"Gaming Table Types: Pro's and Con's" Topic

I've been playing AD&D since 1980. I've played it at kitchen tables, folding tables and chairs, camper tables (childhood friend's parents had a large pull-behind camper we used as a gaming hangout, parked in their backyard), in living rooms, on Ping Pong tables, and on a custom table built to my specifications. Which is the best?

Well, that depends upon your desires, needs, and your budget.

If you play Theater of the Mind, almost any furniture will work, but clipboards are a must, without a table, for players to write upon, updating their record sheets: clipboards typically can be found at the local Dollar Store.

If you play with miniatures, it varies, depending upon your overall needs. Let's take a look at the various options, past, and present.

Basic Tables:

*Every household has one of some size and shape, so likely no cost out of your gaming budget.

Sand Tables:
*2,000+ lbs. of sand, wetted to hold the shapes sculpted in the sand inside the heavy timber frame (wet sand becomes a mold source, over time);
*It is infinitely reusable, re-configurable;
*Simple design;
*Rugged;
*The sand can be spray painted to the needed colors (green for grasslands, brown for mountains, etc. -- reshaping it grinds up the paint);
*Sand gets everywhere (including the floor of the room it occupies!), and it scratches everything (paint from miniatures; the room's floor surface, etc.)!

Ping Pong Table:
*One of the most affordable.
*Standard size is 5 feet by 9 feet.
*Relatively inexpensive, starting around $250 USD for a table with its own leg support structure.
*Collapsible (most are) for stowage when not in use.
*Plenty of room for players and DM to spread out!
*Can be used for miniatures gaming as well as RPG sessions.
*I ran my AD&D games, along with miniatures gaming, on my Ping Pong Table for 20 years.
*I replaced the under-structure on my Ping Pong Table after it failed around four years into using it; I attached steamer trunk hasps to lock the two table halves together, to make it more stable, but it was still easy to bump, shake, and knock down miniatures and terrain pieces.
*I covered each half of the table in a faux leather, burgundy vinyl from the fabric store, pulled taught and stapled on the underside, when the surface became damaged from 10+ years use and spilling of drinks and food. It looked very nice, it was very durable, easy to clean, and it cost <$50 for the surface upgrade.
*Chessex makes their Mondomat (4.5 feet x 8.5 feet), which is basically designed for Ping Pong Tables (5 feet x 9 feet). Drawing out a dungeon, castle, or temple layout on a Mondomat is something of an experience. I keep one on my tabletop, nearly all the time; it is wet-erase, and I, as the DM, use it as a scratch pad, every game session I run -- talk about convenient!

Based on personal experience, I would say the best "gaming table" is the Ping Pong Table:
*Price and size ($250, for a basic, full-sized model), make it the easiest choice, if you can afford it, and you have the gaming space available to use and store it.
*Gaming on a 5-foot by 9-foot table, is fantastic: everyone typically has room to spread out their books, papers, drinks, dice, etc., without bumping into others, unless, of course, you have more than eight people sitting at it! LOL!

Custom Gaming Table:
*The cost -- anywhere from several hundred Dollars to $10,000 USD+.
*My table was extra-ordinary, featuring an electronic lift system which raises the entire 5.5 feet by 9.5 feet tabletop from 29 inches in height to 50", continuously variable, so I can raise/lower it depending upon whether we are sitting around it, or standing (an expensive option I truly appreciate having, and one which no other table maker has ever offered).
*A custom gaming table is the most fraught with risks: my table maker went out of business within a year of my purchase, and my warranty was voided -- I had to repair some defects myself! I was successful in fixing a structural defect, creating the solution with helpful friends, buying the needed parts, and doing the work with the help of friends, but it was a painful, expensive lesson learned.
*If you are not familiar with the story of Geek Chic gaming table company, read what happened to them, before you purchase an expensive, custom gaming table from anyone… Geek Chic was the pinnacle of custom gaming tables, for several years. And then, they closed their doors, their assets were seized, and many customers were out thousands of Dollars, with no way to get their already-paid-for-in-full products, or their money back.

Consider what is best for you, your gaming space, and your budget. The Old School Sand Table sounds great, and I was sorely tempted to build one, years ago (typically less than $500 USD in materials, requires only basic carpentry skills), until I heard their downsides.

