What is in your gaming room? [closed]

Question

Just an open-ended community wiki question about your game room.

Interested in what you have in your game room, the layout, your gaming table and how your gaming area is organized to improve the flow of a game and make DM'ing and playing easier/more relaxing/more fun.

I'd like this question to be a idea and inspiration area for those of us who play at the kitchen table or in the living room as well as those of us who have a dedicated gaming room and are proud of their layout.

Let's see where you play and what ideas you have.

Answer 1

I've made a gaming room in my attic. There's an old black table by the right hand of the GM seat (not in between GM and players), a piece of a tree trunk as a tiny fantasy-style table in the middle (for players to rest their axes or roll out maps ;P) and some gadgets including candles.

Candles might sound awkward to some people, but they really help focusing the imagination. You just can't stop looking at them and thus - you don't get distracted by the background. Music does the same thing for ears [but I already mentioned it somewhere else]

And the attic has a wooden roof support that nalso has good looks. Only drawback - It's hard to play there when it gets cold outside and when it gets too hot. We once tried and I took an old sprinkler bottle and we sprayed water on our faces.

Answer 2

Our gaming group are all white-collar professionals in our 30s and 40s. One evening every-other week we convene in a meeting room at the GM's (my) office. So we have a big table that seats 12 comfortably, about 160 square feet of white board space, loads of markers, snacks and drinks, internet access, and just about anything else you'll find in an office.

At the home table its just a smaller version of the above with some artwork on the walls and a bookshelf.

Answer 3

My game room is our living room. We moved about a year ago and had the luxury of furnishing to suit us, so we wanted to create a living space that wasn't completely focused on gaming but that would make a good gaming space.

Ikea Expedit bookshelves turn out to be the perfect size for gaming books; they also work very well to display our glassware collection, which breaks up the monotony of the gaming books. There are also a lot of storage modules you can slide into the Expedits -- we have a couple of small drawer units and one cloth hanging file storage unit, which slides out for easy access. The miniature storage containers I mentioned here also fit nicely stacked in one Expedit space.

The table is also from Ikea, but there's no particular reason for that other than convenience of shopping. The key is that it's a good four person table most of the time, with a leaf to expand it out into something that'll work for a one-GM six-player group.

We use these little fold out trays you can get at Target as supplemental gaming tables -- when I'm GMing, I keep tokens and miniatures and notes there, so they don't clutter up the main table. They're kind of cheap construction but they're functional. Also good for eating in front of the TV.

Answer 4

Our gaming room is the dining room, with a table that seats nine comfortably. I tend to pace while game-mastering, so I take the foot of the table and use it as a staging area while I go.

Answer 5

We game in a basement around an old, solid wood dinner table. It accomodates the seven of us pretty well without getting in each other's way (most of the time) and allows room in the center for the mini's and environment. DM is at the head of the table and has a half height plastic storage drawer unit next to him where we keep dice trays, DM screen, dry erase board, spell templates, etc. At then other end is a bookshelf for the rulebooks and hanging on another wall is a shelf system for the minis. It works well, and gaming in the basement allows room to store snacks, mini fridge for pop, computer for music, etc.

Answer 6

We use my front room nowadays. There is a dining table at one end (near the door to use when you want to smoke) and a large L shaped sofa at the other. Inbetween the two is the little nook in which my pc table sits and I usually have that turned on but run the game from a laptop. My book shelves are in my office upstars so I tend to have all the books I will need already on the table with me.

I personally prefer to use the table because it means everybody is facing each other and focused in on the game at hand. Sitting in comfy seats can (and does) encourage more non game chat and lack of focus which I'd rather we avoided until we go outside for a smoke. It also means the computer is behind them and they can't see it when I am cueing up images or sounds for them to see/hear at a later date. Its also a lot easier to roll dice on a nice bit of pine than it is on soft furnishings and carpeted floor (where the cats can steal dice from and join in the rolling game).

Finally, sittingat the table means I don't get pizza and tea all over my nice leather sofa (which in turn stops the wife kicking my arse when everybody has gone home) and only one of the cats sits right on the page I am trying to reference.

I like any set up where people are comfortable but not so comfy that they might nod off, where peopel face each other for the most part and where nobody has to step over each other to go for a whizz/smoke/grab the book they need.

Answer 7

I am still at University and we have a Gaming Society so I have 3 or more groups on any given Saturday or Sunday that need a venue. Luckily I have the 'luxury' of booking out University Seminar Rooms for Gaming although booking through the night confuses the system on occasion.

Pros: as many tables as I want for as many games as needed with the chairs, an Over Head Projector and whiteboards for those who want/need them and I can book the weekend through if my bookings are clear enough.

Cons: Campus Protection wanting to throw us out because they and the booking system are not on speaking terms, there is a club above the seminar rooms at night so there is the occasional drunk that wanders in and collapses or worse attempts to show interest.

(Un)fortunately over the last six months, those rooms have been booked out by other societies so the venue we were assigned to was The Nun's Chapel, one of 3 on campus. It is not this place but looks exactly like it, only difference the the roof is wooden and the floor carpeted. We also play Magic: The Gathering in there on Tuesdays and have hosted a 20 man LAN.