week before or after the 15/16th of September and let us know.
It seems a lot of us will be training it so the Saturday would be better so there are good trains in case we finish late, but we'll fit in however.
I've just done some rough travel details for the day; this is based on the train lines info.
London - Birmingham; time to travel 1h30m , £15; station of arrival, New Street; Latest departure - 21:30,
Oxford - Birmingham; 1h 11m; £19; New Street; 21:03
Cheltenham - Brum; 50m; £13; New Street; 21:12
Birmingham - Birmingham; 0s; £0; N/A; N/A
Any thoughts on changing the city? Birmingham is no longer so central.
I'm still happy with Birmingham though; like I said, it's an old stomping ground and it would be nice to see it again after a long absence. That weekend is also still fine with me; I have a slight preference for the Sunday, but Cerberus is right, the Saturday would have more frequent trains available.
But yes, definitely a major theme of CitOW before other, inferior games.
How do people feel about it? I don't want to massively inconvenience everyone!
Reading (the place), is accessible by everyone
Basically anything more north than the Thames scares me.
@Tayrun, if we did Oxford would you definitely come? If so I'll make it there.
@BobCesca, does the change in location effect you much?
If I can, I shall definitely attend. I'll get that info tomorrow hopefully!
I shall look into it asap!
I suggest that people local to Oxford and Reading try and sort out where we can play in case that is our location of choice.
I will look into pub possibilities in Oxford; we have a couple of game shops, but they don't really have events like the Reading, I suspect mainly due to lack of space.
1. Lamb and Flag.
2. Royal Oak.
3. Head of the River.
The Turf is always tempting, sure, but I bet it'll be packed.
Royal Oak - a more likely suspect, I think, but again, it would be preferable to find an out-of-the-way section.
Head of the River - I'm not sure about table sizes inside; it's been a while since I've been there, though, and it is pretty huge.
The Turf - yeah, it'll probably be the last dregs of summer, it's gonna be tight. Although at least the OU students wouldn't quite be back then... and again, I think table size might be an issue.
Some other possibilities:
Angel & Greyhound - especially that massive table in the back corner, and they're keen on boardgames (although most of the ones they have are rather less hardcore).
The Rusty Bicycle/Rickety Press - two nice relaxed gastro-pubs.
The Bookbinder's - again good if we get the cubby hole.
The Mitre - don't know it too well, but apparently an Oxford boardgaming club uses it weekly, so they're likely used to our kind ;0)
The Plough/The Butcher's Arms - out of the way, but very nice and quiet possibilities, and doable if I, say, pick people up from the station in my car.
I can't believe I'd forgotten The Mitre! Probably because I use the restaurant there more than the pub.
I've not been to the Angel & Greyhound, but from your description I'm thinking either it or The Mitre would be the best bet.
I can vouch for The Mitre having multiple huge tables, and it's right on the high street so I guess it'd be easy for people to get to?