Man-cave: RPG Wargaming room - A Gentlemanly Sport

I decided to show you my Man-cave aka Wargaming and RPG room. This is where I do hobby related stuff and where I can host my game nights.

A man cave or manspace, and less commonly a manland or mantuary is a male retreat or sanctuary in a home, such as a specially equipped garage, spare bedroom, media room, den, basement, or tree house. The term “man cave” is a metaphor describing a room where one or more male family members and optionally their friends are supposed to be able to do as they please, without fear of upsetting any female household members with their interior design choices.
Wikipedia

My Man-cave is a Wargaming and RPG room

One of the criteria of buying a house, was that it should have a small space where I could do my hobby stuff: a basement or an attic preferably. In my case, it is a technical room of 11sqm which houses the central heating system.

Now let’s have an overview of my Wargaming and RPG Man Cave.

The main features are:

6ft. x 4 ft. gaming table
Hobby desk with storage and PC
3D printing area with storage
Library for Wargaming and RPG books as well as boxed games and some terrain I don’t want to store in boxes.
Lit display cabinet for miniatures
Mini bar with storage for licors, glasses and pipe tobacco
Relaxing sitting area (aka. comfortable chair and foot rest)
Smart stereo system (amplifiers with 6 speakers) which plays some fantasy themes upon switching on the lights.
Smart lighting setup with different scenarios/moods (Tavern, Wargaming, RPG, Hobby and Party)
Discrete storage spaces

Lighting my Wargaming RPG room

I wanted to recreate the general atmosphere of a medieval basement tavern for my man cave / wargaming and RPG room. Thus I kept the lighting on the darker side, painted two walls black and strategically positioned the different light sources.

Man Cave: RPG Wargaming room. Dnd in session.

I used two flickering E27 LED wall sconces as the main accent left and right of the small window, on which I applied a tavern looking colored glass film, which looks quite nice during daytime. Underneath the window there’s a fireplace video playing on an old computer monitor. The video and the crackling fire sound are played on a loop by a small Raspberry Pi. A central light above the gaming table nicely illuminates the center of the table. I can change the intensity and color of its light through an app on my phone. A single low hanging light only shines on the small countertop of the mini bar. Different LED candles and LED RGB strips add to the general atmosphere. In case I need more light, I can turn on different spots and white LED strips.

Look and Feel of the man-cave

Following the medieval tavern style, I opted mainly for an antique wood look for my Man-cave / RPG Wargaming room.

I added some wood imitation foils on different (white) surfaces. There’s one PVC foil on the gaming table. I applied a image wallpaper of an old wooden door on the metal door, but only on the inside. The outside is painted in white and with a vinyl Skyrim quest marker sticker stuck on it. I also added foils to the boiler and tanks of the central heating system, so they would look more like wooden boxes and barrels.

All the furniture is either old stuff from the previous place or from second hand shops.

Man Cave: RPG Wargaming room. Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying game — RPG setup

Wooden door in Man Cave: RPG Wargaming room: Dnd Dungeons and Dragons game room. — RPG setup

The Wargaming and RPG Library

I store all my gaming related books and boxes in these two Billy book cases from IKEA. A glass cabinet from that range puts some of my miniatures on display. I added a LED lighting strip on the inside of the glass door. Three spot lights can be turned on to illuminate the whole shelf.

Roleplaying Games Books in my Man Cave or RPG Wargaming room. Dnd Dungeons and Dragons game room. — The library setup

Wargames Books in my Man Cave or RPG Wargaming room. Dnd Dungeons and Dragons game room. — The library setup

Wargaming Hobby desk

In one corner of the man-cave, I set up my Wargaming hobby working space, with a large sturdy desk, wall mounted widescreen monitor and lots of shelving underneath and above. To its left is my 3D printing area. I store all the resins and tools in a cabinet underneath.

I have two flexible desk lamps from IKEA attached to the walls, which I can position as needed. The bulbs I use are neutral white LED by Philips, which are perfect for painting miniatures. Since it’s not my first hobby desk or corner, I pretty much knew how I wanted to have things organized around me. To avoid cables on my desk, I passed everything through a grommet, including the airbrush hose which is connected to the compressor under the table. A tight cable management makes sure, no cable is lying or hanging around anywhere.

Hobby desk in my Man Cave or RPG Wargaming room. — Work bench

Anycubic Photon Mono and Elegoo Mercury Plus Wash and Cure station in my 3D printer setup. — Work bench

Details

Of course I added some details here and there to further enhance the tavern look and feel of my RPG room. I glued some flag stones on 1 wall to recreate a dungeon like look. It’s illuminated indirectly from below by a smart RGB spot and LED strip. I hang a replica of an old sword on that wall as well. Furthermore there’s a wall of fame of some of our club patrons, a display of some images and my Gaslands Car collection.

The Minibar

Of course, what would a proper man cave be without a mini bar? Here, I store only the best drinks in the house, as well as the finest pipe tobacco. Next to it is a comfortable chair with foot rest to enjoy a fine brandy.

So that was a room tour of my man-cave / Wargaming RPG room. It’s still a work in progress and subdued to constant change. But here lies the fun in it.