I am an avid board game hobbyist, one that not only currently has two shelves in his lounge room full of games, one that not only has standing games nights twice a week, but one that loved them so much I got a job at a board game shop where I thrived and met some lifelong friends. So finding the space in my life for a board game table wouldn't be too much of a challenge.
This started with seeing board game tables online. They are effectively casino style drop down tables with a nice felt or neoprene surface inside. However because a lot of people don't have space in their house for two tables, they often have covers or table tops that come off to reveal the gaming surface whist still allowing it to be used as a regular table. This design excited me so much and it was something I knew I wanted in my home to make game nights even more special. However brand new tables designed like this start at $1500AUD and only go up from there especially if you have to pay shipping and import into Australia like I would have to. As a University student obviously this is outside my budget.
So I search the wonderful forums of Boardgamegeek.com (BGG) to find other peoples homemade design. Most were too labour intensive or required too much money in materials to start a project and I was looking to reduce risk. Then I found a design that used an existing Ikea table with framework for an extendable table top and used that to lay down the inside surface.
So about a week after seeing that I bought a lovely table for cheap on FB Marketplace. And quickly removed the pretty good condition top to start creating a framework to lay the play surface onto.
This was my first time using pocket holes and they are now a staple of my amateur woodworking arsenal. I bought a cheap and nasty jig for $20 and it did amazing and allowed me to hid screws very well.
I then cut the restrained decking timber that was extremely cheap and a beautiful colour to create the leaning surface. Other designs on BGG often don't include anything and make you lean on the frame itself and I knew I didn't want this.
Next was creating the play surface itself. This was just made out of MDF. Getting it in was pretty tricky as the edging overlaps the inside. I don't remember how the heck I did it but I do remember a lot of struggling and maybe a couple swears. However once it was in I never had to worry again so I banished the memory.
Now finally the play surface. You can buy lovely fancy materials specifically for board and card games like speed felt and neoprene however both of these are expensive and special order only. I really set myself to make this project in a weekend and keep it cheap. So I found Scuba with attached felt at Spotlight on sale and it worked fantastically for only $30AUD a meter. It has a nice spongey bottom to help grab cards from the table however still has a soft felt surface for cards to slide along on top. I was very happy with the colour of the maroon, it really looked great with both the timber but also made games on it absolutely pop.
I simply pulled the slightly stretchy material around the edge of the play surface and stapled it to the underside to keep it taught. This worked fab and I wouldn't have done it another way.
Now the original table top simply lays on top. I screwed small block of wood into two of the corners of the underside of the table so that once its lined up it falls in and doesn't move around. And when you want to play games you simply lift off the entire table top. One great feature is when you play something very long and need to eat you can simply place the table top on top of the game to eat which I found very coinvent.
The astute might notice my omission of cup holders. This was both due to hubris and simply making sure I get the project done in a weekend by not overcomplicating the design. Personally I hate the look of inset cup holders into the rail and since I intended to use this like a dining table I needed it to look normal when not in use as a gaming table so building something that permanently attaches to the side was out. After breaking the fourth glass we had knocked over that was sitting on the floor I knew I had to find a solution.
My solution ended up being this fiddly system I designed of hidden rails with outset 3D printed holders. The main issues I ended up having with this were actually putting the cup holder in when I needed them as there wasn't much space behind and under so manoeuvring it into place can be a little tricky. Still no glasses were ever hurt with these holders and they never broke so they were an okay if not quite creative solution.
The good:
This is one of my favourite projects I've ever built. I build it in a weekend for only $200AUD whilst borrowing my Dad's tools. Like that's just an absolute bargain. Especially for someone I could have never owned at the $1500 starting price.
The rails worked out at the perfect height since they were the thickness of the table top its exactly where you want to lean height wise and the table top now only sits a tiny bit higher but nothing noticeable.
Now you might notice that the table leg hardware is now exposed. Honestly, I never once noticed in my year and a half of using this table biweekly. I did however notice not being able to find pieces under the lip but as long as you have someone on both sides of the table you can both lookout for each other haha. This was a rare occurrence though and much less annoying then I had feared it would be.
The bad:
I was never quite happy with the cup holder system, it was fiddly, annoying, and never filled anyone with confidence that their drink would stay away from the cold tiles.
There are other little nagging things but all so small and so forgivable for the low time and money I put into this project and more importantly the sheer fun and novelty I've gotten out of it.
My Advise:
If you are interested in a project like this just pull the trigger. Its so easy and can be made entirely with hand tools in a weekend. I was so happy with mine and always filled me with joy to play on it and even to use as a regular table.
Besides a little 'just do it' my advise is to make sure your leaning height is correct. It should be the height of the normal table top as that's where you feel comfortable leaning. If its too high you'll feel like you need to reach over the ledge to get to your board game on the inside and that can feel pretty unfun.
I am so proud of this project. Here are some beautiful pictures in use.
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