Everyone has a little haven they hold so dearly, where they can escape to enjoy or rejuvenate. Every gamer needs a bespoke man cave that speaks volumes about their personality and love for gaming. Are you up to the task of creating your gaming HQ and looking for how to create a gamer’s cave?
At first, it might seem like an easy task, but when you bring your friends or fellow gamers into the picture, you’ll notice that it’s something that needs lots of input. Your gaming man cave needs to be unique, attractive, and comforting to your buddies.
Whether into VR, retro gaming, or COD, there are hundreds of options you can consolidate to create your own unique gaming man cave. And we’re here to help you do it the right and easy way. So, let’s jump into it right away!
11 Tips to Help You Plan Your Gamer’s Man Cave
Your gaming man cave plan should delve into the different variables that can create a conducive gaming environment. Think of the space, lighting, soundproofing, and food accessibility. We’ll look at these in depth.
1. Soundproofing
We know that you love the sound effects of a game, which play a bigger role in keeping you engaged for hours. When your gaming console is connected to a subwoofer sound system, the experience is, even more, exhilarating. Unfortunately, this will create a distraction, not only in the rest of the house but in the neighborhood as well. That’s why soundproofing is crucial in how to create a gamer’s man cave.
One way of dampening the sound in your man cave is to install acoustic foam panels both on the ceiling and walls. If you’re not allowed to alter the room, then I’d recommend using wireless gaming headphones or gaming speakers to immerse you fully into the game without creating a noise nuisance.
2. Space
Things to consider here include the available space. Are you setting up your gaming man cave within your house? Or do you have a separate outbuilding or shed outside that you think can serve the purpose? One of the commonly used spaces to create a gamer’s man cave is the basement.
Basements allow you to create a unique décor that’s separate from your home décor. Other gamers with limited space have also considered using the garage, patio, or backyard. Also, if you have a spare bedroom, it can create an excellent man cave.
Whichever option you go with, just ensure it’s spacious enough to accommodate gaming chairs, consoles, desks, and TV screens. If planning to do VR, then the space better be big enough.
3. Lighting
The room lighting is a bigger factor you shouldn’t overlook. It’s crucial to create a low-light environment to prevent screen glare or eye strain. If you opt for overhead lighting, just make sure it has dimmable options. However, that isn’t the best for the ultimate gamer’s man cave. The best choice that can serve for whatever game you’re into is the recessed down lights and track lighting.
These are great for illuminating your gaming room without creating direct glares at the screens. Your primary lighting should be dimmer to allow you to generate residual lighting backgrounds using accessory lighting. Consider using lit keyboards, and storage cabinet underlighting, among other bespoke LED lighting accessories.
4. Food accessibility
Gaming without snacks or on an empty belly isn’t something most gamers can do. That’s why it’s crucial to have food around your man cave. One way of tackling this is to install a snack vending machine. It’s one great idea to keep your friends engaged and slot a coin to get their snack or drink.
One mistake most gamers make with their man cave is to create a kitchen with appliances that no one touches. Instead, create a snacks section where you can quickly grab crisps and a cold drink whenever your hunger pangs kick in. Most importantly, avoid where utensils will have to be washed so everyone’s focused on the game instead of cleaning.
5. Posters and art
The lighting and the mood are set, now what’s left is to make the walls look nice with some art or posters. There are plenty of art styles in the world of gaming you might want to consider. You may capture scenes from games such as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, or simply posters of your favorite games.
6. Accessorizing Your Man Cave – What Are Your Favorite Games?
Another important factor to consider in how to create a gamer’s man cave is accessorizing the space. This will mostly be guided by the types of games you and your hangout buddies love. Don’t install a pool table if you or your friends aren’t into it. Here’s a list of gaming accessories you might want to consider for your man cave.
7. Comfy gaming chairs
To be fully immersed in the game, you need to be comfortable. You’re probably used to sitting on a standard living room couch, but a gaming chair delivers the ultimate comfort to allow you to play for hours. Apart from being ergonomic, a dedicated gaming seat might come with additional speakers, headphone jacks, and cup holders for the ultimate gaming experience.
8. TV screen/monitors
Long gone are the days people played with monitors on top of their desks. Today, you can find a wide selection of widescreen TVs with advanced connection ports to serve as a monitor. Want an 85” curved 8K display, no problem, you’ll find a great choice of wall-mounted LED TVs capable of handling a larger frame rate.
9. Gaming desks
even if you prefer a wall-mounted TV screen, you cannot entirely dismiss gaming desks. They present a better way of managing running cables, while also offering storage to keep your valuables safe. if you go for longer gaming desks, you’ll also get enough space to keep other accessories and gears.
Before choosing a desk, measure the space you intend to put it in to ensure the table dimensions fit perfectly.
10. Powerful Computer
Have heard of powerful custom-built gaming computers? The interesting thing is that you don’t have to be tech savvy to build one; there are plenty of readily assembled gaming PCs on sale around the web. Enjoying the best PC games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Axiom Verge, or Batman: Arkham City will require a more powerful computer, so budget for one.
These games are built with highly intensive graphics and therefore cannot only run smoothly on powerful CPUs with dedicated video cards. If you’ve got the skills or can quickly learn, you can easily assemble your own gaming computer. Otherwise, you can buy ready commercial ones such as Dell Alienware.
11. Gaming console – Retro Gaming or Modern Console?
While planning how to create a gamer’s man cave, one aspect you shouldn’t overlook is a gaming console. You probably think that your custom-built gaming PC is all you need, but some games feel better played on a console than on a PC or Mac.
Do you love the experience of the flashing screens, 8-bit sound, and arcade excitement? Then your gaming man cave should focus more on retro gaming consoles. Some of the choices to consider include the Cocktail and Upright Arcade machines, Evercade VS, Polymega, and Nintendo Switch.
If you’re into modern games with realistic themes, all you need to do is focus on modern gaming consoles. Think of stocking your man cave with the latest Microsoft Xbox Series X, capable of delivering a 120 frame rate, true 4K display, and 8K HDR. If you’re not an Xbox fan, you may consider Sony Playstation 5, which equally delivers a thrilling experience.
Final Thoughts
With some proper planning and a budget, you can easily create an escape haven where you go to relax after a day’s hard work or during your free time with friends. Get creative with your ideas and just remember that a gaming man cave is always a work in progress.
