Just thinking the other day of places myself and Russ had taken each other on in FOG battles over the past few years. Our dining room, the pool room of a local Lions club and - lest we forget - the club house of the local tennis club.
We could only use this when the tennis season was over - meaning late autumn and winter. Playing on Wednesday nights (usually) it meant unlocking two gates in the pitch black (head torches soon became de rigeur) and down a narrow path to reach what can only be described as a glorified shed which had dubious plumbing and no heating.
After laying out the tables the main priority became getting some heat in the place (portable heaters were our prized assets) but often battles were played out under clouds of exhaled breath. I remember one battle where I was shaking with cold and was reluctant to move the troops as it meant taking my hands out of my pockets.
But we had some great times there - some classic Punic Wars battles as well as a bash at Napoleonic POW. This included times when Nigel and his son Gabriel would come down - the latter's dice rolling can never be forgotten. He'd shake the dice for a full minute, constantly asking 'what do I need? What do I need?'. Finally he'd release them - flying across the table (often taken out a stand or two of troops) then off the table, to end up half way across the room. The dice would be returned - only for the whole process to start again!
When comparing to playing at Ian's house (excellent food, snacks, drinks on tap, superb games table, whiteboard for information, PC in the corner for reference, central heating and a library of books behind you when the action slows down) it puts into perspective the highs and lows of wargaming venues!