Gaming Dining Table

Video - December 8, 2015

Nicole and I are big gamers, be they video, dice, cards or classic board games. So when I was tasked with building a new dining table I knew I wanted it to be multi-purpose, serving our needs for meals as well as gaming. And so was born the Gaming Dining Table. If you like what you see in this short video, detailed videos and plans are available for purchase in the Wood Whisperer Guild.

A gaming table can go in many different directions depending on your personal preferences. With two young kids in the house and many years of abuse ahead of it, I knew my table needed to be a solid and durable dining table first and a functional gaming table second. We went through several versions before finally settling on the one you see here which we felt had a good balance of functionality, beauty, and sturdy construction. And by “we” I mean buddies and co-designers Aaron Marshall and Scott Seganti.

While this video is intentionally fast-paced, the instructional videos found in the Guild will walk you through the entire process from lumber selection to finishing. For those who have no interest in the deep details, I hope this quick video inspires you to come up with your own design and build one for yourself.

Discussion

Lone_Wolf December 8, 2015 12:31 pm

Great, I spent hours watching this project in the Guild and I could’ve just waited for this 6 minutes. j/k. I love my membership and it is worth every penny. Thanks for another great project.

To all those that are not guild members, save up your money and get enrolled in the guild. You will not be sorry.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 8, 2015 1:33 pm
  
  Thanks man. I had too many folks asking about this project NOT to post a short video on it. But I tried to keep it short and sweet so as to not step on the toes of folks who paid for the project. :)
  
  Reply
  - Jim Miller December 16, 2017 4:28 pm
    
    Hey Mark, I see you are building this table as a class at Marc Adams. I so wanted to take the class just to get a chance to work with you. But I only get one week so I had to take the joinery class. Hope you come back to Marc Adams again.
    
    Reply
Neil Taylor December 8, 2015 4:11 pm

Seems to be the day for commenting…lol

I’ve been eyeballing the plans over at the guild for a few months now, trying to figure out which one I was going to get after the holidays. As and avid D&D and Munchkin player, this is hands down the one I’m going to get.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 8, 2015 4:33 pm
  
  Do you happen to listen to my buddy Stephen over at MajorSpoilers.com? They have both a Munchkin and a D&D podcast you might like.
  
  Reply
  - Neil Taylor December 8, 2015 5:01 pm
    
    I didn’t even know that existed. Time to dust off my podcast app. Thank you for pointing them out :)
    
    Reply
Michael Obrycki December 8, 2015 4:23 pm

I think I know what my next guild project is going to be after my Roubo. Nice work.

The best part though, was Ava’s plea for guild memberships. Odd though, that she has somewhat of an English accent.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 8, 2015 4:32 pm
  
  Yeah we can’t explain it….
  
  Reply
Vic Hubbard December 12, 2015 10:57 am

These Guild shorts are great! I always love when you do them. It amazes me how you can condense 13 episodes (approx. 5 – 6 hours) of instruction into a highlight reel. That would hurt my brain, trying to figure that out. Really fun build! I always learn something new.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo December 12, 2015 1:14 pm
  
  Thanks buddy. It’s actually a lot of work for 5 minutes of footage!
  
  Reply
Rob Wiskow December 14, 2015 2:51 pm

As soon as I saw that this was coming up in the guild, I was very curious to see what your design was like. Having made my own last year, I had a good idea of the type of conundrums you’d be faced with. I find it rather satisfying to see that you came up with some of the same solutions I did (it can’t be a bad idea if Marc came up with it).

One of the biggest problems I had was trying to figure out what to do with the leaves on top. I ended up going with 5 solid wood boards that stretch the long way, and a removable support bar in the middle. The problem is that two of the boards have developed just a bit of a twist, and they no longer sit perfectly flat. I wish I’d thought of your laminated approach. I’m certain that would prove to be much more stable.

Now I just need to get around to build some of the accessories I planned (in particular some dice towers).

Reply
Mike S January 17, 2016 3:12 pm

Marc,
What’s the model of the Bosch router you’re using to make the mortises?
Thanks!