Thought I'd share my experiences due to a general interest in gaming tables being common to all RPG gamers. Cheers!

For our game room we bought a pool table.

Just mentioning this since pool/billiard sellers likely are more stable businesses than the gaming table manufacturer described above. And of course when non gamer friends visit often they will play pool.

We got a fitted vinyl cover that includes internal styrofoam blocks to level everything. It's a faux leather greenish finish so we often put miniatures and terrain directly on it without bothering with another game mat. The only issue for RPG games is the tabletop is not perfectly rigid around the pockets so I make sure everyone has a rigid coaster for their drinks, and a clipboard to write on.

Another option, more expensive, is a dining table top which is a wooden top for the pool table.

As mentioned in your previous thread on the subject of gaming tables a Game Topper which come in a variety of sizes and styles with a variety of accessories available seems to be the best way to go. They are far less expensive than a made to order wooden table and provide an excellent experience.

We went to Habitat for Humanity and bought a huge, solid core wooden door and put legs on it.

Thanks for reminding me of them, Fitzovich.

TableTopper(TM): Forgot to mention these.

I know little of them. They are thick, firm, interlocking foam pieces, 4'x4', 4'x6', or 4'x8' configurations are available; they rest on top of an existing table (no leg system), and prices start at around $450 USD; they are portable, with an optional carrying case.

They sell 2-foot expansions, to lengthen the Topper. I do not see why a person could not buy additional 2-foot extensions, to increase the overall length beyond 8 feet, as long as you have support beneath it (see next paragraph).

I've only seen one from a distance -- never used one. I would recommend using a table beneath them, which closely matches the size of the Topper, as the thick foam is stiff, but still flexible, and using a 4-foot length table to support a 6- or 8-foot Topper, would not be a good idea. Cheers!

I had a friend make a table for me, 6x8 that folds in the middle and has sides that hold trays that can slide along any edge, wide enough to hold drinks and dice. I don't use it much. The legs are from conference tables but I have to make a middle support leg/stand where the piano hinge is. I spent a summer painting it white, 1" grid put on, and letters & numbers along the side for hidden placement in games. It takes at least 2 people to set up and works well for standing but sitting it's a little high. I still have it but it doesn't see much use compared to the hand-me-down conference tables and workstation tables I snagged.

Imade a pair of tables and a folding one. They're very basic but cheap.

I like cheap carpet for a surface.
Plain green.
I bought mine decades ago but it was pieces the carpet store were never going to sell to anyone else. I got them cheap.

I use a green indoor/outdoor carpet, cut down to fit my table. I just discovered that Wal-Mart, in the USA, carries a variety of indoor/outdoor carpets: both in peel-n-stick carpet 1-foot squares1-foot squares, as well as interlocking EVA Foam squares with carpet surfaces. All are less than $2 USD/sq.ft.

I use the anti-slip mats beneath my carpet piece, to keep it from moving during games. Works superbly.

I carved up open-cell foam into hills, using my Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter, covered that with left-over remnants of my carpet, to make matching, modular hills. I stack them, as needed, to create mountains. These stepped hills work great, match the 'ground cloth', perfectly, and they're durable, and easy to clean and use. Cheers!

One thing I will not recommend is what I had some years ago. A table covered with a full sheet of model railroad grass paper. This was heavy weight paper with dyed sawdust flocking glued to it. Looked absolutely splendid. But the texture was like playing on extremely coarse sandpaper. Lots of skinned knuckles, not to mention the wear on the figures. Plus the sawdust would shed.

THere is another option, and I kind of wish I went that route instead of 3d printing dungeon tiles for my caves? what may I ask?

The LARGE SCREEN TV build into a table!! controlled by a computer

For D&D I think it would be a wonderful thing to have, likely much easier in the long run then dungeon tiles

Don't think I would really like it for wargaming though!

I still might consider building one! would probably use a 55" to 65" TV and build it into a table. Ive seen a few on the internet a few times over the years, it looks like a great idea to me.

If anyone has used one, please comment!

Have not used one, but I have seen several on YouTube. I have also seen folks use a TV Projector, typically with it mounted on the ceiling, shining down on a white tabletop.

