Office Game Room FAQ: What Buying Pool Tables and Arcade Machines Taught Me

People assume buying games for an office is fun. It is, mostly—until you're the one explaining to your finance team why the pool table felt needs replacing after 18 months. I've been managing our office's game room purchases since 2021. These are the questions I actually get asked, both by coworkers and by other admins who find out what I do.

Wait, Does ice-games Sell Video Games?

Nope—and you're not the first to ask. The name confuses people. We still get searches for "ice age video games" and "ice skating video games" landing on our site. Completely different products. ice-games is a B2B supplier of physical recreation equipment. Pool tables. Ping pong tables. Arcade machines. Board games and card games. The stuff you put in a break room to get people off their laptops.

If you were hoping to download an ice-themed game, I get the disappointment. If you're outfitting a venue, though, this is probably what you actually need.

Is a Centipede Arcade Machine Worth Buying in 2025?

Yes, with caveats. The centipede arcade game is a classic for a reason, and for commercial spaces, it's one of the smarter old-school choices. The trackball is approachable in a way a joystick isn't. People who never touch the fighting games will play centipede for twenty minutes. In our office, it gets near-daily use.

Buy refurbished, and make sure the seller shows you actual gameplay footage before you commit. I learned this the hard way. We bought a cabinet from a seller who said it "ran fine." What they meant was it powered on. The trackball was grinding and the monitor had a wobble. I knew I should have asked for video proof, but thought, "what are the odds?" Well, the odds caught up with me.

Also: keep a spare trackball in stock. They take the most abuse and are cheaper to replace than you'd think.

How Much Does It Cost to Refelt a Pool Table?

Based on quotes we've gotten and pricing publicly listed by table service companies in late 2024:

• 7-foot table, standard cloth, including labor: $200–$400
• 8 to 9-foot table: $300–$500
• Upgraded cloth (Simonis or equivalent): add $100–$250
• Replacing cushions while the felt is off: add $200–$400

Can you learn how to refelt a pool table yourself? Yes. I did. It took a full weekend, and the felt ended up with a wrinkle I couldn't quite eliminate. For a home table, maybe fine. For a commercial space where it'll get heavy use, pay a professional. That's not me being precious about the equipment—it's me being realistic about what lasts.

And whatever you do, enforce the "no drinks on the rail" rule. We had to refelt after someone set a cup down mid-game. Golf ball-sized stain, visible immediately. That was a $250 lesson.

Do You Have Minimum Order Requirements?

This is the first question I ask every supplier, because I started out placing small orders and got treated badly more than once.

Here's what I'll say as someone who's been on both sides of this: a supplier that dismisses small orders is a supplier that will dismiss you. When I was ordering $200 worth of games for a small office, the vendors who took that order seriously are the ones I still call for much bigger ones. Small doesn't mean unimportant. It means potential.

ice-games works with small orders. Single pool table, a couple of arcade machines, a box of board games—all normal. You don't need to be a hotel chain or a corporate campus to get a response.

Can You Combine a Home Gym with a Game Room?

You can, and a lot of our customers do. Many home gym ideas translate well to mixed recreation spaces. The main things to think through:

Dust and airflow. A pool table and a treadmill in the same room means chalk dust and treadmill dust finding their way onto everything. Good ventilation helps. So does a cleaning schedule, which most people underestimate.

Noise is the other factor. Video games and a pool table are quiet. Ping pong and a home gym are not. If your game room is close to work areas, choose accordingly.

What's More Popular: Pool Tables or Ping Pong Tables?

Honestly? Depends on the group. Pool tables draw more spectators. People gather around, chat, wait for their turn. Ping pong is more active but creates more of a barrier—if you're not a confident player, you're less likely to jump in.

The numbers said ping pong would get more playtime per dollar. My gut said pool. I went with my gut and it was the right call for us. But for younger teams, ping pong tends to win. If you have the space and budget, both is the right answer.

Not ideal, but workable if you have to pick one: think about your actual crowd, not a generic recommendation.

How Do You Maintain Arcade Machines Besides the Centipede?

You're going to need a checklist. We didn't have one at first, and it cost us—a cabinet sat broken for a month because nobody had written down who was responsible for calling repairs. The third time something wore out, I finally created a monthly maintenance routine. Should have done it after the first time.

The basics: dust the cabinets (seriously, this prevents most overheating), inspect button and joystick assemblies, test coin mechanisms, and log any issues. It sounds obvious. It wasn't obvious until we had a dead screen and no clear owner for the fix.

What Do People Miss Most When Setting Up an Office Game Room?

Spare parts. Every office game room, ours included, will eventually need replacements. Chalk and a brush for the pool table. Trackballs and buttons for the arcade. Dice and cards for the board games—you will lose pieces. Every single game. It's a law of physics.

Also, measure your doorways and hallways before you buy a pool table. A 7-foot table is about 7.5 feet long with the padding. We nearly got stuck at a stairwell. That would've been an embarrassing call to our building manager. (Should mention: we'd already signed the delivery sticker, so there was no going back.)

And if you're buying multiple items: schedule deliveries separately. We ordered a pool table and an arcade machine at the same time. They arrived on the same day, and the installation crew for the pool table had to work around the arcade machine. Not a disaster. But it was the kind of small thing you don't think about until it's happening.