I'm doing some market research ...

[wotmaniac]

Ship from where?

My shop?
More specifically, Phoenix, AZ.

Looking at the pictures, felt or fabric mats on the pull-out drawers would probably be a good idea (perhaps with some sort of graphic on them?).

I was thinking more along the lines of a wet&dry erase surface. With maybe a small place on the pull-out with felt (or something like that) for rolling dice.

I would personally prefer if the wet/dry mat could somehow be removed for cleaning or replacement (say, it was torn or wore out - or even if I wanted to change from square to hex).

Done.

Some way to support those drawers - they don't look like they support the PF corebook and ToH, let alone elbows or a drink.

How does this suit you:
1) this is 110 pounds of iron sitting on a single, fully-extended pull-out ;
2) this is 600 pounds of humanity just chillin' out on the top of the table.

(Speaking of which, the tabletop needs a corner spot or two to rest items on - books, a 2 liter, dice, etc. for those who don't want 2 feet of drawer between them and reaching figures on the table.)

I've since developed a design that puts a 6-8 inch wide pull-out between the side player stations .... this is where I could put cup holders, at the customer's option.
(btw -- the cup holders I've *tentatively* designed could accommodate anything from a 12-oz can up to a 2-liter bottle)

An idea I just had - instead of having a full pull-out drawer that puts so much distance between the players and the table, why not a pull-out/fold-up drawer that fits between the seats? People could store their stuff on these pull-outs and still feel close to the action at the table. And no leaning over the drawer and risking it rolling shut - spilling drinks, pizza, dice and whatnot into your lap or on the floor.

This is not the only time this has been mentioned. Here's my thoughts:
I've already decided to cut at least 2-inches off the length of the pull-outs; this still leaves enough room for books/laptops/etc and a pencil/dice tray.
As far as the "distance from the action" goes .... in the 3 years that I've been using this, I haven't really experienced any problems here. The pull-outs slide back underneath smoothly and effortlessly. As I've seen this in play in my group, if someone is currently interacting with/negotiating the grid surface, then they don't really need the stuff on their pull-out .... they push it back underneath real quick, and go about doing what they have to do on the grid, pulling the drawer back out when they need to (i.e., when you're done interacting with the grid). Someone would rarely (if ever) need to access both the grid and the stuff on they're drawer simultaneously. And by increasing the depth (i.e., the distance between the top of the pull-out and the bottom of the table top) from less-than-1-inch up to 2+ inches, that leaves plenty of room for whatever you might have on your pull-out (books, laptop, notebooks/binders, pizza, etc.). With the addition of the aforementioned "in-between" pull-out, this should resolve any issue with drinks (or anything else that is much more than 2-inches high).
But, YMMV.
I'm also toying with the idea of having a shelf attached to the bottom of the pull-outs, that run the entire width of the pull-out (as a customer option). It would only be about 1.25-inches deep (minimizing the effect on leg clearance), but that's plenty of room for a couple of standard-sized source books (or whatever).

Oh, and these significantly increase the size of the room I need for one of these tables. With all the pullouts in use, won't this take up a minimum of 5' by 7', not counting chairs?

It might be a little crowded, but the 4x6 can actually work just fine for a standard 10'x12' room (provided, of course, that you're using chairs, and not big ol' couches like I do).

Not sure where I saw it, but the idea that I like best is similar to yours, but not an entire table. It's just a "topper" consisting of the grid on short legs, roughly 4"-6", that can be set on to a table.

Already working on it. We've recently worked out this very type of thing (i.e., within the last week). Also, they way we've worked the design out, you could even order and add the legs later in the event that you later move in to a place that has room for a dedicated gaming room.

If you want to design entire tables, you could eliminate the pullouts and elevate the grid.

One of my primary design concerns is to minimize the table's profile. IMO, making the profile too deep seems really obtrusive.

And I second Stormonu's idea about removable/replaceable grids. In fact, the ability to flip the grid, with squares on one side and hexes on the other, would be very useful and allow easier cleaning.

