[Intrepid Homoludens]

One of them would be Castle AG, possibly in the Scottish highlands overlooking a small town, with an incredibly fascinating history of social, cultural, and political transpirings. There will be secret passages and hidden rooms. It's most likely haunted, resident spirits passing through its hundred rooms, towers, grand halls, and moor, energetic echoes of tragic personal experiences hundreds of years old.

We have renovated much of this castle into living and working lofts with funding by *BLEEP* . The main space to meet everyone is by the huge fireplace in the grand hall. Flokati rugs are thrown on the stone floors, Turkish kilim pillows are scattered about, and friendly looking modernist furniture create some cool contrasts with the ancient architecture.

The office lofts of Jackal, Kim, Kirk, tabsie, Jake, and the rest of the staff are upstairs, accessible by spiral staircases. The castle has been outfitted with state-of-the-art communications, T1 Internet connection, satellite t.v., and intricate cutting edge computer network for wi-fi LAN and Internet gaming and work (residents and guests can game against each other from the privacy of their own rooms). Staff work is done during the mornings right after breakfast. Bring your own laptops, but if not there are plenty to borrow and game on. There are also at least two desktops per bedroom, and there is a huge library of PC and console games near the staff offices.

On the castle estate are stables where the horses are kept when we're not riding (all the bicycles are stored in a shed by there), the gym (where Bastich pumps iron) and swimming pool is somewhere in the back of the castle. The kitchen has been modernized to accommodate whoever wants to cook anything, and there's usually a bunch of us - LauraMac, fov, EasilyConfused, me, etc. - making some delicious thing or other, so no one ever goes to bed hungry and unsatisfied. Most of the bedrooms are upstairs, of course. wormsie and I share a small room in the tower with a small window overlooking the highlands (and yes, we sleep in separate beds! ).

We don't all live at Castle AG, at least not all year. There is always a bunch of us coming and going, so it's usually buzzing. A full time guest coordinator / concierge tracks our plans, and an in-house staff maintains the castle and grounds. It's ultimately a community retreat, but we can stay as long as we want. Special events are always happening, like masquerade parties, cocktail hours, LAN gaming nights, excursions to the villages and other parts of Scotland, and treasure hunts.

Okay, your turn. What would your AG place and home look like? Where in the world is it? What kind of building is it? What amenities are there?

[Mattsius]

Eh, no one can possibly beat that. You are a master of storytelling, Trep. 8-)


Mommy, daddy, can we go to Scotland? Can we, can we?!!!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

oh puhleez! i'm sure you have some fantastic ideas where another of our exclusive posh world estate would be. Where is it? Eh?

[Mattsius]

Well, how about the Czech Republic:

[Wormsie]

Dragsvik.

[Mattsius]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

Dragsvik.

GOD DAMMIT!!!

wormsie

no, better make that

Charles VI

[SoccerDude28]

My vision of AG will be a hobbit village in middle earth. Since AG'ers are people who are playful, and imaginitive. Jake, Tabsie, Marek and the rest of the staff will be like Bilbo Baggins and the elders of our village... Trep will be a Frodo, coz he is adventurous and intrepid. Gilly will be Samuel Gangee, the clown of AG. JA+ will be mordor, coz they are evil for reviewing DOOM 3.

[mag]

I think it would look like an awesome obstacle course.

mag

[Intrepid Homoludens]

[Wormsie]

I think the castle in Scoland would have some cool dungeons.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Yeah, wormsie, perfect place to hold your little S&M parties.

[Mattsius]

< dirty mind >

EDIT: damn you, Piddy!

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Yeah, wormsie, perfect place to hold your little S&M parties.

That's exactly what I meant.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Mattsius

...damn you, Piddy!

And you will be the first to be strapped in to wormsie's special Sodomy Love Machine for calling me that again.

[Mattsius]

Can hardly wait, cutie.

[EasilyConfused]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Okay, your turn. What would your AG place and home look like? Where in the world is it? What kind of building is it? What amenities are there?

I think a secondary AG residence is a Carribbean retreat, on the Gulf Coast of Mexico or off the beaten path of a bigger island resort. The living space is arranged as a series of open-air pavilions . . . each at a discreet (given the previous comments in the thread) distance from the next. Think something like this:



The decor is indigenous materials meets updated-colonial--open-air construction furnished with plenty of dark wood, clean linen, and draped, gauzy fabric (something like mosquito netting, but we definitely don't have to worry about mosquitoes, the breeze from the ocean keeps them away). We're a short walk from a beach--a few hundred yards (meters), just to keep us from being TOTALLY lazy--if we want to lie on the beach all day, we have to move to do it. Maybe the property is on a cliff face and we walk down a winding path to get to it, providing opportunities for the practical jokers among us to hide and ambush the rest. In general, the property is large and varied--besides the cliff area and the beach below there is jungle in back and some old ruins, which makes for bizarre grown-up versions of hide and seek (how bizarre I leave up to the individuals involved.)

