If you’ve set aside a spare bedroom or den to turn into your home’s games room, you may be left wondering just what sorts of amusements to put in it. You probably have a couple favorites in mind-pool tables, video game consoles and darts are popular-but if you’re left with extra space and you aren’t sure how to fill it up, consider these lesser-known but super-fun items:

Poker Tables
With the explosive popularity of poker, card nights are becoming more and more common. If you’re the type who loves to host, a foldable card table and a quality set of clay poker chips will provide hours upon hours of entertainment.

Shuffleboard
Shuffleboard isn’t just for retirees-it’s an exciting, fun-filled game of skill that players of all ages enjoy. If billiards aren’t your thing and you want a game table to fill up the empty floor space, shuffleboard tables are much less expensive and don’t require quite as much room.

Chess and Backgammon
Many people enjoy games with a strong intellectual component. If you’ve got a card table and want some inexpensive alternate sources of entertainment, chess and backgammon sets are very affordable. There’s a reason why these two games have endured in popularity for centuries, and they deliver a ton of bang for your entertainment buck.

Board Games
Back before people played video games all the time-yes, there was such a time not that long ago-board games were enormously popular. With their retro appeal, board games are making a comeback in a big way. Best of all, you can find plenty of cheap options at secondhand shops and garage sales if you don’t want to go to the expense of buying a new board game you don’t anticipate using all that often.

Foosball
Another classic, foosball is great fun for two or four players. Dating back as far as the 1890s, foosball tables are available in a wide range of variations that include both soccer and hockey themes. They make fantastic additions to any games room in need of some hand-crafted flair.

Really, when it comes to stocking up your games room, you’re limited only by your own imagination. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your games room should offer a varied range of activities; your games room won’t be a lot of fun if you and all your friends get bored of playing the same old thing every time.

By Alex Rover
Alex Rover specializes in games room design. He recognizes the importance of pool tables and poker tables in modern games rooms. When he’s not designing, he’s sharing his tips with the readers of HomeScapeFurnishings.com.