Need advice on game tables

[mas]

Well now that I have a good video game room with the everdrives for my systems, I think it's time to look into making a family game room.
I have a buddy making me an arcade cabinet with mame so I'm good on that but I need help figuring out on what type of gaming activity I should choose. For now I can only do one. It's a toss up between air hockey, fooseball, or pool table.
I don't know anything or any good brands or the pro or cons of these. I just want something easy pick up and play method. Any help would be great. Thanks

[ElkinFencer10]

Well now that I have a good video game room with the everdrives for my systems, I think it's time to look into making a family game room.
I have a buddy making me an arcade cabinet with mame so I'm good on that but I need help figuring out on what type of gaming activity I should choose. For now I can only do one. It's a toss up between air hockey, fooseball, or pool table.
I don't know anything or any good brands or the pro or cons of these. I just want something easy pick up and play method. Any help would be great. Thanks

I don't know about pricing or availability, but a good air hockey table is always the right choice.

[samsonlonghair]

Well now that I have a good video game room with the everdrives for my systems, I think it's time to look into making a family game room.
I have a buddy making me an arcade cabinet with mame so I'm good on that but I need help figuring out on what type of gaming activity I should choose. For now I can only do one. It's a toss up between air hockey, fooseball, or pool table.
I don't know anything or any good brands or the pro or cons of these. I just want something easy pick up and play method. Any help would be great. Thanks

I don't know about pricing or availability, but a good air hockey table is always the right choice.

Unless one of the choices is pinball, in which case pinball is the right choice. Otherwise, air hockey is always the right choice.

[ElkinFencer10]

Pinball goes without saying. Especially if you can find a Black Hole table. Black Hole ftw.

[flojocabron]

Pool table needs to be 7ft or bigger. Plus you need to have lots of space around it for trick shots and general ease of play. If your game room is small, a pool table might not cut it.

There are some smaller tables, or multi-game tables out there. But the balls and accessories are not regulation size and the legs are quite flimsy.

Pretty much all pool tables under $1000 are going to be china made or assembled from global components.

The pool table part for many of these are quite sturdy, but the legs are another story. Most pool table legs are wooden and in two parts. But lately I've seen them come in cheaper plastic.

You will need lots of friends to help you assemble a pool table. Its going to be better for you to assemble it in the room where its going to be rather than assembling it in another room and moving it to where you need it.

Also beware when ordering them and having them delivered to your home or picked up in store. Pool tables are notoriously bulky and a pain to transport. Damages can and will occur. From factory to warehouse to store to your home something is going to break or scratch.

It's going to feel like a waste of time and effort to order a $500 table for it to be damaged or defective and have to re-order it.

I know all of this because I work retail and have sold these game tables all the time.

[mas]

Ok so pinball machines are expensive as hell and pool tables are out. So air hockey might be the choice. Or maybe I can get a bubble hockey game table those were awesome in the arcade

[CRTGAMER]

Well now that I have a good video game room with the everdrives for my systems, I think it's time to look into making a family game room.
I have a buddy making me an arcade cabinet with mame so I'm good on that but I need help figuring out on what type of gaming activity I should choose. For now I can only do one. It's a toss up between air hockey, fooseball, or pool table.
I don't know anything or any good brands or the pro or cons of these. I just want something easy pick up and play method. Any help would be great. Thanks

With your history of up and down buying and selling, maybe spend a day at the local pizza parlor? Have a get together with friends and family and see which table really hooks everyone.

We had a combo FoosBall, Pool Table and Air Hockey table. Granted it was not regulation and the Air Hockey was non powered, but it was a higher end combo table. Of the three boards, the Foosball is the most addicting and can go two or three or four players at once. Even so, after a while the video games take over again.

At least your Arcade Cabinet is a Mame machine, this adds versatility with the wide variety of games and not eventually burned out by just one game. You can even add PC games to work with the Arcade controls, LIMBO comes to mind.

[mas]

@crtgamer, with all due respect please stop bringing up the past about me selling and buying. Those days have been long over. Don't bring that up. Honestly if I didn't sell off my collections last year I wouldn't be in my kitchen eating pizza writing this message in my house. Instead I would probably still be living in a basement with my wife and kids miserable and probaly buying games to make me feel better.
I got nothing but love for ya bro just no need to bring that crap back up. It's in the past.
As far as the arcade cab is concerned I'm going to be getting an x arcade or maybe a mini bar arcade. What ever I can afford to make this work and it's going in the Corner of my family room.

Right now im feeling since my game room is almost complete, I'm going to get an air hockey table. It will take time but I can get it. I almost bought one today and if it was in really good condition I would of bought it but the housing underneath was cracked and it wasn't blowing enough air and the metal frame was loose. Not going there and waste 80.00
So air hockey and maybe that bubble hockey or fooseball will do. I have enough room for both. But should I go to like a Sears? Or maybe an actual place that sell that kind of stuff and how much is a good quality on that stuff?
Also should I trust sites like eBay or craigslist on that kind of stuff?

[CRTGAMER]

Okay apologies. Maybe spend some time on one at that Pizza Parlor to make sure of which table you'll enjoy for years? After all, the full sized tables are a big investment not to mention a bit of a bear to deliver.

As mentioned, you can get a decent combo unit though most will not get the same level as at the Pizza Parlor or whatever Arcades that still exist. Craigslist a good option if you don't mind used and can fully test before the purchase.

[mjmjr25]

If you're going Air Hockey you need to spend $1,000+ (unless you find a good deal on a used one). The ones $100-500 are trash - they will not last. The $100 ones will last a week, the $500 ones a month, but all will have problems. You don't need an industrial one like in a sprots bars, but you want a high end home version and those are $1-2K.

Foosball is a little cheaper for a very nice table with quality components and solid base.

I'm partial to Ping Pong and you can get a tournament level table in the $400 range. You can get something serviceable for the home in the $250 range.

Avoid combo tables - they are all garbage. I've never seen a nice one. Not even the $500+ units are well reviewed.