Everybody likes to play games, for some, it's a pleasant occasional pass time, for some, it's a regular good-natured competition with friends and family, and for some, it can even be a career! For those who really love to play games, it can be hard to find the right spot in the home, sure the kitchen table is fine for a family board game, but what if you want to join a play-by-mail strategy game? You need to have a dedicated space where you can set up the board and counters and leave them in place until it's your next turn! What if you love billiards or ping pong? The garage is where those tables usually end up, but wouldn't it be neat if you had a room dedicated to games? Let's dream a little and consider what that might be like.

OK, so you want to make a game room. For the sake of fun let's just say you have a nice, big room in your home where you can make this happen, or have the means to construct an add-on, we are dreaming, right? One wall of the game room will be dedicated to your collection of board games, all displayed on nice new shelving so you can easily browse and pick your poison for the evening's session. Before the advent of computer gaming, games came in cardboard boxes full of little counters, rulebooks, tokens, dice, and folding boards, you might be able to buy some of the classics off of the internet now, or get lucky at a garage sale or an opportunity shop. You can still get famous family board games like Monopoly new, but they lack that wonderful musty old cardboard smell of days gone by.

Now that you have your game room, let's put more fun stuff in it! If you have the space, go for a billiards table, there are few things classier than an old-fashioned wood-sided, net pocket table, you will feel like the grand duke as you challenge your mates to a game! Red felt is the most posh!  if you are a bit more athletically inclined, how about a ping-pong table? These have the advantage of folding up so you can break it out when it's game time. You can also play party games like beer pong on it, but we will not be held responsible for any resulting injury or health problems. How about a dartboard? Gather around for some cricket, just make sure that the board is situated in a part of the room that is unlikely to have foot traffic, or you may be making a visit to the emergency room with the wrong kind of bullseye, ouch!

The only rule is that there are no computer games allowed, this is a real game room for real games! Otherwise, you could just play on your laptop at the kitchen table!  Australia's Your Home page has some rules for home additions, so best check them for the fussy bits so you don't get fined for building your groovy game room! Now, it's time to go out to your new game room and play! It's so much fun, you may never leave the house again!