# Looking for the Best Game Rooms & Ideas.



## Perram (Jul 15, 2010)

Hello,

I've begun the process of creating a dedicated game room for my groups to come and play at.  I got tired of traveling to the game store every week.  

I've been looking around for the other game rooms that exist out there, and quickly found this gem:

Make: Online : Ultimate D&D room

As well as this one from Role Playing Tips:

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/images/organized_gameroom_back_wall.jpg

So...

What belongs in an awesome game room?  Do you have pictures of your game room?  How much should it looking awesome play into things?

(By the way, I'm working with a 10' x 16' room for my dedicated game room, but want to see all of the ones you guys know of, big or small...)


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## Dimitri Mazieres (Jul 15, 2010)

I'm afraid the links are broken (check URLs)


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## Perram (Jul 15, 2010)

Dimitri Mazieres said:


> I'm afraid the links are broken (check URLs)




Thanks, should be fixed now.


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## jimmifett (Jul 15, 2010)

Things often overlooked for a good gaming room:

Hidden ceiing speakers, linked to a cheap sound system, controlled by DM 
laptop for background music.

Small fridge for beverages.

Trashcan.

Small sink/wet bar (to wash off the cheetos/chips/dry erase stains).

Adjustable lighting and dimmers.

A fan (cieling or otherwise), as a warm room with stale uncirculating air will put players to sleep.

Clock.


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## Man in the Funny Hat (Jul 16, 2010)

A Sultan gaming table:
- The Sultan


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## Dice4Hire (Jul 16, 2010)

I prefer my gaming rooms with people in them...... :-D


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## Wik (Jul 16, 2010)

You know, I remember walking into a gaming room years ago, when I was around eight or nine, and being completely floored.  One whole wall consisted of shelves, filled with painted metal miniatures organized alphabetically (A painted giant snapping turtle, with a rider, sticks out in my memory).  There were also game maps posted on another wall.  This was around 1991 or so.  

Really, I think a games room should have space for miniatures (if used), as well as shelving for all appropriate books.  A mini fridge is a great idea.  

There should be room for players to store things like dice, character sheets, pens, and pencils and know such items are not going to be moved (something I'm prone to do, unfortunately, when cleaning my house).  A window is nice, as a large group in a small space can create a bit of a.... funk.

Comfy chairs are a MUST - much more important than the table or anything else.  I prefer playing at a coffee table - if you do that, you can set up couches for the players!  But then, I don't really like playing at the table.  

I'd make the place look respectable, and well-made up.  Were it my game room, any nerd aids (ie, game maps, posters, etc) would be framed... because I hate unframed art on the walls (seriously, my futurama postcards look MUCH better in a cheap frame!).  Keep the space as open as possible, and make sure you don't get carried away with decorations, as they can distract.

Whether you want to do flat screen TVs and/or stereos is entirely up to you.  A laptop with appropriate gaming resources is rarely a bad idea, though.


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## Gilladian (Jul 16, 2010)

my current game room has lots of shelves, but could use more! A raised (fabric cutting table) platform for the DM, with a monitor on a swing arm so it can be rotated to show artwork to the Players. 

Nice chairs (I use padded dining room chairs) for the PCs, and a barstool with a good back for the DM. Big windows let in lots of daylight (but with shades to block the sun). A ceiling fan keeps the air moving. 

An 8' folding table for the players gives them plenty of room,  and allows for a BIG battlemat.

Not much space on the walls for art, but always nicely framed (yes, it does make a big difference!). One piece is a hand-painted watercolor done by a good friend. 

Unfortunately, this room is also my craft room, so half the wall space is taken up with cabinets and shelves for all my polymer clay craft and jewelry making tools. If I could only have another 100 sq. feet of space!


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## Stormonu (Jul 16, 2010)

This pic is a few years old....

View to DM




View slightly towards right





Looking right from the player's side




Not shown:  To the left are two filing cabinets filled with Dwarven Forge pieces and a bookcase loaded up with 40K minis.


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## AdmundfortGeographer (Jul 16, 2010)

I like that idea of a map mini-table atop the game table. Lets the map and books/sheets not interfere with each other. I can't tell how many times we've had to push books out of the way of minis or the DM's drawing of rooms.

A good game room needs convenient places to stow paraphernalia we all tow with us and need nearby within reach


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## Jacob Marley (Jul 16, 2010)

My friend Andy's game room was used as the game room in Fear of Girls Episode #2. The walls are designed to look like stones, a fake fireplace sits centered on the north wall, a fake wooden door is affixed to the western wall. All four walls are shelved with numerous D&D minis, Ral Partha minis, Dwarven Forge terrain, and many pieces of home-made scenery. He used to have two of the statues that were featured at Wizard of the Coast's store at the Mall of America - those have since moved on to storage as they take up way too much room. The only downside to our "dungeon" is that we need space heaters to keep it warm in the winter. Minnesota can be very cold in January! 

