The Best Ping-Pong Tables For Your Game Room, Garage and Den
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Setting up your home for relaxation and de-stressing is a must – especially in the era of coronavirus quarantines. One way to do that is with a dedicated home sport such as ping-pong.
Ping-pong (a.k.a. table tennis) was first played by the upper-class as an after-dinner parlor game in Victorian England. Over time, the sport developed with gear innovations and tournaments around the world until it became an official Olympic sport in 1988. But despite ping-pong’s professional status, the sport’s humble beginnings as a casual game between friends is still very much a part of its character.
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Even though ping-pong is still considered a bar sport by most, it actually provides some real health benefits. Besides offering a fun way to relax with friends or family, table tennis also improves hand-eye coordination, sharpens the brain, and even burns calories (around 272 an hour for a 150-pound person).
Another reason why ping-pong is such a popular home game is that anyone can enjoy it. Have a friendly rally with the kids, a casual game, or a by-the-book tournament with your most competitive friends.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Ping Pong Table
Space: Before upgrading your game room, man cave or garage with a ping-pong table, make sure you have the space. Regulation tables are five-feet wide and nine-feet long, plus about six inches on either side for the net. But you’ll also need some room to move around. While table tennis pros require a 46 x 23-foot space, most recreational players should only need about 17 x 11 feet of playing space.
Style: Ping-pong tables come in a few styles, including single-piece tables, collapsible competition tables and conversion tables. Collapsible tables are the most common, providing a regulation table that can be folded up and moved around when not in use. Conversion tables are ping-pong tables without legs, allowing you to place it on an existing billiards or dining table. We left out single-piece tables in our roundup because they’re far more expensive and really more high-end decor than indoor sport.
Storage: Even if you plan on using your new ping-pong table regularly, it can still be handy to have a table that folds up, rolls or collapses. This will let you move the table when space is needed for something else and even let you bring the table to a different room or the yard.
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