It would be convenient to leave board games out without them being in the way. Board game tables that have a sunken play surface and a removable cover are common solution. However it seems annoying to have to reach down to interact with anything. I’m also concerned about spills ruining game pieces if the table is used for dining when the cover is on
A friend of mine bought one and it’s rarely open. Drink holders are nice, though.
I’ve got a setup with two cheap folding tables together and some tray tables for keeping food/drink away from the games. I can put it all away when it’s not in use. Tablecloth makes it easier to pick up cards and can get tossed in the washing machine. It works out pretty well for 6-8 people. Saves several hundred (or thousand) dollars, makes the space versatile, and is a bit adjustable surface area-wise. I also do find sunken tables awkward.
We’ve had one for almost 5 years now, and it’s wonderful. We had a folding table for our dining room before that, so we wanted to upgrade to something nice anyway. Cup holders are really nice, the drawers are not used much.
As for spills, I think we had two that made it through the cracks in total and only one of those made it down to the surface as a few droplets. This is with an 8 year old kid in the house.
Big note though, we have two panels for the topper, so there is just one seam down the middle, if there were more seams, it would have been worse.
As used allplay when they were still boardgametables
When our kid was younger we used the table all the time after bedtime to spread a game across days, now we’re using it because kid attention spans are good for about an hour, if we’re lucky. Either way, it’s the least messy part of our house, and I appreciate that.