The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Geek Chic - Reliable TT gaming furniture?
Sporadicus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey, folks!
Now I've been playing TT RPGs for . . .oh. . .20-something years, from the D&D Basic Box editions (Where you have 4 different levels of D&D in 4 diff boxes) to getting ready to try out 4th edition. As I've been playing, I've seen more innovations and more things coming to the forefront for gaming. People have set aside rooms just for TT gaming, be it the military strategist to the D&D fanatic to the GM who mutters "ungrateful Munchkins".
One thing I haven't really seen is utility furniture strictly for TT RPG.
Until now.
Geek Chic ( www.geekchichq.com ) is now making furniture designed for those dedicated gamers who are tired of using a regular table or even a 4x6 piece of particle board on two sawhorses for gaming maps and miniatures (seen it and thought it was great!)
I saw this group first at PAX '09, and thought their concepts were amazing! Furniture made spcifically for people who play miniature based strategy and RP games. These tables are decked out, complete with drawers and even rails to add on things like cupholders (diceholders!) and whatnot.
Now, the flipside of the coin that made me hesitant and not put money down right then and there is the PRICE. The gaming tables themselves aren't cheap. You'll most likely be paying the amount of a old used car for them. I didn't get around to putting a down payment (I put a DOWN PAYMENT on furniture!) until I was convinced this recent Emerald City Comicon.
I chose the 4'x4' (Playing field) Emissary table, which with the leaves can double as a 5'x5' dining room table. You can have drawers put in (extra cost!), there's a railing system for extra accessories, and the playing area is inset so you can put the leaves over and eat, then take them off and restart the playing without putting anything away.
Now this company doesn't have these mass-manufactured. They craft them singly, and to the specifications of the customer. Trust me, I went through three pages of options, from what size would you like to what type of wood and finish to accessories. I should get mine in 4-6 months, they said. I said fine. I'm military near the end of my EAOS, and I don't mind waiting. One less precious item that the movers can (and many times do) break. I'll have it when I reach my new home in ????, USA.
After I put money down on this piece of furniture, I learned I had joined the Dark Side, as well. Apparently Darth Vader (the only one I saw at the Em City Comicon, actually) put money down for his very own gaming table. So this furniture company has the Empire Seal of Approval!
Here's my question to the PA forum-goers: How many of you, if you had the money to do it, would buy something like this? And would this be a useful tool for gaming to you?
Feel free to comment on all the gaming tables and accessories they make. They don't just make tables, either. They've also branched out into comic book collecting with their Alexandria Codex ( I think that's the name), and even have designer shelves and a dice-rolling tower (Which was commented on in. . .was it a PvP or PA comic? Can't remember.)
Now I've been playing TT RPGs for . . .oh. . .20-something years, from the D&D Basic Box editions (Where you have 4 different levels of D&D in 4 diff boxes) to getting ready to try out 4th edition. As I've been playing, I've seen more innovations and more things coming to the forefront for gaming. People have set aside rooms just for TT gaming, be it the military strategist to the D&D fanatic to the GM who mutters "ungrateful Munchkins".
One thing I haven't really seen is utility furniture strictly for TT RPG.
Until now.
Geek Chic ( www.geekchichq.com ) is now making furniture designed for those dedicated gamers who are tired of using a regular table or even a 4x6 piece of particle board on two sawhorses for gaming maps and miniatures (seen it and thought it was great!)
I saw this group first at PAX '09, and thought their concepts were amazing! Furniture made spcifically for people who play miniature based strategy and RP games. These tables are decked out, complete with drawers and even rails to add on things like cupholders (diceholders!) and whatnot.
Now, the flipside of the coin that made me hesitant and not put money down right then and there is the PRICE. The gaming tables themselves aren't cheap. You'll most likely be paying the amount of a old used car for them. I didn't get around to putting a down payment (I put a DOWN PAYMENT on furniture!) until I was convinced this recent Emerald City Comicon.
