Set Up a Game Room

• Step 1 Develop the big picture

  Plan your game room by answering these questions:

  Who do you want to use your game room?
  An adults’ retreat differs greatly from the place you send your kids and their friends to keep them occupied. A game room for both adults and children is yet another place. Deciding who you want in your game room, how many people you want there and what you want them to do guides all your other decisions.

  What games and features do you want?
  Sketch out your game room. Pick a game room staple such as a pool or foosball table as a centerpiece. Then add a dartboard, poker table, couch, television, video game system and whatever else you want. Consider features such as a wet bar, karaoke stage or dance floor. Step 2 lays out typical space requirements for several types of game room equipment and features.

  Where can you put it?
  Basements can make ideal game rooms, but they usually require remodeling or finishing. Your attic could also be converted, but hauling large game equipment up there could be difficult. Setting up your game room in your garage probably means extending central heating and air conditioning and insulating the walls and ceiling. An underused dining room or guest bedroom often makes the best candidate for a game room because it needs the least construction or remodeling. Write down the pros and cons of each location to guide your choice.

  What look do you want?
  Does your dream game room have the dark wood and aristocratic air of an English mansion, the feel of a 50s diner or the flash of a video arcade? The walls, flooring, furniture, fixtures, lighting and other design details depend on your answer. Look through decorating magazines, game equipment catalogs and web sites for pictures of rooms you like. If you just plop some game stuff into your basement with no regard for achieving an overall effect, your game room will look like you just plopped some game stuff into your basement.

  What’s your budget?
  Shop around to gather prices for the game equipment and furnishings you want. Get estimates and material costs for any necessary construction or remodeling. Even if you take on the remodeling yourself, you may need to hire pros for electrical and plumbing work. If your dreams overwhelm your checkbook, trim back your plan while retaining the things you want most.

• Step 2 Make room for fun

  You need adequate space to play and enjoy your games. Lay out your game room accordingly.

  Pool: A full-size pool table measures 4-1/2 feet wide by 9 feet long. Other popular table sizes are 4x8 feet and 3-1/2x7 feet. Allow at least 5 feet (60 inches) of clear space on each side and each end of any pool table when using standard cues about 58 inches long.

  Foosball: Foosball tables vary in size, but 2x4 feet is typical; pick one that fits your room and budget. Provide 5 feet of clear space all around any foosball table.

  Table tennis: A full-size ping-pong table measures 5x9 feet. Leave 10 feet clear at each end and 5 feet clear on each side.

  Air hockey: Air hockey tables range in size from 2x4 feet folding models to 4x8 feet arcade-size models. Allow at least 5 feet on each end and side for players. Installing a floor outlet under the table prevents players from tripping over the table’s power cord.

  Shuffleboard: Home shuffleboard tables vary from 2 to 3 feet wide by 9 to 14 feet long. Players need at least 3 feet of clear space on each end.

  Poker: An oval casino-size card table measures 3-1/2x8 feet, while an octagonal table typically measures 4 feet across. When placing your poker table, make sure to leave enough space all around so players can get into their seats.

  Casino games: Craps tables range from 8 to 16 feet long and are about half as wide as they are long. Some small roulette wheels can sit on a dining table; others approach 3 feet in diameter and weigh hundreds of pounds. Shop around to see what fits your space and budget.

  Darts: Place the center of the bull’s-eye 5 feet 8 inches from the floor. Mark the throwing line 7 feet 9-1/4 inches from the dartboard face and add another 2 feet behind the line for the player. You need a ceiling at least 7 feet high to prevent players from hitting the ceiling with the darts. Also remember to position any dart lanes so the darts don’t sail into or across doorways or toward people. An area about 8 feet wide handles four players.

  Air gun/airsoft range: To use full-power air guns indoors, you need at least 16 feet 7 inches between the firing line and the target, plus 3 to 5 feet behind the firing line for the shooter and a few feet behind the target for a BB or pellet trap. A range for low-power airsoft guns can be as short as 8 feet. Position your range so shooters don’t fire across or toward doorways or people.

  Golf: You can find putting mats and indoor greens to fit any size game room. Golf cages and simulators do not come in standard sizes, either, but do require more room. Check with dealers for space requirements.

