§ · Policy

Responsible Play

Updated July 2026.

How we run Room VII

Room VII, our stone-vaulted gaming room under the old byre, is a small and quiet room. There is one felt table, four low arches, and a single lamp of oiled brass. It is open Thursday through Sunday evenings, from nine in the evening until half past one, and it is open only to guests of the estate and their invited company. We run it slowly, without music, and with a house rule that no session at the table should crowd out the rest of a stay.

Age at the door

Entry to Room VII is restricted to guests aged 18 and over. The staff on duty at the vault stair will ask any guest who looks under 25 for identification, and will politely turn away any guest who cannot produce it. This applies without exception, and without discussion at the door, a member of the reception team is on hand throughout the evening for any question.

Session breaks and setting your own limits

Before you sit at the table, we invite you to decide, in advance, the length of the session you intend to play and the amount you are willing to risk that evening. Write both down if it helps. When either is reached, leave the table. The staff on duty will hold a seat for you the following evening if you wish. We also keep a soft break at midnight, the lamp is dimmed, the room is quiet for ten minutes, and tea is brought to the table. Use the break to consider whether to continue or to stop for the night.

Play is meant to be one of the small pleasures of a stay at the estate, alongside the sauna raft, the waffle hour, and the quartet on Fridays. It is not meant to be the reason for the stay, and it is not a way to make money. The house does not extend credit for play, does not offer inducements to sit at the table, and does not run promotions of any kind. A guest who wishes to be excluded from Room VII for the length of a stay, or for future stays, may say so to the reception team; the request will be recorded quietly and honoured without further question.

If play has begun to concern you

If your own play, or the play of someone you know, has begun to worry you, there are two Norwegian services that can help. Both are free, confidential and independent of the estate. Their websites explain how they work and how to reach them.

• hjelpelinjen.no — the national help line for gambling and gaming concerns.
• spillavhengighet.no — an independent organisation supporting those affected by gambling difficulties, and their families.

Writing to the house

You are welcome to write to us in confidence at [email protected] with any question about how Room VII is run, or with a request to be excluded from it.