Overview: Having a man cave for gaming at your disposal sounds like a dream come true. But before you can play, you have to work at planning and building it! Here are some essential tips you need to build a man cave perfect for your gaming experience.
There’s nothing better than having a custom-built gaming haven. At the end of a long day, you’re ready to wind down, forget the real world, and jump into a more exciting version of reality. Whether you’re a VR enthusiast or retro gamer, creating a functional man cave can be one of the highlights of designing your home. Customized decor, a comfortable layout, and fun things to help you make the most of your time off are all part of making a gaming man cave more interesting.
If you’re looking for man cave ideas, you’ve come to the right place! And note that these tips don’t only apply to man caves. This info should be useful even if you’re not a man, or if you’d like to use your space to celebrate your love of sports, or anime, or movies for sport-themed man cave, an anime lover, or a refined space. Or even if you’d rather call your space a rec room, a den, or a Fortress of Solitude!
Now that you’ve planned to create this personal space that reflects your hobbies, begin considering the area you have to work with and plan a little before taking steps to bring your mind-blowing new room to life.
Let’s dive in to learn more about man cave essentials!
Planning Your Gaming Man Cave:
You may have seen some pretty elaborate rooms on social media, but you really don’t have to have a huge budget to create a good man cave – just a little creativity. To help you plan your man cave, take a look at this easy 5-step guide on how to build a man cave at home for gaming.
Examine the Actual Space for Gaming:
This may sound like an obvious one, but it’s quite important to consider the space you have for your game room and plan how you’re going to utilize it. To create a marvelous man cave, you’ll need enough space for gaming chairs and consoles, and if you’re into VR gaming, spare some additional space for immersive tech too.
Here are a few spots around your house that could serve as the ultimate man cave space:
Basement: The perfect setting with enough space for a bar, game room, or man cave to watch the game.
Spare Bedroom: A big enough spare bedroom offers a comfortable space to create a gaming setup, arcade game room, and host music jams for a fun night.
Outdoor Patio: Outdoor patio areas are another potential place to install a big (weather-resistant!) TV to watch movies or play video games. Add an outdoor pool table and a BBQ grill, and boom! – everyone will remember your party.
Garage: The garage is the quintessential man cave space. Parking your cars in the driveway is a small trade-off for gaining a whole space to exercise and play games of all kinds. Video games? Table tennis? A foosball table? Your options are only limited by the size of the garage!
Related Reading: Fun Foosball Facts
Select a Theme:
What kind of decor do you want in your man cave? Choosing a unified theme can go a long way toward making the room feel like it belongs to you. You could make everything look futuristic, with creative lighting. Or you could go for an antique theme with a poker table reflecting a casino-style decor.
If you’re short of ideas, here are a few trending man cave themes that you’ll enjoy.
Your favorite sport or team
Your favorite movie, genre, or TV series
Las Vegas
Workout studio
1920s speakeasy
Retro-’80s arcade
Tiki bar
The possibilities are endless! But if you’re creating a man cave from scratch and looking for inspiration for the decor, here are the 10 best game room decor ideas for you!
Plan Your Lighting:
Lighting is a key consideration once you’ve decided on your theme. The reason we say this is that most gamers prefer or require low-light gaming setups to avoid screen glare or eyestrain – an arrangement that simply isn’t possible with harsh overhead lights with no dimmable options.
Before updating the lighting in your space, consider the effect the lights will have on the gaming experience. A TV on the wall with canned spotlights directly overhead? That won’t work — there would be a constant glare on the screen. Try to envision the end result before committing to your lighting scheme.
You’ll also need to consider how strong you want the lighting to be, to align with the theme and overall space. You may want to keep the lighting in your gaming man cave on the dimmer side. Consider using accent lights. Strip lights are also great. Little touches like underlighting on your storage containers, keyboard lighting for your gaming PC, and custom LED accessories will do wonders for your man cave.
Ensure Sound Proofing:
Soundproofing is an overlooked factor in a gaming room or man cave. But if you take it into consideration early, it can ensure an immersive gaming experience. Aim for blocking out the sound of your neighbor’s dog barking while also making sure the clacking of your billiard balls doesn’t disturb anyone else in the house who’s trying to watch TV. There are a lot of ways to achieve this, including acoustic foam panels that can be attached to the walls and ceilings, or heavy drapes that hang around the perimeter.
One thing to note is that if you opt for gaming chairs, they might come with a built-in speaker, rendering soundproofing less of a concern. However, if you’re gaming on a gaming desk, soundproofing will go a long way toward immersing you in your gaming experience.
Related Reading: How to soundproof your gaming room?
Accessorize Your Man Cave for Gaming
Buying accessories for your gaming man cave is not a chore and is unarguably the fun part. There are a few different components that will add up to a well-appointed game room.
Install Gaming Equipment:
Consider getting foosball tables, billiards, and darts to elevate your man cave to the next level. If you have the space and the budget, add more than one so you and your buddies will have multiple options on a hangout night. From indoor golf simulators to table tennis tables, there’s a plethora of ways to make your man cave an ideal place for everyone you know!
Gaming Chairs:
Gaming is always fun — but you want to make sure it’s comfortable as well!
One way to up your comfort levels while doing some gaming of the video variety is to use gaming chairs designed for multiple gaming purposes. Many of them include built-in speakers and headphone sockets – and they’re usually ergonomically designed to provide the best support possible when going through your marathon sessions!
Gaming Desks:
Gaming on a PC? It’s important to have a gaming desk that’s specifically designed for you.
Not only do gaming desks come with built-in storage and cord/cable management, but they’re also often wider and longer than regular desks – so that you have plenty of space to fit all your gaming gear. There are many different gaming desks available on the market, so find one that meets your needs and fits your style.
In Summary:
Creating a man cave is a fun and rewarding project with some planning and proper organizing, so you can create the perfect gaming space for you and your loved ones to have quality time together. It’ll be your space to retreat to after a tiring day — to relax and have fun. So make it the man cave of your dreams!
Check out our offerings at Games For Fun to start filling up your man cave today!