I chose the 4'x4' (Playing field) Emissary table, which with the leaves can double as a 5'x5' dining room table. You can have drawers put in (extra cost!), there's a railing system for extra accessories, and the playing area is inset so you can put the leaves over and eat, then take them off and restart the playing without putting anything away.
Now this company doesn't have these mass-manufactured. They craft them singly, and to the specifications of the customer. Trust me, I went through three pages of options, from what size would you like to what type of wood and finish to accessories. I should get mine in 4-6 months, they said. I said fine. I'm military near the end of my EAOS, and I don't mind waiting. One less precious item that the movers can (and many times do) break. I'll have it when I reach my new home in ????, USA.
After I put money down on this piece of furniture, I learned I had joined the Dark Side, as well. Apparently Darth Vader (the only one I saw at the Em City Comicon, actually) put money down for his very own gaming table. So this furniture company has the Empire Seal of Approval!
Here's my question to the PA forum-goers: How many of you, if you had the money to do it, would buy something like this? And would this be a useful tool for gaming to you?
Feel free to comment on all the gaming tables and accessories they make. They don't just make tables, either. They've also branched out into comic book collecting with their Alexandria Codex ( I think that's the name), and even have designer shelves and a dice-rolling tower (Which was commented on in. . .was it a PvP or PA comic? Can't remember.)
Sporadicus on
0
Posts
If I had enough comics to fill it or a bunch of spare money burning my wallet I could be down for the Alexandria. Defiantly alot more classy than any other comic storage solution I've seen.
The Sultan however is kind of ridiculous. If I want to buy a pool table it better have pockets :P
It's pricey stuff, and I can see why there won't be a lot sold. I likes the look, and feel that I could get my money's worth out of it.
. . . .
Come to think of it, I did sound like one of those sad sacks that spend time wowing up items on info-mercials. Sorry if I sounded artificially enthused. >.<
I have to say that it did come across as pretty spammy for your first post.
As for buying myself, I'd want to see one in person first.
The prices are pretty steep, though I haven't exactly price compared handcrafted hardwood dining room sets (my current hobbies are expensive enough, thank you). I could see buying one if I hosted regular game nights, or if I won the lottery. Outside of that though, a normal table works well enough.
We saw the Geek Chic tables at PAX East, and put down a deposit on a relatively tricked-out 4x6 Spartan a couple weeks later. They are just that damned impressive. We had to make a little room for it in the rec room (the things are considerably larger than 4x6!), but it's going to be a landmark whenever they finally decide to take the rest of our money and deliver it. The OP sounds so excited because it IS exciting!
The key thing to remember about Geek Chic is that the target market for the tables is NOT the typical college/post-college gamer. It's for 30-40 year-olds with high household income ($100k+) who also enjoy gaming, but require something with a high spouse acceptance factor. It does not surprise me that so many gamers here (and in other popular forums) don't understand who's buying these tables.
Before I'm accused of being a marketing shill, I will say that one thing that annoys the hell out of me about GC so far, besides the massive backlog in production, is how slow they are to respond to email. Their marketing material could also use some serious revising (both website and PDF). I also think it's mildly misleading to quote the prices sans dining leaves, given that this is basically their raison d'etre - good for business, perhaps, but still annoying.
The sultan is the absolute ugliest table I have ever seen, and would never buy one. It looks like a parody of a fancy table, like something you'd see in a las vegas casino. The emissary is ok, it's good in that it's simple and unobtrusive. But the little gamer additions just look kind of weird, it doesn't seem like it'd be that useful, apart from just the basic two level table, which can be covered.
All in all, I never really get the excitement. Especially when the main feature, the table covering, is only useful for standard size minis, which seems kind of limiting.
But maybe you just have different taste, and I suppose that's fair, too.
The more interesting thing that's popped up is that they're trying to get depositors to pay the full price up front for a 10% discount. The reasoning given was that they're trying to expand operations without drawing as much on loans. I declined; if there's one thing that you don't want to be with a small business, it's a creditor, at least no more than you have to be.
