You really need to check out Hamachi. It lets you create ad-hoc VPNs with others in a plug and play manner. Once installed and configured, you will have an extra network adapter on your machine that will get an IP address in the 5.x.y.z range. The systems in the network that you create will all be in the same "virtual" LAN so you can easily connect to shares, play games, use remote desktop, whatever you want.

Check it out.