Originally posted on https://gameroomcompany.com/blogs/game-room-blog/dimensions-ping-pong-foosball-air-hockey-pool

 

Truth be told, most of us don’t have an abundance of space in our game rooms.  Very often, it can be a tight fit as to whether that new game table will function well in the space you have available.

Not only does the table itself have to fit, but there also has to be enough room left over around the table to actually play the game!  So it’s really important to account for this when planning your game room purchase.

Consider this post an ultimate guide about space usage in your game room.  We’ll go over the dimensions of your typical game room tables (like pool, ping pong, air hockey, and more) and also give our two cents on how much space you need to plan to have open around the table too.

And at the end, we’ll go over a couple of tips for maximizing space in your game room – enjoy!

Ping Pong Table Dimensions

One of the most popular game room games on the globe is ping pong (or table tennis).  It’s so popular, in fact, that you can find table tennis clubs in just about every single major city on the planet.

What makes ping pong so great is how little equipment you need to play.  Beyond the table, all you need is a ball and one paddle per person.

All of that said, it’s important to know what the standard ping pong table dimensions are if you are looking to add one to your game room.

 Tournament Ping Pong Table Dimensions

The ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) is the governing body for the sport of table tennis.  They make and enforce all rules when it comes to ping pong table dimensions or anything else like that.

Per their standards, all ping pong table sizes are:

9 ft W x 5 ft L x 2.5 ft H

It’s 9 feet long by 5 feet wide on the table top.  The table top is 2.5 feet higher than the ground.

 

For those of us using the metric system, ping pong table dimensions are:

274 cm W x 152.5 cm L x 76 cm H

Best Ping Pong Table Size for Recreational Players

Most table tennis manufacturers create tables that are ITTF conforming ping pong table dimensions.  That being said, there are a few options on the market that are “midsize” or “mini” ping pong tables.

Unless you are buying for kiddos with the goal of introducing them to the game, we almost always recommend buying a standard ping pong table size over a smaller version.  A larger table actually makes the game easier for novice players, since you have a bigger target to hit the ball in play!

Space Required for a Ping Pong Table

The ping pong table dimensions aren’t the only thing you need to take into consideration.  You need extra space to actually play the game!  For ping pong, we recommend an absolute minimum of 4 feet extra space on either end of the table, and 3 feet of space on the sides.

Ideally you have more space, but you can play some really fun ping pong with that much extra space.

So in total, for a standard sized ping pong table plus the space needed to comfortably play the game, you’ll need a space of 13 feet by 11 feet cleared out in your game room to support a ping pong table.

How Much Does a Ping Pong Table Weigh?

How much a ping pong table weighs varies greatly by the model you purchase.  Most quality ping pong tables weigh between 175 and 300 pounds.

Shuffleboard Table Dimensions

Compared to ping pong, shuffleboard has a relatively quiet competitive scene.  Because of this, there isn’t really a shuffleboard table size that you’ll consistently see across multiple venues.

Tournament shuffleboard table dimensions are 22 feet in length and 20 inches wide on the playing surface. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have anywhere near 22 linear feet available in my game room for a shuffleboard table.

Fortunately, shuffleboard tables come in all sorts of lengths.  The 20 inch wide playing surface is standard across almost all tables.  But length wise, there are an abundance of options.  8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 foot shuffleboard tables are all pretty common – so you should be able to find a size that fits your space!

Space Needed for Shuffleboard

The great thing about shuffleboard is that the table length is really the only big factor to consider when it comes to the amount of space needed for a shuffleboard table.

Since the entire game is played on the board itself, you can easily put a shuffleboard directly up against a wall without impacting the experience.  So on the sides, you don’t need any extra space buffering the outside of the table.

For the ends of the table, we generally recommend a minimum of 3 or 4 feet of space for players to be able to comfortably play shuffleboard.

How Much Does a Shuffleboard Table Weigh?

Again, this is going to vary greatly depending on the size of your shuffleboard table, but they can easily weigh between 200 and 800 pounds.

Air Hockey Table Dimensions

If you’re looking to start a league or play competitively, the regulation air hockey table size is 99.5 in L x 51.25 in W x 31 in H.  It’s also very common to see other full size tables that are roughly 90 in L x 50 in W.

As far as what’s available, there are countless air hockey table dimensions to pick from.  Common table lengths are anywhere from 5 to 8 feet for plug in air hockey tables.

Space Needed for Air Hockey

It’s pretty uncommon for you to need space on the sides of your air hockey table, so you don’t need a ton of room on either side.  We recommend at least 3 extra feet of space on either end of the table for the players’ maneuverability.

So in total, for an air hockey table you’ll need a rectangular space that’s roughly 13.5 feet by 6 feet to comfortably store a ping pong table.

Foosball Dimensions

The standard foosball table size is 56 in L x 30 in W.  It’s very important to note that this is not inclusive of the space occupied by protruding rods, so most foosball tables really occupy more like 56″ x 40″ of space.

Similar to the other table games on this list, foosball tables can come in “midsize” iterations – which can be a great option if you are tight on space.  Some tabletop foosball games can get as small as 1.5 feet in length!

Space Needed for a Foosball Table

We already mentioned that foosball tables have an effective width of about 40 inches, or about 3.5 feet.  It’s not super necessary to have extra space on the sides of the foosball table where the goals are.

When you take into account how the game is played, and how players should position themselves while playing – we recommend a minimum of 3 extra feet per side where the players play.

With that in mind, we recommend a space of at lest 5 feet by 9 feet as the space needed for a foosball table.

Billiards Table Dimensions

Billiards is the table game that requires the most space to effectively and comfortably play the game.  You can definitely make it work in tightish quarters, but it’s far from ideal to have to alter your strokes because you don’t have enough room.

Billiards tables come in 3 regularized sizes: Bar Size (7 feet long), Standard (8 feet long), and Tournament (9 feet long).

One very important note about billiards tables is that from cushion to cushion, the playing field should be exactly twice as long as it is wide.  For example, a Tournament playing field is 100 in L x 50 in W.

How Tall is a Billiards Table?

Billiards Tables are supposed to be about 2.6 feet off of the ground.

Space Needed for a Billiards Table

From a high level perspective, you need enough space around your billiards table to execute all kinds of shots that might come about during a game.

What this effectively means is that you should have enough space to take the entire length of your cue in a perpendicular line to the cue ball, no matter where the cue ball is.

Cues can vary in length.  Most billiards cues we sell at The Game Room Company are 58 inches long, give or take.

The cue ball will often times come to rest on a rail, so this means you should account for enough space to fit the length of your cue around the entire perimeter of the table.

That might all sound like mumbo jumbo, so here’s a chart to help out!

Wrap Up

I hope this post has been beneficial to you for the purposes of planning your game room!  If you have any other questions about space needed for table games, or want to get in touch with us for any reason, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] or 1-800-306-1745.

Check out our current selection of table games right here!