What You Should be Looking for in a Game Table

"The other night my board game told me that I needed to purchase another table. Funny...it had always been the other way around."

For a long time I've convinced myself that it's time to buy a new board game, another board game, and when that's happened, another one. I have to limit my visits to board game stores because I know the moment I walk in I'll see a board game that I immediately want to buy - HAVE to buy. What if it's not there the next time? What if it goes out of print? What if this? What if that? The thing that I have not often thought of (and quite frankly, something that rarely comes up), is the thought of buying a new table. But as I was sitting down to play Trickerion: Legends of Illusion the other night (a review that will be coming shortly), we were having quite a hard time fitting everything in the space that we had. Even after rearranging the boards and components we were still having trouble balancing everything, and it was frustrating.

There is no magic size!

It's difficult to base a game table size off of board game size alone. As of today, there is no standard size for board games. Some are big and take up a lot of space. Others don't need very much room at all. Unless all your board games are near the same size, it can be hard to know what size table to get based off what size of board games you will be playing. Buy a table that's too big, and you'll be struggling to reach game components. Get one that's too small, and the board won't even fit.

Of course, there is always the option of getting a table that adjusts in size (an option that is becoming more common among gamers).

Here are some questions to consider when trying to find that right size table:

• How many people do I usually play games with?
• Do my games generally have a lot of components?
• Do I prefer a round or rectangle table?

Also, check out these different sizes and see what you think!

Round Tables (measurements are equal to the diameter of the table)

• 36" seats 4 people comfortably
• 42" seats 5
• 54" seats 6
• 60" seats 8

Rectangular Tables

• 30"x48" seats 4 people comfortably
• 30"x72" seats 6
• 30"x96" seats 8 (10 if you include the ends)