The problem is that my two friends are the only ones into gaming that we know of, and we haven’t played any tabletop games in some time on even a REGULAR table. Man-children that we may be, we all have lots of responsibilities that consume a lot of our time. So I’m thinking even when he gets it there won’t be many people to play.
His house is technically his in-laws home. Originally they were going to move and let him rent it. But the “move” has taken 2 years and counting. Not a problem if it weren’t for the fact that theyre hoarders and thus their house is cluttered and messy. So this table is likely going to be destined to a fate much like Atlas- bearing a continent worth of junk; hostess wrappers, styrofoam pieces, unwashed clothes piled like so many mountains… All the while my friend will complain that we never game anymore.
Meanwhile, I will be using the same sum of money to save up to buy a house for my wife and I. Not as glamorous as a gaming table, but then again i’m okay with playing on a janky plywood table and chasing the occasional errant die that rolled off.
I suppose, that came off very judgemental…though I’m curious, the Dope being populous in uber-geeks, has anyone actually bought one of these?
I could imagine a model store like Games Workshop buying one since they host tournaments and stuff and thus get s lot of use out of it. But for an ordinary person they’d have to be pretty popular to really make the most of it.
The other thing im thinking is given the dubious pricing, many of these end up on ebay/ garage sales. I can’t tell you how much expensive exercise equipment gets sold dirt cheap, I imagine this would have a similar fate.
I would never pay that much for any sort of table, but if a friend of mine bought something like this I would not try too hard to convince them that it’s stupid. It’s his money, and if this is how he wants to spend it, well, so be it. If he is going to spend that kind of money, he should be allowed to feel excited about it at least for a little while.
I’m a gamer and can appreciate a good table. But I don’t know if I’d spend 10K on it. If I wanted something custom like that I could probably find a local carpenter and design it exactly how I wanted for half the price, if not less.
We’re currently using a box frame for a king size bed I think it cost my buddy 200$. Lay green felt over it ,voila gaming table.
If I had the ten grand to spare - and the space to hold it - I would totally buy one of those tables. It’s been a pipe dream ever since I first saw them at a con three years ago. Doubt it’ll ever actually happen, but it’s fun to think about in a “if I win the lottery” kind of way.
We never had a sultan but for several years my dining room table was a pool table with a beautiful hardwood cover. The biggest issue with it was height. I had to have chairs custom made so we could eat dinner at it.
I think we’re all missing the real hero of this story - the salesman. He managed to talk an otherwise rational human being into forking over $10,000 for an ugly table. That is EPIC!
Oh yeah, don’t even get me started on the chairs. I think the people that buy this stuff subscribe to the theory that the more money it costs, the higher quality it’ll be. Sorta like,
“I could buy a cheap X but it will break easily and not have many doodads. Or I could buy an expensive X and it will last forever and have tons of doodads”.
The problem I find is that in many cases, particularly geeky stuff, this isn’t a linear equation. Monster Cables and Air Ionizers are probably not worth the price at the higher end of the spectrum.
And honestly it just seems more fun as a DiY project. Sure it might not be made out of hardwood trees hacked down from Ferngully and Pandora, but it will still serve its function.
I’m not in the market for a $10,000 table. In fact, I’m pretty sure my wife would strangle me with my own intestines if I made such a purchase. But your statement can apply to anything that’s nice. Why spend $1,200 for a nice oak dining set when you can just spend $200 for a 6 foot plastic table and some metal folding chairs? Sure, it might not be made out of something pleasant like oak, but it will still serve its function at a fraction of the cost.
Your friend is doomed to a life of living paycheck to paycheck.
He appears not to understand 5000<>10,000. Which I would think would make playing most RPGs difficult. But beyond that, it is fair bet that the 5000 saw a tax hit at a marginal rate of like 35%, AND the 10,000 ended up being a fair bit more (shipping, extra cost options, etc.) by the time the thing finds it’s way to his living room. But beyond that he appears to be a person to whom the concept of having some extra cash and actually, you know, saving it, is not the sort of thing that would occur to him. Instead of adding the 3500 or so (after taxes) to his savings, it enabled him to spend all that plus another 7000 or so that was never “extra” money and WILL be missed.
I was interested to see the secret railings and on that page the text says “we’ll post some pictures here…”. You don’t even have pictures of it to finish your website?
While I don’t think it is outrageously expensive for furniture (a good dining room table can easily cost as much), I do agree that it is butt-ugly and looks more like something Aunt Myrtle would have next to the side tables with doilies.
I personally would want something sleek and modern, no weird sides to the units that infringe on arm movements, and include lots of hidden wires and plugs and pull outs and pop ups, etc It just doesn’t seem very “inventive” for its purpose.
I think it would have been cooler to design your own and then find a good craftsman to build it according to your specs. I am sure you could find someone willing to spend the next month or two building you a table from scratch, for $10,000.
