Game Toppers full review

A few weeks ago I shared a Q&A with Burky about the upcoming Game Toppers game tables.

Well, since then our Game Topper has arrived and we’ve played many games on it.

To cut to the chase, we love it!

If you didn’t catch that post, no worries. Because we’re now ready to share our full review of this cool solution to having an immersive game experience without spending thousands of dollars on a high-end game table. (plenty of photos included)

Game Toppers let you turn any table into a quality game table in an instant!

NOTE: I purchased the Watson size table (38″ x 60″ playable surface).

 

Eye Catching

The first thing to note is how beautiful Game Toppers look.

Last week, I had a few friends over for games and the Game Topper was out and ready to go. It’s such a draw that whenever anyone entered we had to stop and talk about the topper. It didn’t matter if we were in the middle of a game.

And the beauty doesn’t stop with just the visual appeal.

The natural next step for everyone has been to touch it. They slide their hands along the rails, on the playing surface, and even underneath. The smooth feel everywhere goes hand in hand with the nice visuals.

We also have a Game Topper red play mat on our table that fits nice and snug. The red mat is also an eye-catching color that has enhanced every game we’ve played on it so far.

 

Quality Materials and Components

The quality materials can be both seen and felt.

The rails are where most players will engage with the game because they serve as arm rests while playing. They’re made of military grade aluminum with a powder coat finish. And they’re fantastic!

The outside edges are rounded which our resting arms appreciate. They also have an inside edge place for holding cards upright. We really appreciated this feature when playing the cooperative game Xenoshyft where we could set up cards that everyone could benefit from.

While it wasn’t noticed as much during our games because of the mat, the wooden table surface itself it high quality as well. It’s very durable and has a wonderful finish.

The trays / cup holders are also well made. Since they’re meant to be moved around easily, they’re made of a lightweight material that has a grove in the back where it notches into the rails.

They’re super simple to place and slide around anywhere you want along any of the 4 sides.

In some games we’d start with our cup holders next to us and then later move them to the end rails where they were still easy to reach, but gave us a bit more elbow room.

The game mat is also very nice for all sorts of game playing. It’s a great surface to roll dice on. And picking up cards is a breeze.

Picking cards up off our dining table can often be a chore. Many times times we end up sliding cards to the edge so we can get under them better to pick them up.

But with a game mat on our Game Topper, it’s easy to press next to a card to get under it. Or we can also press on one corner of a card so the opposite corner pops up a bit to make it each to grab. Very nice.

In addition to this red mat, there are other themed mats available such as the Adventure, Dungeon, Space, Castle, and more.

 

Quality Construction

The next thing that people immediately want to check out is how it’s all put together.

The table comes in two halves which fit snugly together.

Along the side is a slider that is moved into place once the halves are place together that can be tightened down to ensure all stays stable.

One of the things we love the most about the construction are the support beams underneath the table. Each half of the table has 3 supports. The first is the end rail. There’s another near the inside edge and the third support in the middle of each half. So when put together on a typical long folding table, there’s a total of 6 support beams.

And there’s more…

Each of the rails and support beams have a foam protection on the bottom so nothing scratches any table they’re placed on.

We’ve played with the Game Topper on both a folding table and a dining table and we don’t have to worry about it on either.

On the dining table, we don’t have to worry about any scratches. And on the folding table we don’t have to worry about any stability.

In fact, while on the folding table we leaned on the edge rails plenty and it never tipped even a bit. Even though the side rails hang over the edge of the table underneath, we didn’t have to be dainty. We could lean on them as much as we wanted without worry about any part of the game shifting.

Speaking of which, the Game Topper isn’t a lightweight.

It’s a sturdy piece of furniture that won’t just be tossed around. We’ve left it put together on a dining table we’ve been using in our basement for games. When we had buddies over for game night last week we simply moved it over to the folding table. That way one game could be played on the dining table and another on the Game Topper. (Yes, we all wanted to play on the Topper.)

To move it, we had two people lift it from the sides and walk it over. If you split it back into separate halves, it can be easily moved by one person. But we went the quick route and didn’t notice any strain on it whatsoever.

 

Gaming Experience

The absolute best part of the Game Topper is that we totally feel like we’ve leveled-up our game experiences.

Our typical table to play on is an old oval dining table in the basement. The Game Topper covers it nicely and gives us added space to boot. Being a rectangle on a square table is nice.

First of all, 6 players can sit around the table nicely and we even get extra room into the corners of the table. It gives each player plenty of space to place their items (cards, boards, dice, coins, etc.).

With the playing surface corralled by edge rails, it also means no more dice rolling off the table!

We’re lucky enough to have a table where our Game Topper will always remain set up. But if you’re not so lucky, it’s also easy to take apart and store the two halves out of the way.

Technically we can also take our Game Topper along with us if we’re going to be playing at a friends house as well. The table halves won’t fit in the back seat of our car, but they will fit in the back of our SUV.

The Game Toppers Kickstarter campaign also offers a special deal on a carrying case.

 

Game Toppers Kickstarter

If you’re considering a game table option, we highly recommend checking out the Game Toppers Kickstarter campaign that starts September 20!

There are multiple size options as well as accessories (mat, trays, cup holders).

• The Watson (the version we bought) is 38″ x 60″ playable surface.
• The Holmes is 36″ x 72″.
• The Lestrade is 36″ x 36″.
• The Hudson is 38″ x 30″.

And if you decide to go for it, go ahead and mention you saw our review.

Happy gaming!