Gifts for Game Room Owners: Game Room and Man Cave Gift Ideas by Budget
The best gift for a game room owner is the next game the room does not have, matched to the space: a shuffleboard for a long wall, an arcade cabinet for a corner, a pinball machine for the room that has everything. Under $250, the pendant light and the Aramith ball set are the two upgrades every pool table owner notices, and under $50 Kamui chalk, tungsten darts and a digital scorer get used more than anything else in the room.
Gifts for game room owners are easy to get wrong, because the person already owns the obvious thing and has opinions about it. They have the table. What they usually do not have is the second game the room has space for, the light that makes the table play properly, or the chalk, darts and cards the room burns through. That is where every tier on this list starts. It runs from the most expensive gift down, so the first section is the anchor game that changes the room and the last is the stocking, and every big gift links to the calculator that checks it fits before it is ordered.
Affiliate disclosure: links on this page go to Amazon and we earn a commission on qualifying purchases. Prices are shown as approximate because they move weekly in gift season; the card always shows the live price. Every item was in stock when we checked.
How to choose a gift for a game room owner
Three questions sort the whole list. What is in the room already? A room with a pool table wants the things around the table (light, balls, cues, cover) or a second game; a room with a dart wall and nothing else wants the anchor game. Our choosing your anchor game guide explains what order rooms get built in. What space is left? This is the question this site exists to answer. A 7 ft pool table wants about 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in with full cues, a shuffleboard wants a 16 ft wall, an arcade cabinet wants a 3 by 3 ft corner and a 6 ft ceiling. The space guide and the fitting multiple games guide turn a tape measure into a yes or no. What do they actually play? A pool player gets more from Kamui chalk than from a foosball table, and a dart thrower gets more from a tournament board than from anything on a table.
The big gift: the anchor game that changes the room
These are gifts for a room that is already a game room, and each one is the game the owner has been pricing for a year. Pinball leads because it is the one game nobody buys for themselves. Then the arcade and the slate table, then the games that go along a wall. Every one of them needs the room measured first, and the table lists the footprint.
| Gift | Room it needs | Give it to |
|---|---|---|
| Stern Star Wars Pro pinball | 3 by 5 ft, 7 ft ceiling | The room that has everything |
| Skee-Ball Premium alley | 11 by 3 ft | A family room with length |
| Creative Arcades 4-player cabinet | 35 by 33 in, 6 ft ceiling | The Arcade1Up owner who wants the real thing |
| Plank and Hide Isaac 7 ft slate | 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in | The player on MDF, furniture-grade room |
| Tornado Tournament 3000 | 56 by 30 in plus standing room | A serious foosball player |
| Legacy Baylor II 7 ft slate | 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in | The first slate table |
| Barrington Urban 12 ft shuffleboard | 16 ft of wall | A room with a table and a long wall |
| Atomic Top Shelf air hockey | 90 by 50 in plus 3 ft each end | A house with teenagers |
The big gift
Stern Star Wars Fall of the Empire, Pro
A current Stern Pro with Insider Connected, the machine a pinball fan has been quoting the price of for a year. It ships on a pallet, needs 3 feet of clear width and a doorway to get through, and it is the single gift that makes a game room a destination.
Needs 3 ft by 5 ft with a 7 ft ceiling
Best for: The person who already owns everything else and talks about pinball.
Skee-Ball Premium Home Alley Roller
The licensed home alley roller with six game modes and the real ramp length, which is why it plays like the arcade version rather than the toy one. The gift that gets used by every age in the house.
Needs 11 ft by 3 ft
Best for: A family room with 11 feet of length to spare.
Creative Arcades Full Size 4-Player Cabinet
A full-size four-player cabinet with thousands of games loaded, the piece an arcade fan has been pricing since the first Arcade1Up came out. Commercial build, real joysticks and buttons, and a footprint that needs planning.
Needs 35 in wide by 33 in deep, 6 ft ceiling
Best for: The person whose Arcade1Up has become a starting point.
Plank & Hide Isaac 7ft Slate Pool Table
A furniture-grade 7 ft slate table with a 1 inch three-piece slate, the table someone keeps for twenty years. Delivered and installed rather than assembled, and the room has to be measured first.
Needs 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in with 58 in cues
Best for: The pool player still on an MDF table.
Tornado Tournament 3000 Foosball Table
The Tornado tournament table, the one used in competition, with the steel rods and split-cabinet build that make the home versions feel light. A foosball player knows exactly what this is.
Needs 56 in by 30 in plus 4 ft of standing room each side
Best for: A serious foosball player on a hobby table.
