The current gaming table design features are still mostly based on the now-defunct Geek Chic company's designs. There has been limited innovation since Geek Chic came onto the market, seemingly setting design standards which most current companies are emulating.
I worked with a carpenter to design and build gaming tables, for five years. I was his concept designer. He took my concepts and made them into working gaming tables. I created three table design concepts, two of which he built into working gaming tables. He modified one of my concepts, creating a fourth table design. He marketed two of my three table design concepts, but how many he sold, I can't say, as I was not privy to that information.
He installed the finished tables in a local game store for people to play on, experience the joys of, and, hopefully, order their own from him. I had him build my own table, according to my second design concept; I love the table, but I had structural issues with it, and he went out of business, leaving me to fix it on my own, using my own labor and materials! Caveat Emptor!
Which gaming table features are really useful, and worthwhile, in the long term? Which will still be liked, appreciated, and fully used by their owners, 10-20 years into the future?
If you invest $5,000-$10,000+ into a gaming table, you want to be certain that your table will still be enjoyable, 10+ years into the future of your ownership of it. It is a major investment! Careful consideration should be given, before you approach a carpenter, or a vendor, on making one for you and your group to use.
There are aesthetics galore, to consider: color, design features, and more. Some of the design features to consider, carefully, are: decorative scrollwork in the wood; laser-engraved designs in the wood surfaces; accessories using a rail system; a removable top over a recessed game well; height; game well surfaces and features; wood type (hardness, color, finish, etc.); electronics such as Bluetooth speakers, USB ports, wireless charging stations, and mood lighting; there are more features that builders offer, as well.
Few gamers really have a chance to see, and experience, all of the diverse features available. Few buyers ever sit at the table design they order, prior to placing their orders! For the most part, they buy without experiencing what their new table will offer them, without ever touching one, without ever sitting at one, and gaming on it, until their table is installed within their home.
I thought I would share my experiences for those considering either buying a gaming table, or those considering building one, themselves. I hope my experiences will save you some headaches, along with disappointments. Let's get started...
Electronics...
Electronics change, over time. Be very careful in buying into electronics in a gaming table which will become outdated, and useless, within 5-10 years!
USB ports have gone through multiple changes over the last 20 years: USB A, B, and C, thus far. We have wireless chargers for many cell phones, but this technology will change with time, as well. Your expensive electronic features will become outdated over time: either you continue to use older, compatible devices, or you upgrade the electronics on your table to be compatible with the latest systems -- if this is even possible! Bluetooth speakers are included in this warning caveat! Bluetooth has undergone multiple versions, and they won't always be backwards-compatible!
Electronics can be added to your gaming room, external to your table. You can set up wireless speakers within the room, upgrading your sound system as necessary, over time.
Cell phone chargers are not necessary at your gaming table. People can, and should, bring their own chargers -- they should be responsible for their own electronic devices.
LED lights
They do not have much range, only lighting up things within the game well less than a foot from their location. How much will you really use this feature? To me, it is a gimmick, and nothing more.
LED's along the edge of the game well will glare into the eyes of the people facing them, across the table! Take a look at them in the numerous videos online, demonstrating how they look and work... Not practical, not terribly useful, in the long term. They add cost, complexity, and labor to create, but offer little in functionality.
Rail accessory systems....
These are really appreciated by many enthusiasts. They are extremely popular in many table makers' product offerings.
I would not use them. Period. Full Stop.
They create hazards: the accessories stick out from the sides of the tables; if the players move sideways, they will hit them, possibly harming themselves, and the table! I enjoy the freedom to move around my gaming table, without hazards, but I use my table for both RPG's and for tabletop wargames with miniatures. The Rail System is a non-starter for me. YMMV.
Game Wells, with toppers to cover your in-progress games...
My first table design concept had a 4" deep game well, with heavy wooden leaves to set atop it, to cover the in-progress games. No water seal was installed -- this is not an easy thing to create, and those which do exist, have had less than stellar reviews on YouTube.
I played multiple games on this table, with friends, at the carpenter's shop. It, too, featured pull-out drawers, beneath the game well, just as my table has them beneath its solid, single piece top, sans game well.