Both offer similar functionality: you move your mini's across the surface. The terrain is created prior, by the DM, and projected/shown, beneath the minis.

I looked into the projector idea, around 10 years ago. They were around $400 USD+. Back then, they used expensive ($200-$300) halogen bulbs, which did not have long lifespans. Projecting them required a longer range than was practical for my game room, at that time, so I passed.

For the TV-in-a-table, there are some sticking points to be aware of.

The table needs to be built around whichever size, make and model, of TV you employ -- they are all a little different in external sizes; modern HD TV's typically last 5-10 years, then you will likely have to re-work your table for the new TV's size and ports (locations vary on the back sides of each model of TV). Each TV will require an overlay of Plexi-Glass, to avoid scratching the TV's screen, and you do not want to place the miniatures atop the screen, itself, either, as they can be pressure sensitive; moving minis across the screen can cause permanent damage to the LCD screen.

I would recommend leaving a 4" margin on all sides of the TV you start with. This will allow you to use different TV's, in the future, without needing to do much, if any, re-work on your table, as you will have some cushion space to fit a larger/smaller TV into the table. I would further suggest using spacer blocks (custom to each TV model used) to elevate the TV above the bottom of the TV Well space, to allow for routing cables, as needed, between the TV and the well space; the TV will block any new holes you need to drill into the well's surface to re-route cables.

For both projectors, and TV's, the DM has to pre-create all of the terrain to be used, prior to each game. It can be a tremendous amount of work, and some expense to acquire all of the graphic images needed for diverse terrain setups.

They look absolutely superb, when done properly, but they're a lot of work to prepare for each game. Dungeon crawls will require some sort of software, such as Worldographer, to create your custom layouts.

I do both tabletop wargaming, with full, 3D terrain, as well as running 2e AD&D RPG sessions, with miniatures, and some terrain. For my RPG sessions, I mostly use a Chessex Mondomat, on my large, custom gaming table. For my RPG's, this is the most versatile, most useful system I've ever employed.

I ran a temple crawl, drawing it out with a yard stick, and Crayola Super-erase markers. It spanned around four feet across, with 1" = 5 feet, with miniatures. It was epic, it looked superb, with straight lines. I drew it ahead of time, covering it with sheets of paper, which I removed, as they explored it. What a blast! I used some 3D terrain pieces to spice it up, but mostly it was all 2D lines drawn.

Follow the path that entices you the most. I created this thread in the hopes that TMP'ers would be prompted to give careful thought to whatever system they choose to follow. I learned many lessons, the hard, expensive way. I hope whatever system you choose, that you will weigh the pro's and the con's, carefully, and that you will be happy with it. Cheers!

So while you have to create stuff with software, there is also a lot of maps, dungeons, wilderness ect that people have posted on the internet, that much would work for a lot.

Lots of work making dungeon tiles, or any other system people use.

I have CC2 but not good at it, and have to busy of late 3d printing and painting miniatures, but I intend to start map making again, for my world I used to use. I had a version of the world I had worked on for a long time ago, but map making, is almost something that a DM does for his own enjoyment, and not necessarily the players enjoyment, ( most Players could give a rats-arse about the world, and only want to Kill things… Arg.. anyway, I have found that using paper maps difficult to implement correctly, at least how I envision using the maps.

Im going to have to think about this, Ya, we all learn many lessons, that hard way, and hope to reduce some of the pain by reading others views!

If you have the space, I'm a big fan of the ping pong table due to its 9'x5' size, which is about as large as you can get and still reach your minis.I go with the indoor outdoor grass simulated carpet on that. But the scale you want to play and the types of battles you want to simulate are critical in your choice. I only play with 25mm armies. If I were doing only dungeon crawls or skirmish type games with "gangs" and small war parties like you have in Frostgrave of Silver Bayonet, a smaller table would be easier even at this scale. If you use 15mm or smaller, there isn't much need for a 9x5 table unless you are going for Borodino. I've also been thinking of getting prefab terrain maps (available on Amazon) for the grid pattern, and to reduce the friction when moving units, as I use magnetized bases on steel plates which will not slide on the carpet. I wish these maps would be manufactured at 9'x5', but so far they don't come that large or even at half that size (so you could fit 2 together).