I recently decided to transform the “reading room” into a proper game room. It’s a small room that is technically an extra bedroom because it has a closet but it is so tiny you could barely fit a twin bed and a dresser in there. Originally it was a changing room, and then a reading room for bedtime stories and milk, but over the past year it has not seen much use.
I’m not sure why I didn’t get the idea sooner, but what motivated me was getting a cat and the realization I could never play a boardgame in an open space again. This tiny room with a door and a large closet is perfect for the task, and it’s down the hall from the bedroom which seems like a small thing but since I usually play before bed being able to immediately walk down the hall and turn in is nice. I’m trying to keep an open mind and really think about what will work best for the space rather than latch onto any preconceived notions of what works or is needed in a gaming space. I want to keep the space as open as possible.
I’d put off getting a formal gaming table for a while because I was never sure where I was going to play and I liked the versatility of using a folding table and a tabletop. I’ve already encountered a situation where I have a multi-session game set up and find myself also wanting to play some fillers on the side and I’m trying to think about options for switching between surfaces that do not include the big deluxe Gaming Table thing. I’m dabbling in RPGs right now and the space needs are very different than if I had say Arkham Horror set up for multi-session play. I could have a small fold-out or even TV tray or small computer stand that allows me to have multiple surfaces and move things around as needed.
Multi-session is the only way I’ll ever manage to play longer games, so I’m still willing to try to find a setup that works for me in that regard.
I’ve begun slowly moving my games into the closet and I made a “community” bit box that should contain whatever bits I need for my many PNP games, so I can streamline those down to printables for shelf space/storage and just dig around in the bit box for whatever tokens or dice I need during any particular session. I think having all the games stashed in the closet, and current games on a small shelf, is a good delineation.