Legacy Baylor II 7ft Slate Pool Table
A 7 ft slate table at the price where slate starts, which is the point: the difference between this and the MDF table it replaces is the difference between a game and a toy. Installer-delivered.
Needs 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in with 58 in cues
Best for: The first real pool table for a room that has been measured.
Barrington Urban 12ft Solid Wood Shuffleboard
A 12 ft solid wood shuffleboard with the climate adjusters that keep it flat through a winter. The game that gets played standing, with a drink, by people who did not come to play games.
Needs 12 ft by 2 ft plus 2 ft at each end
Best for: A long wall in a room that already has a pool table.
Atomic Top Shelf 7.5ft Air Hockey Table
A 7.5 ft air hockey table with a commercial-grade blower and a proper rail, the table that plays like the arcade one rather than the one that scuffs and stalls. The loudest, fastest game in the room.
Needs 90 in by 50 in plus 3 ft each end
Best for: A house with teenagers.
Prices move constantly, so confirm before you order. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Where a table is sold only through a manufacturer's own dealer network we say so on the card, and the button searches comparable tables you can order today rather than that exact model.
Two notes before spending this much. The slate tables are delivered on a pallet and assembled and levelled by an installer, which is part of the gift, and the room has to pass the pool table room size calculator with the cue length the recipient will use; a 52 in cue on one wall rescues a lot of rooms. The Stern needs a 7 ft ceiling and a path from the front door, and the owning a pinball machine guide covers what arrives in the crate. For the games along a wall, the shuffleboard clearance and air hockey and foosball clearance calculators give the standing room each end. The best pool tables, best shuffleboards and best arcade cabinets roundups rank the alternatives at each size.
Mid-range game room gift ideas, roughly $100 to $900
This is the sweet spot for a room that already has its anchor game. Each item here is an upgrade to something the recipient already uses, which means it is in play the same day. The bar corner leads because it is where most game rooms are unfinished, then the small anchor games that fit where a table does not, then the light and the balls, which are the two purchases pool table owners most often admit they skimped on.
| Gift | Best for | Check before buying |
|---|---|---|
| Kegco K309B-2 kegerator | A bar with a fridge full of cans | Space for a 24 in wide unit and a CO2 tank |
| Arcade1Up Pac-Man Deluxe | The first arcade cabinet | A 2 by 2 ft corner |
| JOOLA Inside Pro | A family room | 19 by 11 ft to play |
| Pop-A-Shot Dual Shot | Height but not floor | 8 ft ceiling |
| Wellmet 3-shade pool light | A table lit by a ceiling can | Table length, 7 or 8 ft |
| Aramith Premium balls | Anyone on the balls the table came with | Nothing |
| EUHOMY 130-can fridge | A bar cabinet with nothing cold | An outlet at the bar |
| Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core | A dart player on a soft board | Nothing, it fits any cabinet |
| Accudart Match Pro cabinet | A wall with no dart setup | 8 ft of throw |
Mid-range gifts
Kegco K309B-2 Double Faucet Kegerator
A dual-tap kegerator with a stainless tower, which is the gift for the person whose bar has a fridge full of cans. Takes two sixth-barrels or one half-barrel.
Best for: A home bar that has outgrown the beverage fridge.
Arcade1Up Pac-Man Deluxe Cabinet
The Arcade1Up Deluxe Pac-Man cabinet with 14 games and a riser built in, the cabinet that made home arcades affordable. Assembles in an evening and stands in a 2 by 2 foot corner.
Needs 2 ft by 2 ft, 5 ft 8 in tall
Best for: The arcade fan who has never owned a cabinet.
JOOLA Inside Professional MDF Table
A professional MDF top that folds and rolls, the JOOLA that clubs buy for practice tables. A game that fits a family and needs the room planned around it.
Needs 19 ft by 11 ft
Best for: A family room with 19 by 11 feet to give.
Pop-A-Shot Dual Shot Sport
The licensed arcade basketball game with two hoops, digital scoring and a fold-up frame. The game guests gravitate to at a party, and the one that fits when a pool table does not.
Needs 8 ft by 4 ft, 8 ft ceiling
Best for: A room with height but not floor.
Wellmet 59in 3-Shade Pool Table Light
A three-shade pendant sized for a 7 or 8 ft table. The fixture over a pool table is the cheapest thing that changes how it plays, and it is the gift owners most often admit they skimped on.
Best for: A slate table lit by the ceiling can beside it.
Aramith Premium Billiard Ball Set
The Aramith Premium set, phenolic resin balls that stay round, hold their colour and outlast the polyester set that came with the table by a decade. The upgrade every serious player makes.
Best for: Anyone playing with the balls the table came with.
