Product Review: Origins Board Game Table by Game Theory Tables

So most of the reviews here are about the games we play, not necessarily where we play them or on what we play the games. But as anyone who has attended a live performance of anything, or listened to music on worn out speakers, the environment in which you do something can have an effect on your experience.

So with that in mind, I splurged and did a BIG upgrade for our game room and Kickstarted the Origins Board Game Table by Game Theory Tables. GTT is a spinoff company of BBO Poker Tables. They realized that the design of a poker table isn’t too far off from what board gamers want in a table, so they decided to dip their toes into another “niche” market in 2020.

Let’s get the big question out of the way – they aren’t cheap. The KS table started at $1,500 (a 35% discount on their projected retail price) and could get over 3k easily with all of the enticing add-ons. The table has a recessed playing area that is 61″-37″, 8 cup holders, and 12 recessed component organizers on the upper rail of the table. In addition, you can purchase a 4 leaf table topper to use it as a dining table (or play a REALLY large game with a playing surface of 72″-48″), chairs, a bench that doubles to store the table topper leafs, under-mounted USB A&C chargers, a variety of inserts that sit atop the legs (dice towers, token trays, etc.), a variety of different colored and patterned neoprene mats along with the standard Dynamic Gaming Suede Top, and even a leaf diver so that you can have half the table uncovered and the other with the table topper on and not have anything roll under that topper. You can see how the price can increase quickly!

I ended up choosing the Onyx (black) color with the blue Dynamic Gaming Suede, the Green “Carcassonne” neoprene mat that sits in the recessed area, dining top, XL dining top neoprene mat, dividers, USB chargers, and the storage bench that will seat 2 players.

One thing that we loved about our previous game table was that it was “Bar Top” our “Counter Height.” We loved that you could sit on the bar stools that we had or stand and play any game. As I’m sure you know, sometimes sitting for 2-3 hours playing a game can lead to some back pain. Unfortunately, the Origins table was not as tall as we would have wanted it to be. Amazon to the rescue! I ordered 8 (2 for each leg) 3″ furniture risers that were 5.5″ inches wide (the same width as the legs), and they are working PERFECTLY. You can find a link to the risers HERE and a link to the bar stool swivel chairs we bought off of Wayfair HERE.

Impressions:

I honestly love it. It’s comfortable to play on, is very sturdy – even on the risers, and just adds a completely different dimension and “vibe” when playing a game. The Dynamic Gaming Suede is beautiful and feels great. We’ve played a half dozen games on it together already, and my 4yo son LOVES climbing up on the bench to play games now too! His favorite lately is his new Spidey and Friends Yahtzee!

The USB Chargers are fantastic to have, as who hasn’t run out of juice while steaming music and taking pictures of your games late at night! My one critique of the chargers is that as currently designed it has the power cable coming out of 2 of the 4 legs. It would have been better to “daisy chain” all of these to come out of 1 leg. I essentially did that by running one of them back up the leg and clipping it to the belly of the table. I then ran a second extension cord down the leg and placed a cord cable mat on top of the cable so no one would trip over it.

The bench is a little tall to sit on and have your legs slide under the table easily if the table isn’t raised, but I didn’t find it to be uncomfortable or unusable at the normal height. The table topper leafs come with these nice bags to store them in while they’re in the bench, but it’s a little too much trouble to get them in and out, especially with 1 person. I’d have preferred for the dividers and floor of the bench to be felt lined (which is what I, and many others, have ended up doing on their own).

Something I’d love to see them add, which they do on their BBO Poker tables, is to add an option for inlayed rail lights around the recessed area. There’s already power going to the table, this would seem like the next logical “add-on” feature – I have a plan to do this myself 😉

Conclusion:

If you have the money and the room for it, I would 100% recommend the Origins Game Theory Board Game Table. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I’m very happy with the purchase. You can see their current pricing and options HERE. I can’t wait to have our first game night with friends and play something epic!

What would be the first game YOU would play on it?!

-Stuart