Need help / opinions on game table shape

[Dom C]

I currently have an 8'x4' wooden train-layout table that I use(d?) for gaming. I used to run 6-7 player tables, in which this worked great for.

However, over the past three years or so, not only has my group shrank down to 4 players (so 5 total people instead of 8) but so has my inclination to be 8' away from my players. One day about a year ago the game room became unavailable so I ended up playing at my (smaller) rectangular dining room table.

We never moved back. Being closer together made the game more enjoyable - or at least that's how it felt.

I then went to GenCon and ran at a 6' circular table for the first time. Now I want to get back to the game room and revamp the space and

I'm having a hard time deciding:

Circular table or smaller rectangle?
Kidney Bean?!?

I'm thinking a 5' or 5-1/2' circular table would be ideal for a table of 5 people. Anyone with experience or opinion on this matter, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!
Dom

[veector]

Dom C wrote:

I currently have an 8'x4' wooden train-layout table that I use(d?) for gaming. I used to run 6-7 player tables, in which this worked great for.

However, over the past three years or so, not only has my group shrank down to 4 players (so 5 total people instead of 8) but so has my inclination to be 8' away from my players. One day about a year ago the game room became unavailable so I ended up playing at my (smaller) rectangular dining room table.

We never moved back. Being closer together made the game more enjoyable - or at least that's how it felt.

I then went to GenCon and ran at a 6' circular table for the first time. Now I want to get back to the game room and revamp the space and

I'm having a hard time deciding:

Circular table or smaller rectangle?
Kidney Bean?!?

I'm thinking a 5' or 5-1/2' circular table would be ideal for a table of 5 people. Anyone with experience or opinion on this matter, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!
Dom

Personally I've never liked round tables. Too egalitarian. As a DM I always feel like anywhere I sit is incorrect.

[Dom C]

veector wrote:

Personally I've never liked round tables. Too egalitarian. As a DM I always feel like anywhere I sit is incorrect.

Interesting. I hadn't considered your point at all, really. I see DMing as arbitration position that doesn't require me to be "at the head of the table". In fact, one of the primary draws I have to a circular table is that most people are relatively closer to me as DM - saves on problems with people not being able to hear what I say. It also creates more space in the center for game maps / minis.

Have you tried playing at a kidney-bean-shaped table?

[Jerry Wright]

Has anyone checked out the Agyris Game Table?

The link is:

here

Too much for my budget, not to mention the lack of space in my living room.

But I did build a 2' x 4' formica-topped table about 8 in. high, with lights underneath so players can see their character sheets when we game in a darkened room. It sits on a 4' x 7' dining table with six chairs around it.

Because of the elevated gaming surface, there's a lot more room for player's character sheets, game books and dice, without sacrificing room for minis and maps. The clearance underneath is about 6 inches, which doesn't seem like a lot, but the angle of view combined with the lights makes character sheets and books easy to see.

The 2' x 4' space is ideal for a vinyl battle-mat, or we can roll that up an draw on the formica surface with dry-erase pens. The elevated surface brings the players closer to the action, and a few three-dimensional terrain features made of model magic and papier mache greatly add to the illusion.

The overhead light hangs like a swag lamp from the ceiling. The table lights are white Christmas lights behind a 1" x 2" skirt. Both sets of lights operate on dimmer switches built into the small table.

The small size of the gaming surface makes it easy to store in the hall closet when we need to use the dining table for, well, dining.

[Susan Draconis]

You could try the best of both worlds, the oblong table. We game at a maybe 6' by 3' foot oblong-ish table. Not sure what the shape is called, it's pill-shaped. Some dude was selling it. Fits four people comfortably, seven or eight people if they squish, ideally its maximum is five or six friendly players and the DM. The oblong-ness allows for more people in a smaller space because you don't have that corner stabbing anyone in the gut or people's character sheets getting in each other's way.

I've also done coffee tables but those only work if you're under 35, I've noticed that after that people are less willing to sit on piles of pillows strewn on the floor. Coffee tables are excellent though, it's like a normal gaming table except I can reach stuff. ::is short::

Every table I have ever gamed on either came with a furnished apartment, was less 'table' and more 'expanse of floor', or was acquired cheap and/or free from a guy. You seem to have a budget at all and likely won't benefit from my advice but I suggest checking craigslist if you're in the US and even if you are just looking for tables waiting to be found. A found table has a history, a story to tell. They tend to do well when they can take part in stories told, in games played, in dice rolled.

[Adam Daigle]

This may not help, but I don't have a seat at my table.

The four guys I run the game for sit at the table, two on each side, while I stack my stuff on another piece of furniture at what would be the head of the table. I don't sit down the whole game and pace around the table. At times, I even use the player's dice to roll the attacks/skill checks/etc against them with their own dice.

I've found that standing creates a strong sense of 'command presence' and when pacing even a bit of suspense and intimidation. When we are simply roleplaying, I draw back to my resources furniture or even bring the group outside for a smoke break while still staying 'in game' for the 'break'.

I've always felt that sitting at the head of the table reinforces a negative sense of table control and always felt like I could tell a better story being a roaming narrator. Even with a small group, if you have the space in the room in which you game, a large table could easily support the dramatic elements needed in a game. (Not to mention, my group loves to take up all possible table real estate with books as it is, so the bigger the better.)

[Jal Dorak]

I've done similar things Daigle:

For long periods of roleplay, I like to take my players away from the table. They bring a d20 and their character sheet, just in case, but otherwise spend a good hour or more with freeform roleplaying - also a great way to start a campaign and get people in character!

This might not work depending on your physical tastes, but for my year-plus epic game we played the entire game on the carpet, with a small coffee table nearby for maps when necessary; sometimes I would pull the table between me and the players to disguise what I was doing better. It was really cozy, very similar in concept to a round table, but allowed us to be very modular. We played a few other games like that - it really helped when adding or removing players, and we were all about two feet away from each-other. It can be hard on the body though - extended sessions require frequent stretching breaks, depending on how many pillows you have. I'd recommend bean-bag chairs, something to lean against, or something on which to lie down.

Best part of all, it was totally free!

[Fatman Feedbag]

I found that the best is a circular table, but with the side the DM is on sawed off straight across - so the table is like a circle that's flat on one edge almost like a sun that's just starting to set.

Another one that worked realy well was a hexagon.

[Michael Gear]

If I ever get the space to designate a game room/area; I'll, likely, shop for a poker table of some kind. My group has consisted of the same 4 people for the past 3 years, so I don't need a lot of seats. Depending on how much flow you want to put into it, there is plenty of furniture grade options out there. Otherwise, I may look into a folding model like the one at:

[url=http://www.cardroomsupply.com/84tehoempo2f.html[/url]

I like the idea of giving everyone a cup holder, may save a book or character sheet from sticky-wet badness.