SiLOSSiLOS

Building a Game Table with Felt and Rails

About this photo
‹ Back
die
1

1Felt is doing real work

Billiard tables use a tightly woven worsted wool called baize specifically because it gives a consistent, low-friction, non-slip surface; the same logic is why a felt or baize insert on a game table keeps dice, cards and small pieces from wandering the way they do on bare wood. Felt itself is a matted, pressed textile, and in its natural-fiber form it dampens vibration and absorbs sound, which is the physical reason a die stops instead of skittering.

2

2The rail matters more than people think

Pool tables surround the play surface with vulcanized rubber cushions specifically to keep the action contained inside the boundary; a game table's raised lip or rail does the same job for a rolling die or a knocked card, at a much smaller scale. Dice are thrown from the hand or from a cup, tray or tower for the same reason; a rail turns the whole table into the tray.

3

3Cards want the opposite of dice

Poker tables are covered in baize or a slicker speed cloth specifically so cards slide easily across the surface, the reverse of what you want from dice. A table that hosts both usually picks a lower-nap cloth than a pool table would and accepts a little drag on the deal.

4

4Two ways people actually build one

Some people go all the way: a real slate or MDF core, a stretched felt or baize top, a routed insert for game boxes underneath the surface. Others just drop a folding felt-topped panel onto an existing dining table for game night and put it away after. Both count; the difference is whether the room has to give up a table full time. Whichever you build, the height comes from the chairs: tables run 18 to 30 inches because seating does, and a felt top dropped on the coffee table is the 18-inch version, fine for kids, hard on adult backs.

5

5The case for bothering at all

An extension family-science office makes the argument for a regular game night plainly: rolling dice, shuffling cards and moving pieces build hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills in kids, and families that keep up frequent get-togethers like game nights and family dinners show up in study after study with larger vocabularies, higher reading scores and better emotional well-being. A table that's always ready removes the one excuse that usually wins.

Explore this area
HomeHouseGardenFarm