How to Turn Your Basement Into a Game Room

Kids and adults alike love to play games. Whether it’s for relaxation, the spirit of competition, or simple fun, games are one of the biggest forms of escapist entertainment. As a homeowner, you can dedicate an entire area of your house to gaming. What better place to do it than in the basement?

The basement is out of everyone’s way, so your guests won’t have to bob and weave through board games and video game consoles on their way to the dining room at a dinner party. Also, all the noise you make while playing games won’t bother anyone else at home. Since basements are soundproof by nature, you can save money on soundproofing room costs. There‘s also the matter of isolation since immersing yourself in your game requires you to separate yourself from the rest of the house and focus on whatever it is you’re playing.

All of these reasons make the basement an excellent choice for a game room. So here are ways that you can bring your dream game room to life.

Getting the Lighting Just Right

The Importance of Lighting in Game Rooms

Lighting is going to play a huge role in your basement gaming room. Depending on the kinds of game room games you play, be they board games, video games, virtual reality, etc, you will need the proper lighting to prepare the room for all the fun you’re going to have. Depending on the primary focus of your game room, you will need to install complementary lighting that will be functionally and stylistically fitting. So not only are you getting enough illumination to play games, but the lighting also stylistically matches the wallpapers and the other interior design details of your basement.

For example, if your basement game room is mainly used for board games and other tabletop entertainment, you will need focused lighting on the table itself, as well as additional accent lighting around it. For a board game-centric game room, you should consider investing in platform lights that allow you to aim each spotlight individually depending on which area of the room will host the games. For video games, on the other hand, you will need to dim the lights or have your game room be completely devoid of light in order to immerse yourself in the screen. While you can have a central lighting fixture that will function as general lighting in your game room, a better option would be the more customizable platform lighting. 

Install Plenty of Storage

How to Organize Your Game Room

You’d think that a few board games, an arcade machine, a couple of consoles won’t take up much space in your basement. But you’d be surprised at how much storage your game room will need once it starts to get filled up with all sorts of boxes, cables, and gadgets. Even with just one video game console you already have to deal with remotes, batteries, controllers, headsets, a ton of cables, and the console itself. And let’s not get started on board games, each of which has dozens of tiny pieces that can easily get lost if your storage is not organized properly.

This is why you should install plenty of storage units where you can organize all your game room essentials. Have a separate cabinet for your board games and stack them up neatly on top of each other, making sure that each box is properly sealed. For video game consoles you should have a separate basket or drawer for each individual console, as well as all its wires, controllers, and other accessories. Card games usually come with their own little briefcases where the cards and accessory pieces fit perfectly into their own designated slots. But it’s still a good idea to have a separate drawer for the cases themselves. 

Seating Options for the Game Room

What Kind of Game Room Seating to Use

It goes without saying that to have proper fun, you need to be comfortable. The last thing you want is to be losing at a board game while your back is aching because of your uncomfortable seating. Luckily, you have a lot of options for comfortable seating in your game room. The first one that comes to mind is the floor itself which is perfect for huddling up around a board game on the coffee table. But since basements tend to have cold and rough flooring, it is recommended to invest in a soft rug or install carpet.

One way or another, you are going to have dedicated seating in your game room, which is likely going to be a sofa that can seat at least four people. This works exceptionally well for video games where everyone can sit next to each other, tugging at each other's controllers as they race across a virtual track or beat each other to a pulp in a fighting game. A fan favorite seating option for game rooms is bean bags. They are light, mobile, can fit in tight spaces, and are very soft and comfortable. While not everyone likes to sit on them for too long, they are undoubtedly some of the cushiest seating options one can ask for.

Game Room Essentials

Iconic Game Room Features You Should Include

Aside from board games and video game consoles, there are a ton of other game room essentials that you can have in your basement. Some of the best basement game essentials include pool, table tennis, a foosball table, and air hockey, which is why these three, in particular, have become staples of modern home entertainment halls. They not only make your game room more fun but can also double as some very classy interior features.

A full-sized pool table is the best example of this. It is without a doubt one of the classiest additions you can make to your game room and turn it into a suave lounge. Pool tables usually come with a lot of ornamentation and neat decorative details making them not only a fun pastime but also a treat for the eyes. On the more casual side, you have game tables like foosball and air hockey, both of which are very simple in their design and don’t offer as much versatility in the fun as say a console or VR would since you can only play a single game on them. But even with their lack of versatility in what games you can play, it’s still hard to imagine a game room without at least one foosball or air hocket table. 

Basement Arcade Ideas

Turn Your Game Room Into an Old-School Arcade

If you’re looking for a more video game-centric room in your basement, look no further than arcade cabinets. These are big consoles the size of a fridge with a single screen and buttons built into them. They usually only play one game, though there are some modern cabinets that allow you to load in your own games. Arcade cabinets evoke those old-school arcade vibes that you may remember from your childhood.

Few things are as satisfying as slamming your hands on the colorful buttons of the arcade cabinet, tugging on the round joystick, and shoving your competitor who stands right next to you. But arcade cabinets are not simply there to feed your nostalgia. These cabinets come with some very intricate artwork on their sides, so having a few of them will turn your basement game room into a video game museum. Also, the cabinets themselves are, to some extent, relics of an important era in entertainment history. So, naturally, real arcade cabinets get quite expensive as they are rare to come by. But if you do happen to have a few of them, know that in a few years they will become a lot more valuable than they are now.