Here's the link to Fear of Girls Episode #2. The first part takes place at the Monster Den in Minneapolis (a great store), at about 2:00 minutes in you will see Andy's dungeon.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP3GYdrW450"]YouTube - Fear of Girls©: Episode 2[/ame]


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## Perram (Jul 16, 2010)

Excellent game room suggestions, everyone!  That last one was absolutely amazing, can't believe I haven't seen it before!


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## karlindel (Jul 28, 2010)

Currently we live in an apartment, so our game room is also the dining room.  We have a Chessex Mondomat over the dining room table, which gives plenty of play area, fold-up mini-tables to set things on (mostly miniatures and notes), and it's a short walk to the kitchen with its fridge.  

Unfortunately, the shelves of RPG books and the miniatures storage is in the office but it's just the next room over, so it's not a problem to pop over if someone needs a book or the DM needs to grab a few more minis for something unexpected.


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## Festivus (Jul 28, 2010)

To me the most important element is the table.

When I had the space, I had an oversized (mine is 4' x 8') game surface with a 1" grid drawn onto it, and you can write directly on with wet / dry erase markers (plexiglass sheets on the top if it).  Around that huge table I could seat 8 players easily, with their books.

Here is the table I built: The Ultimate Gaming Table

If I were to do it again, I would probably build this style, because I like that you can change the tabletop to be different things (like what if I wanted a hex map?): The Drunk Dwarves » How to Make the Ultimate War Game Table

Good lighting is another thing I like.  I had a pair of shop lights directly over my table, so it was very well lit.

Along the wall I had all my minis in plastic bins sorted out by type, and a bookshelf with all my books crammed into it.

This was all before we moved.  Now I don't have the space, so we play at the FLGS or around my dining room table.. but I miss my game room.


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## sjmiller (Jul 28, 2010)

Eric Anondson said:


> I like that idea of a map mini-table atop the game table. Lets the map and books/sheets not interfere with each other. I can't tell how many times we've had to push books out of the way of minis or the DM's drawing of rooms.



My problem with the small table on top of another table is that I have a mixture of rather short (barely over 5' tall) and rather tall (over 6'4") people in my group. If I make the main table low enough for the shorter people to see the top table, the tall people cannot sit at the table comfortably. If I make the table high enough for the tall people (including me) to sit at, the short people cannot see the top table.

What I use are some rather nice looking wooden folding table around the outside of the table. They can go next to the table, underneath the lip of the table, or wherever it is comfortable for you to use it. Gets the stuff out of the way, but easy to use.


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## masshysteria (Jul 29, 2010)

I find the library look can be a bit messy looking and distracting. Rather than a bunch of book shelves, how about cabinets? Obviously the price increases, but we're dreaming here, so...

Most of the cabinets would have normal doors, but you could have glass doors for things like minis and such. If you have small children, need the room to double as a spare bedroom when guests show up, or a room for entertaining, having everything behind doors would be nice.

One wall would be floor to almost ceiling cabinets. One wall would be kitchen counter height with a fridge and wet bar and cabinets above. Wall three a window and wall four the door. There would be a ceiling fan and the table wold be something large and sturdy, maybe Amish built. True game tables just don't do it for me and a normal well built table can be used for so much more.

There would be lighting above the wet bar area (one switch) and maybe lights that shine upwards on the cabinets (another switch). Of course the ceiling fan would have a light on another switch. 

Speakers in the ceiling is a good idea. An maybe leaving room for a TV in all the cabinetry is a good idea to in case you need to sell down the road or if you start adopting more digital game tools.


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## Perram (Jul 30, 2010)

masshysteria said:


> I find the library look can be a bit messy looking and distracting. Rather than a bunch of book shelves, how about cabinets? Obviously the price increases, but we're dreaming here, so...
> 
> Most of the cabinets would have normal doors, but you could have glass doors for things like minis and such. If you have small children, need the room to double as a spare bedroom when guests show up, or a room for entertaining, having everything behind doors would be nice.
> 
> ...




I like the idea of cabinets, too... but what about bugs?  I have a worry of spiders making their homes inside closed cabinets.


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## jonesy (Jul 30, 2010)

Perram said:


> I like the idea of cabinets, too... but what about bugs?  I have a worry of spiders making their homes inside closed cabinets.



If you get spiders, and they make home, it usually means there's other kinds of creatures in your home that they are eating. Spiders rarely survive indoors on their own. It's almost impossible to keep spiders out, but it's much easier to keep the pests they eat out. Just keep your home pest free and the spiders stay out too. Besides, the spider is your friend.


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## Perram (Aug 2, 2010)

What about miniature storage?

Should they be stored in Bins, or perhaps on shelves?


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## LordJR (Mar 18, 2011)

Nice thread... 

The following is not my own game room, but is closer to the type of game room I'm planning to build myself. This guy in Japan turned his attic into a gaming room and it looks great, even has a secret door to a game storage area. Not bad for $1,500. 

KitaQ Gamers - The Dungeon ƒUEƒ_ƒ“ƒWƒ‡ƒ“ - Our Wargaming Room ( Projects : ì•i )


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## Perram (Mar 18, 2011)

LordJR -> WOW that's FANTASTIC!

And only $1500?  Good grief!  I'm already $5k into my game room right now.


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