The Great Gaming Hall of Quarowl

The Great Gaming Hall of Quarowl was an elegant and ornate complex of buildings which once stood in a park on the west side of the river, close to the lower slopes of the hills that delimited the city.

Purpose / Function

The Great Gaming Hall was designed as a public entertainment centre for Quarowl and for tourists to Quarowl, reflecting the growing wealth and importance of the city as the north of Tinturbean opened up to new settlements and businesses.
There were many luxurious rooms within the building and its annexes, of various kinds and sizes, some of which were open to the public but many of which were reserved for selected wealthy parties who booked them for their private gaming.
The Main Vault was the name of a large open arena surrounded by rows of benches and balconies. Here there were public displays of complex board games of various kinds which could be viewed as spectator sports, with the star players being famous celebrities in their own right. Projection screens and commentary from experts added to the enjoyment and understanding of the viewers. Tickets to these kinds of games were always in high demand and of course there was organised betting on a wide range of outcomes and side events, with severe penalties for anyone caught trying to fix the odds or indulge in scams such as betting against themselves via third parties.
Some rooms were used for simple gambling games acting like a kind of casino, where the rules were trivial and the sole focus was on the playing of odds and the chance to win or lose large amounts of money relatively quickly.
Other rooms, allowed visitors to pit their wits against one another in versions of whatever were the newly fashionable games being played in the Main Vault. These were more cerebral and tactical experiences.
FInally, there were naturally rooms given over to eating and drinking and for particularly favoured patrons, perhaps other more discrete pleasures.

History

The Great Gaming Hall of Quarowl was the most famous landmark in the city. It was built over a period of five years, beginning in 1557 APC and opened to the public on 1st Glim, 1561 APC. This was a time when the Puzzle Lords Directorate were at the height of their powers and the Great Gaming Hall symbolised many of their values.
For almost three thousand years, the city of Quarowl and its Great Gaming Hall were so closely associated in the minds of the people of Magicians' End that it was almost impossible for the average person to imagine the city without also thinking of the famous Gaming Hall.
On 10th Tivith, 4372 APC, during the Age of Shadows, the entire complex was burned to the ground in an act that was thought to be arson, although the culprit(s) were never caught. The Age of Shadows had no time for the construction of public works, save for those concerned with defence and the Gaming Hall was by this time considered as a luxury at best and a decadent relic from another age at worst. There have been no successful attempts to build a replacement, although there was an infamous fraud at the court of the Queendom of Tarris in 5642 APC in which monies raised from many noble patrons for a proposed project of this nature, went missing.

RUINED STRUCTURE
10th Tivith, 4372 APC

Founding Date

1557 APC to 1561 APC

Type

Theme park / Entertainment complex

Parent Location

Quarowl