EUHOMY 130-Can Beverage Refrigerator
A 130-can glass-door beverage fridge for the bar corner, the appliance that stops the game room emptying into the kitchen every twenty minutes.
Best for: A bar cabinet with nothing cold in it.
Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard
The tournament board with triple-core sisal and razor-thin wiring, the dartboard used in televised play. Fewer bounce-outs than any board under it, and it takes years of nightly play.
Best for: A dart player on a bristle board that has gone soft.
Accudart Match Pro Dartboard Cabinet Set
A cabinet set with a bristle board, two sets of darts and scoreboards inside the doors, which is everything a first dart wall needs in one box. Hang it, mark the oche, play.
Best for: A room with a spare wall and no dart setup at all.
Prices move constantly, so confirm before you order. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Where a table is sold only through a manufacturer's own dealer network we say so on the card, and the button searches comparable tables you can order today rather than that exact model.
The light deserves a paragraph. A pool table lit by a ceiling can beside it throws the shooter's shadow across the cue ball on half the shots in a rack, and the Wellmet pendant is the cheapest thing that changes how a slate table plays. Hang it at the height in the light height calculator, which is lower than most people expect. The Aramith set is the other upgrade every table owner notices: phenolic balls stay round and hold their colour for a decade, where the polyester set that came with the table goes yellow and chips. Our best billiard balls and best pool table lights guides rank the alternatives, and the home bar guide covers where the kegerator goes. For the dart wall, the Blade 6 is the board used in televised play; the best dartboards guide explains the single, dual and triple core difference.
Game room gifts under $50
Every item in this tier is something the room runs out of or never had. Chalk that holds the tip, darts that group, a scorer that ends the arithmetic argument, cards that do not crease. None of them get bought voluntarily, which is the whole point of giving them. The full list of twenty-two, in order of how often each gets used, is in the game room gifts under $50 guide; these five are the ones we would give first.
| Gift | Fixes | For |
|---|---|---|
| Kamui Roku chalk | Miscues | Anyone with their own cue |
| Harrows Caliber darts | Brass darts that will not group | A dart player |
| Viper ProScore scorer | The arithmetic argument | A dart wall with a chalkboard |
| Han's Delta cue case | A good cue in a wall rack | A player with their own cue |
| Copag plastic cards | Creased paper decks | A poker night |
Under $50
Kamui Roku Pool Cue Chalk, Sky Blue
The chalk serious players buy once and hide from their friends. Kamui holds the tip in a way ordinary chalk does not, and a cube lasts months. The most-appreciated small gift for a pool player.
Best for: Anyone with their own cue.
Harrows Caliber 90% Tungsten Steel Tip Darts
Ninety percent tungsten darts, thin enough to group tight, in the weight the recipient already throws. Check their current darts and match the grams.
Best for: A dart player still on the brass set that came with the board.
Viper ProScore Digital Dart Scorer, up to 8 Players
A digital scorer for up to eight players that mounts beside a bristle board. It ends the arithmetic argument, which is most of what happens at a dart wall after the second round.
Best for: A bristle board with a chalkboard beside it.
Han's Delta 2x2 Hard Pool Cue Case
A 2x2 hard case for the cue that currently lives in the wall rack. The gift for someone who plays away from home, or who owns a cue worth protecting.
Best for: A player with their own cue and no case.
Copag 1546 100% Plastic Playing Cards, Poker Size, 2 Decks
Two decks of Copag plastic cards, the decks card rooms use because they wash and do not crease. The upgrade a poker night notices immediately.
Best for: A poker table with paper cards.
Prices move constantly, so confirm before you order. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Where a table is sold only through a manufacturer's own dealer network we say so on the card, and the button searches comparable tables you can order today rather than that exact model.
On the darts: tungsten darts are sold by weight, and a player throws one weight. Look at the darts on their board, or ask, and buy the same grams. The best steel tip darts guide explains why a 90 percent tungsten barrel groups tighter than brass, and the dartboard height and throw line calculator gives the numbers for the wall if the room does not have one yet.
Stocking stuffers for pool players and dart throwers
Under $20 each, and all of them consumable, so a duplicate is not a problem. Master chalk is what pool halls use and every room runs out of. Flights are what a dart wall runs out of. The case and the glove are the two things a player means to buy and never does.
Stocking stuffers
Master Cue Chalk, 12 Cubes
Twelve cubes of Master chalk, the house chalk of most pool halls. A game room goes through it, and nobody buys it until the last cube is a sliver.
Best for: Any pool table.
centaur Standard Dart Flights, 30 Sets
Thirty sets of standard flights. Flights are consumable and every dart wall runs out mid-game.
Best for: Any dart player.
