In the grand scheme of things, any table will do when you’re looking to play a board game or card game right? Not all the time. In some cases, people might opt up for a smaller table and that can present a few problems. So before you settle down for a small or crowded table, consider these things as they will impact how you play and enjoy the game.
Think about the availability of Cheating
In some traditional board games, you won’t run a risk of cheating; however this becomes more of a problem when it comes to card games. People might feel tempted to look at other player’s hands and if you’re on a small table, it can be challenging to shield your cards from other players.
Think about player comfort
On the note of peeking at other player’s cards, chances are likely that there isn’t a big distance between players. This can impact a player’s ability to enjoy the game if they are hitting other people by accident or have to shift about constantly to get into a comfortable position.
Consider the game you are playing
When you have a small table, you are limiting yourself considerably on what sort of games you are able to play. While you can save money on having a smaller table, your pool of games you can play will be limited as well to more simplistic games. Those namely being card games primarily.
Not that that is a bad thing, but there are some great large board games that require a lot of space in order to be enjoyed fully.
Think about the ease of knocking things over/difficulty picking up pieces
While there are some other distinct advantages of a smaller table, they do come with some drawbacks. For example, a smaller table makes it easier for players to reach for pieces, cards placed in the center, and so on. But what if the board game has multiple pieces or a lot of moving parts to it? It can be really easy for players to knock over pieces by accident while trying to move their own piece. That or maybe they run into challenges with picking up cards.
Regardless, a smaller table while making reaching easier can cause a few minor accidents that disrupt the game.
Consider other venues
With board games on the rise, there are plenty of stores and cafés devoted to places for people to play their board games, and many of these facilities have board games of their own. But they also come equipped with some respectably sized tables as well. This can be a fantastic alternative to playing at your house on a small and cramped table.
Consider table organizers
Card holding rack systems to hold cards/tiles/tokens (like überStax), little bowls to hold game pieces (like überTrayz), and other ideas help reduce table clutter, allow everyone to see community cards/tiles, and free up your hands for beverages and snacks.
Small tables have ups and downs
A table is everything and depending on your group of friends and what games you play, a small table may be enough. But consider some of these factors as peoples interests change and it might be nice to have a larger table for when those moods hit.