The beach is beautiful white sand so it's never hot, and there is an incredibly attractive and professional staff there waiting to bring us drinks and snacks. We also have a large dining area and a professional chef who comes in on the days when the foodies among us don't feel like working--standing in front of a warm oven for hours is much more fun in our Scottish castle than when the weather is constantly fine. But we have plenty of cookouts and eat lobster under the stars.

Trepsie described our work and gaming routine perfectly, although here there's an effort to downplay the technology a bit so that it won't seem out-of-place with the surroundings--plus sand and salt spray don't mix well with circuitry. To that end we've set up four or five computer centers in their own pavillions all around the property as well. Of course you can always get a laptop for your room and keep it locked in the beautiful antique chests and wardrobes we have for storage.

For fun (!!!!) other than uh, games, and the beach, and the pleasure of our fascinating company (guests also welcome--we expect a visit from Richard very early on), there's diving and snorkeling and spelunking and horseback riding and so on. I don't do many of these because I'm scared of water, but I have been exploring the local ruins and a few of us are working to develop an AG with a similar setting. (Fun *and* profit. )

Whenever we need something or feel claustrophobic, we hop in one of our collection of jeeps and head into the very-nearby town. You can often find us there on weekends, or even weeknights, because this particular part of the world is know for its great music and nightlife, and when we need to let off a little steam we dance until the early hours, then collapse and sleep late and recover with a dip in the pool. Then back to work . . . or more play!

Anyone else?

[Fairygdmther]

I used to visit a place in Maine that would be ideal. It was a series of houses around a small lake in a heavily wooded area, just off a highway and about 5 miles from a railroad junction. It was land owned by the lumber company and leased for 99 years. There were about 15 cabins around one side of a u-shaped lake, that was great for fishing (pickerel, catfish and perch, and a rare trout), boating and of course waterskiing. There were trails for hiking, horse back trails and biking, and nearby winter sports as well - skiing, both cross-country and downhill. The lake freezes over, so ice skating is possible too. In the summer, loons live on the lake, and close encounters with bears and moose are common.

Nearby is Mount Katahdin, which has a hot springs pond as well. And Mt Katahdin, Maine's highest point, also has a Nessie like monster supposedly living there. And being Maine, fresh Maine lobster is always plentiful. There are dairies nearby that make their own ice cream and cheeses. Spring water is clear, and crisply cold for drinking.

With the addition of a heliport, (hey, we can dream, can't we?) one could go to Portland, Portsmouth, NH, or even Boston for nightlife, and more erudite forms of entertainment (art museum, opera, ballet, theater, etc.).

FGM

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

I think the castle in Scoland would have some cool dungeons.

I think the lost treasure of the Knight Templar Order would be hidden in the dungeons (probably including the holy grail, and the arc of the covenant as well), guarded by dangerous Templar traps...oh wait, that was the castle McDuck...


But it COULD be possible!

And if not, we could store all our Adventuring stuff there. Including greasy tissues.



-

[Ninja Dodo]

After ousting il familia we set up camp in Rome, and when we're not playing computer games or creating awesome art/stories/games in our cosy air-conditioned apartments, or admiring the view of the colosseum, we explore the ancient ruins of the city and eat pasta...

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by SoccerDude28

Trep will be a Frodo, coz he is adventurous and intrepid. Gilly will be Samuel Gangee, the clown of AG.

Thanks, SD, this made me very happy. Some people suspect that Frodo and Sam (from the movies) are lovers due to the fact that they spend awful lot of time gazing into each other's eyes. Trepsie, my dear, I will follow you to Mt. Doom or any other ends of the earth any day!

One thing that's missing from the Trep's description of the AG castle is the mysterious lady ghost that seems to be haunting the AG castle. Several of the AG staff members have reported sightings of a semi transparent figure of a young woman floating her way to the top of the watch tower. Wormsie as the resident skeptic, has declared that this is nothing but a hoax or a creation of the frightened minds but I fear that there's more to it than that. I will be spending a lot of time in the archive researching the history of the castle looking for a story that might explain the haunting.