Home Made Gaming Table "Topper"

Disclaimer: I have never built anything out of wood before, and I know this isn't the best table out there by a long stretch, but I was pretty proud of my achievement!

Note I changed the design a little after I had built this, see Part 2 here for the changes and Part 3 for when I added lights

So, I REALLY wanted a Gaming Table - I have a friend with one, and its awesome, but there was zero way I could afford one. Even the Kickstarter "toppers" were out of my league, so I figured there must be a way I could make something. Somehow.

I spent ages thinking about it, googling things, browsing the BGG forum and looking at the tables other (far cleverer and skilled) people had made and posted. And despite my lack of any DIY skills whatsoever, I decided I should just go for it.

We have a small IKEA extendable dining table at the moment (which is a reasonable size when extended), so I didn't need to make a completely new table (plus I had no idea how) - so instead I decided to make a Table Topper - something that would sit on top of the table, but give the same look and experience as having a Gaming Table.

Willow sitting on the A Feast for Odin rules, which is on our extendable IKEA table

("If I fits, I sits" is the Cat Motto)

First of all I drew out an initial plan (which was in itself an effort, and took me about 10 different pieces of paper before I finally managed to make it look vaguely similar to what was in my head!).

The initial idea was that it would have an inner frame which would sit on the table top, with an outer frame connected to the inner frame, which would be longer than the edge of the table, and would stop it moving about. I would have a hinged section at each end that would fold up under the table and lock on to the sides, to hold it firmly in place.

The actual table top itself would be a custom cut piece of felt, with a rubber anti-slip mat underneath to keep it from moving (and to provide a cushion so you could pick cards up easily) - and both mat and felt would sit directly on the existing table. The frame would then go around the table edge, to give the illusion of a full gaming table.

This was how I was playing initially on the table

First of all I went out and bought some red felt, and the rubber mesh backing, and tried this out (using table cloth clips to hold it in place). This wasn't as easy as it sounds - it took me weeks to find somewhere, and in the end I was shopping in Dunelm (a UK haberdashery - if a haberdashery is a place where they sell cutesy home furnishing type things) where I happened upon their fabric section. 

They cut felt to your size (90cm wide max - the width of my table!) for about £5 a meter. They also sell the rubber anti-slip matting for the same price.

I also picked up some table cloth clips to hold it down and try it out.

Not bad..

I invited some friends round and we had a test game to make sure we were happy with the base! We were. I lost.

Once I was happy with the topping it was time to attempt to build something.. as I mentioned at the start I have never built anything out of wood before. I am a health care analyst by profession, and spend my life in front of a PC, and the idea of doing something like this was frankly terrifying! There isn't much call for Wood working skills in a standard UK NHS hospital.

But I figured at the end of the day, its just a giant game insert - which I make all the time out of foamcore, so.. what the hell, just go for it!!

Here is the initial purchase of wood, with assistance from the Oz and Willow.

(Full disclaimer - I cocked up. For some strange reason whilst at the store I got it into my head I needed 4 pieces to make 2 sections, and when I got home and went to mock up the table I realised I was 2 pieces short and had to go back out again!)

I used the table as my guide, and laid out the first "inner" layer of wood around the edge. I had decided to scrap the hinged idea, and just build two sections, with a hook to hold them tight together.

I then drilled two holes into each side and screwed these together to form my initial "U" frame for the first half, as you can see below.

The next step was adding the outer frame, which would hold it onto the table when playing. I used wood glue and screws to attach these. 

The idea was that the first frame (the inner frame) would sit on the table top, with the second frame (the outer frame) extending down over the table edge to stop it sliding off.

Wood glue. Like PVA glue but.. actually it looked just like PVA glue. More expensive.

Once this was on, I then put a thin strip of pine over the top to act as an arm rest, and to cover up my messy joins!

Below shows both tops added, which were held in place with small tack nails and wood glue. I left a small "lip" on the inside of the frame, so I could add some LED light strips at a later date.

Below you can see the first half complete. I deliberately didn't cover up all of the underneath section at each end, so I could have the second half overlap it when it was put in place, to give it a more robust feel on the table top.

The second part was then put together in the same way

When the two were finished they could be lifted on and off quickly and easily (they were very light).

Here they are on the floor so you can get an idea of the size.

The next step was adding the clips (hooks) to each side, to hold them together on the table (note how terribly my sawing is!!). I later sanded this and it looked better. Ish.

Once the frame was complete I roped in a friend to help me sand it down, then decided to coat it in furniture wood wax to protect it. 

Unfortunately this gave a very light finish, and was very smelly. I really wanted it to be darker.

Below is how the completed frame looked on the table. The cloth will eventually go onto the table direct (over the rubber mat) and then the frame goes on top of that holding it in place.

Finally the felt (and rubber backing) was laid down, and the frame slotted over the top, and the hooks clipped together to hold it in place.

This is the how the table looked at the end of the first day, with Terraforming Mars christening it, and Oz watching on!

I was pleased with this. Its very lightweight, easy to take on and off and pack away, and looks much better than I expected (imho anyway). But it still wasn't perfect, and I felt it could of been better.

In part 2 and 3 you can see how I changed my mind about some of the choices made above, and finished off the table top.

If you have any questions, let me know, or any suggestions on how to improve it.

Part 2 is here