Five years ago, I traveled to Ireland primarily to live in a castle for a few days. While my hotel room in the Clontarf Castle Hotel felt like any other nice hotel room, I spent some spare time in the heart of the castle, which was awesome.
Recently I was invited to a small game convention on the outskirts of St. Louis. The location was picked specifically for the ambiance. I love playing games pretty much anywhere, but a great gaming environment definitely adds to the experience.
So as I thought about that convention, I was overwhelmed with a desire to play board games in a castle. I spent the next 30 minutes looking through lists of castles in Missouri and Illinois, none of which provided event spaces.
It occurred to me that I may be looking for the wrong thing. The exterior of the building–the primary identity of castles–isn’t all that important. It’s the inside that matters. It should feel old–dark wood paneling, stone outcroppings, iron-wrought chandeliers. There should be casks of ale and tapestries hanging from the walls.
But all of those things can exist in buildings that aren’t castles. It’s possible I’m searching for the wrong thing. What do you think? Where would you look for that type of atmosphere?
Ever hear of Ravenwood Castle? it’s in southeastern Ohio and is exactly a castle meant to play board games in. Check it out at https://www.ravenwoodcastle.com/. A friend and I have been debating hosting a mini con there just to get together and play games with people.
Wow, that looks awesome! Especially the room on the far right of this page: https://www.ravenwoodcastle.com/corporate
Ravenwood Castle looks awesome, and their website shows that they are definitely a gaming friendly location with 2 other gaming cons (and a gaming bar?!) listed as events on their site. That place definitely fits the bill of a castle for playing board games!
Ravenwood does seem pretty awesome! Though it’s a 7-hour drive from St. Louis. We could play a lot of games in 7 hours!
Ohhhh… Totally should play castle/medieval themed in a castle too. Lords of Waterdeep, Castles of Mad King, etc. There are actually castles in Missouri! I’m very surprised by this. Too bad Cupples Mansion can’t be rented anymore. It’s on SLU campus. Isn’t there any building that looks like and feels like a castle on WashU campus?
That’s awesome! I love the idea of playing castle-themed games in a castle.
One place that you might like is the Rathskeller in Indianapolis. Its the Tavern under an old City hall. Its about a mile walk from the Convention center. Always makes me think of Germany and the food is great. Recommend trying their pretzels and mustard, its a strong ground mustard with spiciness close to wasabi.
My family and friends always have dinner there post Gen Con. Here is a picture from this year:
https://goo.gl/photos/rZ8ZCwcWk9ABMrfh6
Here are some pictures of the outside and inside.
https://roadtips.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cad8253ef00e55362fff58833-350wi
https://www.deltaskymag.com/getattachment/3ae3fb70-6ba2-4068-aa99-f0a510c3aaeb/Rathskeller-Rest.aspx
https://www.athenaeumfoundation.org/tour/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/INT_RathskellerDiningRoom.jpg
Sean: That’s exactly the type of environment I’m looking for! Also, I’m a sucker for a good pretzel. I can’t believe I haven’t eaten there at Gen Con yet, but I’ll definitely check it out next year.