Sure enough, a year later at GenCon '09, they were showing off the Emissary and the Spartan, as well as the Alexandria Codex for comic and card collectors. If my wife and I had the spare cash, we'd buy either of the two new tables they offer as they're far more reasonably priced. The Spartan is really slick, and I wish they'd find the time to update their website and actually show it off. Their Twitter stream has a good shot of the table here: http://yfrog.com/4fwbgj and they have a few shots of the prototypes on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37952388@N06/
I'm really quite impressed with how far the company has come, and to erwos's point, I'm also rather comforted to see they're trying to run their business without taking too many commercial loans out. I can understand not taking a risk, too.
Anyways, that's my two cents. If you folks get a chance to see these tables in person, you really should. They might be just out of reach of the average gamer's budget, but they're still impressive pieces of work.
However, I wanted to ask some of the folks who've gotten a table from Geek Chic how long it took for your table to get to you (or how long you've been waiting for it).
I ask because my husband and I are still waiting on our table that we ordered at GenCon last year. We're really excited about our tricked-out Emissary...but we're a bit frustrated that it's been 10 months since we ordered it with no delivery date scheduled.
Did it take anyone else this long? Are we just problem children? :-)
Hopefully, no one else will have this same wait time for their table. :-)
All you need is a table and chairs. If I was running a really nice gaming store, I may buy a table like that. If I could get a good deal.
These tables are priced reasonably given the market segment they exist in; quality custom furniture is not cheap. If you don't want to pay for that kind of furniture, I don't blame you, but it's something akin to being told your $300 graphics card is "sooooo expensive". Not everyone wants to get along with integrated graphics, and not everyone wants to get along with whatever Ikea or the local department store has on sale. Eye of the beholder and all...
Its not like putting up and taking down a television, where an entertainment center is a valid option.
I think i'd be annoyed by the fact that you have to reach over a lip to move people
Intersting idea? yes
Useful to buy? No
They look like something that belongs in a museum. Even if the pieces were less expensive, there would be virtually zero chance of me convincing my wife to use one of those tables in "her" dining room, let alone having the piece be a convertible gaming table. And I'm assuming that's the base price without chairs, which makes the things a lot more expensive that a comparable quality dining room set. And when you consider the wife is probably going to want a matching sideboard or other piece of furniture, then you're a bit out of luck here,
That's where I fall. The tables just didn't look very impressive to me at PAX, as actual furniture I'd put in my house. Honestly, if I really wanted a gaming table, I would probably go shopping with my wife, find a table we both really liked, and then hire someone to do a custom creation on the table itself.
Again, it's not the idea. As a gamer, I thought the pieces were impressive as pure game tables. However, if we're selling this on the idea that it's something gamers are going to use as a substitute for other expensive furniture in their homes, I personally feel they have a long way to go on style.
To answer the original question. I do have the money to buy one of these, but I wouldn't. I'd be much more likely to convince my wife to let me re-arrange one of the spare bedrooms and turn it into a gaming cave, as opposed to fill her dining room with one of these things.
And to added note, I also got a chance to see Dungeon and Dragons being played on the electronic surface downstairs...I think the going price on something like that was in the $10-15k range, but we know how hardware prices can drop, so I expect these will eventually be put it in competition with one of these tables, even at the low end. Now that's something I could see talking my wife into...she gets the new dining room set she wants, and I get the high-tech gaming surface I need :winky:
I am quite curious if your wife saw these in person. Mine did, and she was quite impressed. But, to agree with your point a bit, I actually did not think the Emissary was a terribly amazing dining room table. We got a Spartan for the gaming / home theater room, which I felt fit the decor quite a bit better.
I'm not sure why you think it would be hard to find matching furniture, though - GC's stuff is walnut and/or cherry. That's pretty easy to find. I also think you're underestimating how much a good carpenter would charge to get your table to have the same features as GC is offering (rail system?), but that's a different issue.