Reply
spike January 28, 2016 2:57 pm

I had know clue you were a gamer. Should have guessed when you called your paid version the guild. I am a big gammer and was thinking I needed to make something to play on. We do board and pathfinder mostly. I will definitely have to become a member now to get these plans. I am a new wood worker with limited tools at the moment. Are the projects all advanced or can I get by with my TS and router. No planer, jointer, bandsaw, or drill press yet. It would be awesome to inlay a flat screen tv so you could map from a computer. Show handout and what not. I love the accessory racks. Genius how you hid them. This will help with the spouse approval factor.

Reply
puppet master March 22, 2016 7:49 pm

Would love to make a gaming table.

Reply
victor March 30, 2016 7:19 pm

love the videos I wonder if you could build a dominos table. I watch some videos but they don’t show much. thanks god bless

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GERARD Alex February 6, 2017 8:48 am

Hi marc, I dind your gaming table quiet nice…I’m trying to make one for a boardgamegeek friend of mine. I also have a workshop located in Brussels(BE) and watching your video, I was intrigued by the tool, you use on your circular saw when you build the tenon (1.43 min) What is that tools ? It seems you did mount it instead of your regular blade ? It’s seems to be very useful, can you tell me more.
Thanks
Alex

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Joseph September 24, 2017 12:15 pm

Can I buy the table anywhere? I do not have the tools or skill do make one on my own.

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Henning Mortensen October 17, 2017 1:03 pm

Marc, I am a long time viewer and want to thank you for what you do. When I heard you were a gamer I wasn’t expected monopoly was what was on the table. I am assuming that you are playing with your children. If I can suggest a wonderful game that children can pick up easily, I would suggest you try “Trans America”. It is fun, easy and more in line with children attention spans. It only takes about 30 mins and can play with up to 6 people. This is a great family game.

You can get an overview on youtube.

Now if the monopoly was just the game on that day and you know all about the newer “german style” games, sorry, just trying to spread good gaming where I can.

Reply
Brandt Boulden March 3, 2021 2:10 pm

I’m thinking of joining the guild for these plans. Pretty cool! My bandsaw can only cut to a height of 5″ though. Will that work for this project?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo March 4, 2021 10:48 am
  
  The only parts that really require the bandsaw might be the legs and the rails for the top frame, both of which should fit within the 5″ capacity of your saw.
  
  Reply
woodworking hobbyist March 20, 2021 10:07 am

Hey Marc,

By any chance you have the same table idea but using pedestal. I trying to adapt this to a 5′ x 5′ table but not sure how to support the table top edge correctly

Reply
Bryan Payne April 29, 2021 7:20 am

I have a question if you could. The perimeter of your table uses a bridal joint? How do you manage wood movement with this perimeter? If this bridal joint is glued together there is no way for wood movement to occur? Is this not an issue due to the size of the boards?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo April 29, 2021 7:22 am
  
  It’s probably pushing the limits of the size boards you’d need to worry about. But I can say after owning it for all of these years the corner joints have not been an issue at all. But the bigger they get, the more likely you’ll have a problem.
  
  Reply
  - Bryan Chesley Payne April 29, 2021 12:21 pm
    
    I’m going to use 5 inch wide quarter sawn oak? Is there a way I should do this to prevent problems due to movement? Thanks again…
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo April 29, 2021 2:24 pm
      
      If movement is a major concern for you then you’d probably want to opt for a different joint…..mortise and tenon or maybe a miter joint. I can’t say with certainly if 5″ will be dramatically different than the 4″ boards I used. Maybe look at a wood movement calculator to see how much movement the piece will experience in your home and make a judgement call from there. It’s most likely a very tiny amount and even at 5″ you’d probably be ok.
Jason Case January 12, 2026 9:52 am

Does this protect the game when covered if a drink spills on the table?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 12, 2026 1:10 pm
  
  All openings in the top lead to a rabbeted ledge. So the liquid will tend to pool and run along that ledge, giving you a good amount of time to soak up the spill before it finds its way to the stuff under the top. With enough liquid or enough time, I’m sure it will eventually get to the play area. But the rabbet ledges buy you some additional time.
  
  Reply

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Gaming Dining Table

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