Games rooms can take on many different personalities—all of them dictated by who their users will be. Whether you’re creating a “guys-only” hangout for poker and pool playing, or a space where the whole family can gather for board and video games, your options for fun are limited only by your imagination (okay, and maybe a little by your budget and available space).
Once you’ve worked through our Games Rooms Considerations list, you should have a good sense of how your room will be used and who will be using it. Now comes the fun part—putting your room together. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
The Nostalgia Room Looking to relive your pinball wizard days? You’re not alone. More and more homeowners are recreating their younger days with retro pinball machines and arcade games. Beware, though—the kids love them, too, so you may be jockeying for play time.
A number of games sellers offer a limited selection of pinball machines, but for the truly nostalgic, try connecting with kindred spirits via the Mr. Pinball Classifieds, a free buy/sell forum for pinball machines and parts.
Of course, a pool table, and maybe a ping pong or foosball table are other great additions to a nostalgic games room. And don’t forget the nostalgic “extras”—how about a Pez machine, a movie theatre-style popcorn popper, or a jukebox? GameRoomAntiques.com offers a huge selection of retro game room items from a number of dealers, as well as a classified ads section.
| Pinball 101: Check out the Internet Pinball Database for a large database of pinball machines, as well as a pinball glossary, tutorials of pinball playing skills, and lots of pinball-related links |
The High-Tech Hangout If your kids are constantly asking for rides to the arcade, why not set up a space at home? But first, make a trip to the arcade with your kids and a pocket full of money. There’s an incredible range of video games available, and checking them out together will give you a sense of what you might like to invest in for your home games room.
Depending on your games choices, your high-tech play space might actually become part of your home theater. Or you might prefer standalone video game machines. There’s an incredible selection available, from virtual reality games to home fitness and golf games to re-worked versions of arcade classics like Ms. PacMan.
| What’s hot in video games Top-selling video game machines in 2005: -- “Ms. PacMan/Galaga” (a reissued 20th anniversary edition) -- “Golden Tee Golf 2005 Home Edition” -- “Arcade Legends” (a multigame video machine that comes with 50 arcade classics) source: BMI Gaming |
The Clubhouse If all-night poker games are on the agenda, why not create a comfortable space to host them in? Think lots of leather and wood, maybe a humidor and some club chairs for kicking back with a scotch. The clubhouse must of course have its own bar, or at least be close to your home bar. A quality poker table is a wise investment if you’re going to be using it regularly—check out Paragon Billiards’ Web site for inspiration. A dart board is a great social addition, a chess/checkers table is a classic, and depending on your space and budget, you might also include a pool table.
The Family Zone Geared to all ages, a family-oriented games room might include elements from each of the preceding sections. It may be the fitness center where family members can watch and play a fitness game, the after-school hangout of choice for school-aged kids to play Nintendo, and the setting for Friday night poker with the boys (or girls).
If it’s quality family time you’re after, though, no family games room would be complete without a selection of board games and a comfortable space in which to play them. There’s been a return to “family games night” in recent years, and increasing numbers of adults are getting in on the action, too, making games nights part of their entertaining repertoire. If space is constrained, you can always set up a card table and chairs for board games and then tuck them away between uses. But also consider purchasing a flip-top games table, which doesn’t take up much space. You could even build your own—the bonus is that it doubles as a side table when you’re not using it to play chess.
| Lost the rules to your Scrabble game? Don’t despair if your treasured Monopoly board no longer has its official rules sheet or you’re splitting hairs over a Yahtzee score—F.G. Bradleys has PDFs of the rules to almost 300 board and table games. |
Planning Your Space Planning is key, especially in a multi-functional games room geared to many users. It may all look like everything on your wish list is going to fit, but you’ll never know for sure until you map it out. Check out this great link for a required room size chart (just how much space do you need to comfortably play a game of pool?), and a game room planner grid to help you map out your room.
You’ll also want to think about how the room will cater to the comfort of its users, from lighting to seating to refreshments. See our article, Creature Comforts, for more on the details that can take your games room from fun to fantastic.