Saturday, June 16, 2012

The Ultimate Gamer Man Cave

A friend on Facebook posted this link to what I would consider the Ultimate D&D Gamer's Lair:

Acaeum forum link

Now, without a doubt in my mind, this is awesome. There is a part of me that questions a number things within the room.

1. He's not a collector, he's a hoarder. Seriously, who needs multiple copies of each of the original 1st edition rulebooks? And if there are copies of each printing, there is a fine line between exquisite collector and obsessive compulsive. Plus, I can say with absolute certainty that no one needs TWO Glantri boxed sets.

2. The Dungeons and Dragons movie might be ridiculed a bit too much. I remember our group went to go see it in the theatres and everyone enjoyed themselves. That being said, having multiple props from the movie is again, freakish. Maybe something from Krull? Perhaps Gladiator or 300 would be an interesting change of pace.

3. All that money towards fake walls and mood lighting, yet that table looks a bit small for my tastes.

4. Let's sell off those duplicates on eBay buy up some Dwarven Forge, some base terrain hills akin to the old Geo Hex and a prominent place for some nice minis

Let's take a look at a few gaming lairs that have caught my eye and discuss their merits and flaws
The  first, which I'll call beautiful mess has the gaming table double as the painting table, which is cool, but at 4'x4', it's a bit small.  The mish-mash of books, models, random comics above the doorways, and a  stormtrooper helmet just sitting there means a) this room is a heavily used geek temple, and b) the influence of the temple does not extend beyond its doors. I love the pegboard hoarding the recent purchases.

The massive room is the envy of most.  A simply giant room, above ground no less, so no basements.  Huge table.  Classy shelves, and enough friends to empty those Jack Daniels bottles without personally needing a kidney transplant.

 The room I first described as spartan looking is definitely a misnomer.  By spartan I believe I'm directed towards the mass of lead hidden behind organization.  The game table built upon cabinets is genius.  The CD cases shrink the large room's look, but hide so... much.... stuff.

The wargamer in me prefers something more utilitarian in use, practical in reference, and sparsely yet tastefully decorated.

My preferred gaming lair would be larger than the first room I posted. In fact, I would want it spread out throughout the house.
A). I want a full sized pool table. Not one of those pool hall sized ones. A giant one robber barons would own. I would have giant piece of plywood double sided in felt to lay on top of it. This should be able to cover both role playing and war gaming needs.
B) a multi purpose bar, close enough to get to, but not the focal. Long enough to covet drinks and spread out any ordered take out food. The wall decorations can be a subtle mix of gaming (original KODT art), mixed with sports memorabilia and antique beer knock- knacks.
C) a painting area. Perhaps a 2x2 area within the house workshop. A safer place to store Dremels and x-acto blades with little ones running around.

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