Casemaster Sentry Zippered Dart Case
A zippered case with foam for one set of darts and spare flights. For the player whose darts live in a coffee mug.
Best for: A dart player without a case.
FITFIV 3-Finger Billiard Glove, Left Hand
A three-finger bridge glove, which keeps a cue sliding on a humid night without powder. This listing is the left-hand glove for a right-handed player.
Best for: A right-handed pool player.
Prices move constantly, so confirm before you order. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Where a table is sold only through a manufacturer's own dealer network we say so on the card, and the button searches comparable tables you can order today rather than that exact model.
Game room gift ideas by situation
- They have a slate table and a long empty wall. The Barrington 12 ft shuffleboard , after the clearance calculator confirms 16 feet.
- They have a table and a spare corner. The Arcade1Up Pac-Man or the Accudart cabinet , depending on whether the corner has 8 feet of throw in front of it.
- They play pool on the MDF table they started with. The Legacy Baylor II , and read how to level a pool table on what the installer does on the day.
- They have everything and talk about pinball. The Stern Star Wars Pro .
- They play pool and you do not know the room. The Wellmet pendant , the Aramith set and a cube of Kamui . None of them need a measurement.
What to check before you buy any of these
- The room. Every anchor game on this page has a footprint and a clearance. The pool table room size chart and the ceiling height chart are the two lookups, and the calculators give a yes or no for a specific room.
- The door. A slate table arrives in pieces and goes through most doors; a pinball machine and a 12 ft shuffleboard do not. Measure the path, not just the room.
- Table size for accessories. The light and the cover are sold by table length. A 7 ft table takes a different cover than an 8.
- Dart weight. Match the grams of the darts they already throw.
Whatever you pick, the gift a game room owner remembers is the one that shows you measured the room. The six complete buildouts show what a starter, mid-range and full game room contain, item by item, which is the quickest way to spot what the recipient's room is missing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best gift for someone with a game room?
The next game the room does not have, matched to the space. A room with a pool table and a long empty wall wants a shuffleboard; a room with a table and a spare corner wants an arcade cabinet or a dart wall; a room with everything wants a pinball machine, which is the one game that turns a game room into a destination. If you do not know the room, the light over the table and the Aramith ball set are the two upgrades every pool table owner notices immediately.
How do I know what will fit in their room?
Ask for the room dimensions or a photo, then run them through the calculator for the game. A 7 ft pool table needs about 13 ft 6 in by 16 ft 9 in with full-length cues, a 12 ft shuffleboard needs about 16 ft of wall, an air hockey table needs its 7.5 ft plus 3 ft at each end, and a pinball machine needs a 7 ft ceiling and a doorway it can get through. Every one of those has a calculator or chart on this site, and the one big gift guide links each game to its check.
Is a slate pool table a reasonable gift?
Yes, for someone on an MDF table or with no table, and only after the room is measured. Slate is the difference between a game and a toy: it stays flat, plays true and lasts decades. It also arrives on a pallet and is assembled and levelled by an installer, so the delivery is part of the gift. The Legacy Baylor II is where 7 ft slate starts; the Plank and Hide Isaac is the furniture-grade version.
What game room gifts are worth it under $50?
The consumables and the small hardware every room runs out of: Kamui chalk, tungsten darts, a digital dart scorer, a cue tip tool, plastic playing cards, weighted chips and shuffleboard wax. Each changes how a game plays and none of them get bought voluntarily. Our game room gifts under $50 guide has twenty-two of them in order of how often they are used.
What are good man cave gifts that are not novelty?
Anything that gets used during a game. A kegerator or a glass-door beverage fridge for the bar corner, a proper pendant over the table, a tournament dartboard, a cocktail shaker set for the bar that only has beer. The novelty end of the market, slogan signs and branded glassware, gets a laugh and then hangs on a wall. The test is whether the owner would reach for it mid-game.
Should I buy a pinball machine as a gift?
If they have talked about one, yes; it is the gift a pinball fan never buys themselves. Check three things first: a 7 ft ceiling, a clear 3 by 5 ft footprint with room to stand, and a path from the front door to the room that a 4 ft crate fits through. Our owning a pinball machine guide covers the delivery, the levelling and the maintenance a machine needs, so the gift arrives with the knowledge to keep it running.
Measuring your own room before anything is delivered? The Game Room Layout Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.
How we work: we compare published manufacturer dimensions, the governing playing standards for each game, and reviews from owners who live with the equipment. We do not test games in person, and we say so on every page. Clearance figures here are researched guidance for planning a room, not professional advice: measure your own space, and have a slate table delivered, assembled and levelled by an installer rather than moving it yourself.