Top 10 reasons every gamer should live in England

[CharlesRyan]

Living in the UK for four years was a great experience as a gamer--not just because of the many terrific friends I met and gamed with while I was there, but also because of all the cool stuff that so informs the imaginary worlds we inhabit: castles, walled cities, cathedrals, Roman ruins, Victorian/age-of-steam buildings and machines, old ships--you name.

So why not share the love? I've started a series of articles on my site talking about some of these. The fist one was on castles; today I start off a look at the real English pub and how it reflects the idea of the medieval inn a bit better than the modern bar that's most often its inspiration.

Have a look; I hope you find it interesting!

The Fascinating World of Charles Ryan

 

[steeldragons]

Reason 11

It's waaaay closer to Andorra than the States. lol.

 

[Fifth Element]

12. You don't have to rely on Youtube to watch QI.

 

[Chi]

I am really looking forward to reading the next installment. These are well written, my man.

 

[nedjer]

As a Scot I'm meant to bear an ancient grudge against all things English.

However, I go there on holiday most years, and can heartily recommend the cheese, the Hobgoblin ale, (when you can track it down), Hampton Court maze and Giraffe, where you can get a skyscraper of pancakes, bacon, maple syrup and blueberries for breakfast every day you're in London. Mustn't forget the other place where you eat with robot safari animals and the pudding's got fireworks on it. Most

 

[M.L. Martin]

As a Scot I'm meant to bear an ancient grudge against all things English.

Well, you've got nothing to be ashamed of in this context--your main city has D&D-style dungeons as well as a castle.

(I spent three weeks in Ireland, Scotland and made it as far down into England as Cambridge. Delightful time.)

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

However, I go there on holiday most years, and can heartily recommend the cheese...

I've heard that English cheese is disappointingly mild*, but...

13. England births the best fantasy authors.

*My motto is "If it's not sharp, it's not worth eating."

 

[CharlesRyan]

Dude, I could totally write another series called Top 10 Reasons Why Everyone Who Loves Cheese Should Live in England. I get depressed when I think about the prospect of living years with access to only American cheeses. Bog-standard sliced sandwich cheese in the UK is better than most of what you find in the gourmet cheese cabinet in a US supermarket. Seriously.

Mild? Sure, some varieties. But certainly not all. It was in England that I learned that "blue" is not a type of cheese--it's an attribute. You can have blue Cheddar, for example. Certainly blue Stilton is a common type.

(True fact: What we call Cheddar is actually a different cheese, called Red Leicester. A fine cheese in its own right, but not the same thing Cheddar (or even particularly close). Actual Cheddar is what we call "white Cheddar." It's firmer, sharper, lighter in color, and a bit more likely to crumble.)

But I digress. . . .

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

That's very reassuring, as I will get to England someday, and I love good cheese.

 

[Tyranthraxus]

Having recently , May -June 2010 visited England (but to a larger extent London), I can say as a Gamer Its not all its cracked up to be.

I visited the Castles , went to the London Dungeon.. (really enjoyed Newcastle). These were good .

Its just I found a distinct lack of gaming shops. I did find one in Kings Cross which was nice (Orcs nest?).. not far from Trafalgar Square but the opening hours were... odd and it did seem quite small. Its probably a very 80's way of looking at gaming, but to me the gaming store is a great way to talk to other gamers but also see what gaming groups are out there. I picked up some Dark Heresy and WHFRP books, talked to the person behind the counter.. and was accosted by some homeless? guy looking to sell me a copy of Big Issue. Cept when I said Id buy it ... Im not sure he was willing to part with it.

I also thanks to google managed to track down other rpgs stores. One in Finchley (Leisure games) was great. Good selection. It was a bit of a hike but well worth the trip.

However my favorite place happened to be a gaming store in Newcastle which I happened on. I didnt know it existed .. and I kept getting it confused with Forbidden Planet (and probably have here). The staff were very friendly, actually were interested in communicating and despite a impasse at first (Australian talking to a Geordie!) it was all good.

I also managed to find an rpg shop near a Palace in London that was sadly, closing down. Downstairs there were cardboard boxes of slim supplements that were going. I picked up some d20 future stuff for a pound each. I apologise, I cannot remember the name of the store. I felt a little awkward talking to the guy behind the counter.. as it was likely his last day of employment.

Now I did manage to actually game while I was on holiday in a one shot 3.5 game out near where I was staying in Chiswick. I managed to track them down by a long forgotten website.. that was good. I must admit, I love gaming with strangers because the familarity isnt there.

London/England is a really nice place. Castles are awesome, Dungeons are cool too. I just dont think that 10 castles and 10 dungeons are 10 reasons to move to England to game.