  Chess, checkers and board games: Even the most elaborate chessboard has a fairly small footprint and can serve as a checkerboard and platform for board games. Regardless of how many tables you set up, allow enough room around each so players can slide their chairs in and out.

  Dance floor: For ballroom dancing, consider 16x20 feet the minimum size of your dance floor. Club-style dancing requires less space; figure about 5 square feet per person, with a minimum floor size of about 6x8 feet. Make your ceiling high enough so dancers can swing their arms overhead without literally raising the roof.

  Bowling: Yes, you can have a bowling alley in your home. For two regulation lanes, you need a flat, uninterrupted space of about 15x100 feet and a room with a 12- to 14-foot ceiling, along with a pile of money about that size. Setting up a Wii “bowling alley” requires 16-foot lanes, a cage and a projector and screen.

  Karaoke: Any stereo converts to a karaoke machine with the addition of a special disc player, microphones and TV. An easily stored all-in-one karaoke system takes up even less space. A 4x4, 8-inch high stage heightens the showbiz experience.

  Pinball machines and arcade video games: Classic pinball machines stand a little over 6 feet tall, extend 4-1/2 to 5 feet from the wall and measure about 30 inches across. Stand-up arcade video games are wider and stick out less. Leave about 3 feet in front of either machine for players.

• Step 3 Focus on details

  Settle a few final details to complete your plan.

  Walls and ceiling
  Depending on your game room’s location, you may want to install sound and thermal insulation in the walls and ceiling. A solid-core door blocks sound better than a hollow-core one.

  Flooring
  A concrete basement or garage floor needs special preparation before you lay other flooring, and any existing floor may require leveling. Dirt basements need both a subfloor and flooring. Hardwood makes the best dance surface, but vinyl, linoleum or laminated flooring works fine.

  Electrical
  Determine how much more electricity you need for your game room and equipment and add new circuits as necessary. Position outlets in the walls and floor so you don't have to run extension cords to games or equipment.

  Lighting
  Choose and place light fixtures so game table surfaces are clearly illuminated but players don’t have light shining in their eyes. Pendant lights work well in this regard. Track or down lighting helps create the muted atmosphere of an English mansion. Ceiling-mounted fluorescent lights give a 50s diner feel.

  Ventilation
  Install an air cleaner to minimize the haze from cigars and cigarettes and to prevent smoke from spreading throughout your house. You want an air cleaner that can change the room air 8-12 times per hour. To find the machine for this, multiply your game room’s volume (length times width times height) by the number of air changes per hour you want and then divide that number by 60. This produces an airflow rate measured in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. For example, a 20x25-foot room with an 8-foot ceiling needs an air cleaner with a minimum capacity of 534 CFM ([20 x 25 x 8] x 8 / 60 = 533.33).

  Plan for easy maintenance
  Vinyl, linoleum, tile and laminate floors clean easily. Similarly, countertops and tabletops made of laminate, glazed tile or solid material can stand up to spills, wet glasses and hot snacks without suffering permanent damage. Wainscoting, in addition to looking really game-roomy, helps protect the walls from scuff marks.

• Step 4 Build or remodel

  Roughly, building and remodeling follows this sequence:

  • Install necessary subflooring and underfloor plumbing.
  • Frame walls and partitions.
  • Install necessary electrical boxes, in-wall plumbing and HVAC ducts as necessary.
  • Run new wiring.
  • Install sound and thermal insulation in walls and ceiling.
  • Hang drywall for ceiling, then walls.
  • Tape, finish and prime drywall.
  • Install door jambs in rough openings.
  • Install base cabinets, bar or other islands, storage cabinets and wainscoting.
  • Lay flooring.
  • Hang doors and install trim.
  • Install electrical devices.
  • Install plumbing fixtures.
  • Paint walls and ceiling.

  With this in mind, decide whether you have the time, money and expertise to do all the work yourself, need to hire contractors for everything or do some of the work and contract out some of it.

• Step 5 Let the games begin!

  Once you have your room, complete the final details:

  • Move in your furniture and game equipment.
  • Set up game tables and machines and level them.
  • Add accessories such as scoreboards, pool-cue racks and glassware.
  • Put printed copies of game rules in an easy-to-find binder.
  • Store steel-tipped darts, air guns and pellets or BBs in a locked cabinet.
  • Play.
  • Follow manufacturers’ recommendations for maintaining equipment.
  • Play. Repeat as necessary.

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