I discovered that the topper pieces were heavy, cumbersome to install/remove, and storage would be an issue. I realized that for my use, I would end up leaving the toppers off, 100% of the time. That led me to my 2nd design concept: no game well, a solid top, with pull-out drawers underneath, at each player station.
A game well is, in my opinion, more of a novelty, than it is a functioning necessity. The removable toppers are cumbersome, heavy, and a problem for storing when not needed.
If your gaming table will be multi-functional, serving both as a dining table, and a gaming table, then you may need to go with this option. It is really the only way to cover an in-progress game, or to leave a game setup intact, between sessions. Keep reading so that you are aware of the trade-off's involved.
When I played several games in the game well table, I discovered that it was more of a hindrance, than an advantage. If I wanted to tack on extra tables to extend a miniatures game, the well got in the way, breaking up the two tabletops. I was more focused on miniatures gaming options than RPG options, so this may not matter to most prospective owners.
I found that the game well's rim, being 4"-5" wide, was too narrow for trying to put anything on it: objects got knocked off, too easily. That table had pull-out drawers beneath the well, but they were 8"-10" below the rim's level, which proved a distraction.
For me, game wells are out. Give this very careful consideration before you buy/build. Game wells add considerable cost and complexity to the table, and if you don't feel the advantages outweigh the hassles, you won't be happy, in the long term.
Pull-out Drawers...
There are a few table makers who offer pull-out drawers, as well as pull-out tables (similar to what you can find in household kitchens: cutting boards which pull out beneath the countertop, above a regular drawer). I wanted a pull-out cutting board style 'drawer', on rails, to use as a desktop, keeping my tabletop/game well free of books, papers, pencils dice, etc. I worked with my carpenter to make my design concept into two working table designs: one with a game well, and one without the well, featuring a solid, flat top surface. I have not found any other table maker offering pull-out cutting board desktops, on ball-bearing rails.
A pull-out, box drawer, is great for storage, but they are not great for writing upon (the reason I wanted cutting board 'drawers'). Some table makers offer a wooden slab to lay atop the pull-out box drawer, but that adds complexity, cost, and weight. You also need to store the slab somewhere, when you close that box drawer...
Are the cutting board drawers useful?
Yes.
Are they still useful, and enjoyable, after using them for 5+ years?
That is a complicated answer. It really is very dependent upon you, your group of players, and what types of games you run at your table.
Pull-out drawers/desktops are nice for keeping clutter off/out of your tabletop/game well. However, players must push them in, to reach onto the tabletop, to move figures. There must be clearance between the drawer surface, and the table pocket it slides into; kitchen type cutting board drawers fail on this point. Mine have 2" of clearance: barely enough for books. More clearance would be appreciated, however it would lower the drawers even more from the tabletop surface, moving them closer to the floor, thickening the tabletop as a whole; it would require more material and labor, increasing the cost.
Once the players finish moving miniatures on the tabletop, or in the game well, they need to pull the drawer back out, to access their dice, papers, etc.
After 5+ years of use, I have to say that they are a mixed bag. Some of my RPG players enjoy them, and over time, more of my players have adapted to using them. Some players, however, do not use them at all.
For my miniatures games, they went mostly unused, with players keeping their papers and rulebooks on the gaming table surface -- until I required them to remove books, papers, etc. from the tabletop, as it was all a distraction from the visual enjoyment of the figures and terrain. In effect, I forced my miniatures players to utilize the drawers. They did, and everything was much more enjoyable for everyone, having cleared the un-necessaries from the tabletop surface.
Final thoughts?...
What works best for me, may, or may not, work best for you, and for your group of gamer friends and family.
My purpose in sharing my experiences here, is to provoke careful consideration before anyone pulls the trigger on either purchasing, or building, a custom gaming table for their homes. Hopefully it will help you to make careful choices for yourself, and your gaming friends. If anyone does pull that trigger, I hope my experiences will lead you to make informed choices that will assist you in enjoying your gaming table for the rest of your life. Cheers!
