Complementary & Alternative Billiard Room Gaming Ideas

Everyone that owns a home billiard room wants theirs to be the best…perfect in every way. However, having the most awesome billiard room on the block goes way beyond a nice billiard table and cues, and even further so than building an adjacent bar or having an adequate amount of bar stools for observation and side conversations. One aspect of a fun and exciting billiard room often overlooked are the types of complementary games to billiards you have available to your guests, providing alternative games besides only billiards.

Realistically, there will be numerous occasions when not everyone hanging out in your billiard room will actually be shooting pool. There will, at times, be others waiting for their turns or simply spectating. In addition, there may be times when some guests, or even you, feel like a change of pace away from the billiard table.

For any billiard room, you must first determine approximately how much extra space you have available for complementary gaming. Once you know that, you can determine what alternate games are best suited for your home billiard room. First, if you have a particular interest, such as a love for foosball or air hockey, and you have the necessary space needed, then go with it. A bar or pub table with bar stools definitely fits next to a billiard table nicely, but provides no alternate gaming activities for your guests. Some of the more common alternative (yet still complementary) billiard room games, from big to small, include:

• Darts and a dart cabinet, or an electronic dart machine
• Foosball table
• Ping pong table
• Pinball machine
• Sit down or coffin style video game
• Air hockey
• Table shuffleboard
• Play money slot machines
• Poker or alternative card table