And furthermore, I plan on having multiple different graphics available (I'm still working that one out, though .... any suggestions would be welcome).

Lastly, if you plan to sell these, they will have to look good. I realize the images are of a mock-up, so I'm unsure if this is what you intend for the final product. I would suggest it will need to have polished wood, fittings that are hidden or stylish, and so on. That will increase the cost, but otherwise I might as well build something like this myself.

You're spot-on with this. The cost of materials would increase only very minimally (if at all, really), but it's probably gonna add a few hours to the build time. I'm currently meeting with some professional furniture makers to help me with this. I've got a lot of refining to do before I even start my focus groups, let alone go to market.

Here's some other ideas if your feeling craftsmanly but looking for something "cheaper":
dice tower/dice pit = a place to roll dice and keep them corralled.
battlemat shelf = something I made, it rests on the normal table, elevates about 1 coke can high, and the battlemat sits on that. Thus, the entire regular surface is available to hold books, drinks, stuff. The shelf would be big enough to hold a smaller (not tiny) battlemat, good enough for encounters.
Scrollcase pencil case = holds gaming pencils, looks like a scrollcase
map case = bigger tube to hold game maps, maybe even the battlemat and pens
leather book covers = I have one that holds 2 gaming books. looks cool, and protects my books.

Now in progress ..... THANKS!
(I've now also thought about minis cases, bookshelves, display cases, etc. ... we'll see what happens)

Stick LED or ribbon wire under there for reading light,

I'm already investigating this .... I really like the prospects.

We have the Monty Haul Gaming Tables tables here as an option. Lower end than the sultan but still very nice. Gaming shop has one.
Look better in person that the bare designs on display....

I'm just glad he's all the way out in Australia.
But definitely giving me some more hope. Let's see : veneered MDF (as opposed to hardwood lumber) ... drawers only rated for 70lbs (instead of 100+) ... ... and is getting away with charging $1700. Once I get things prettied-up properly, I should be good to go at my target price point.

How well do the dice roll on that surface?

As-is, they roll pretty good, if a bit loud and rebounding. I'm currently working out how to quiet this down a little.

I for one, could use less grid and more utility surface space. Maybe 15" all around of felt or faux leather for character sheets, dice, and drinks?

That's what the pull-outs are for. If you're gonna have that much space between you and the gaming surface, then being able to get it out of the way would seem to be a plus.
I might go ahead and look in to being able to add some sort of fabric to the trim area, though (I actually kinda like that).

the Sultan is big and bulky.

My thoughts exactly. Not to mention that you practically have to call a professional moving team just to be able to vacuum underneath it.

Your design is more streamlined,

Which is what I was going for. (btw, I hadn't even heard of Geek Chic until earlier this year ; and build my table 3 years ago)

though a big rough looking.

yeah -- that's one of the biggest (if not the biggest) concerns to which I'm going to be putting my attention.

I which case, I do recommend the 2.5' x 5' form factor for the playing surface,

I will be having a 3x5 model, intended for up to 6 players.

Also consider parking the GM in the center of the table (on a long side), rather than at the end. This gives all players full access to the GM, rather than getting preferential access to the GM by proximity.

This is actually something that I had briefly considered back when I was first designing my own table. I just may revisit it.

For battle mat, consider just doing a solid table surface. The battlemat would be a customer option, embeded, Chessex, maybe a plexiglass sheet with grid on it, so I can slide the map underneath, and dry-erase mark it on top.

I keep seeing this ..... and it's a point that I may have to eventually concede. I'd still want to put some basic protective something over the wood (what good would it be to have the wood showing if all the interchanging is just going to end-up scratching it to hell?). Perhaps some felt or canvas.

I like how you handled the shelves on the ends. The long side shelves rest close against the underside of the table. The end shelves sit below the side shelves, so neither blocks the other.

This was something I came up with after refusing to have the end shelves be drop-downs. As it turns out, I'm obviously not the only one to have come up with that (judging by the things I've seen in the last few days on these fancy internets).


Thanks so far, guys -- great stuff (and sorry for my delayed reply).
Keep it coming.