playing at home with friends is a very different experience to playing in a club. both have their pros and cons. but it mostly comes down to the people.

clubs tend to fail because the amateurs/children running them fail to learn, fail to run them as businesses, and then personality issues drive wedges between factions ... a hobby centre isn't a hobby. *sigh*

plus city rents make it hard to have enough space for decent gaming at prices gamers are prepared to pay.

i have played pbem and irc-based rpgs. they can work well, so long as the players commit adequate time to reading-before-responding.