How Billionaires Turn Playrooms Into Million-Dollar Havens
For many of us, nothing is left when we’ve already collected the rarest art, parked a fleet of hypercars, and filled our wine cellar with bottles older than our children.
But for today’s ultra-rich, fun is the new flex. But not just any fun. We’re talking about designer play with a personal signature. Game rooms have evolved significantly and are full-blown expressions of power, taste, and identity, custom-built for people who don’t do ordinary.
Ping Pong With an Ocean View
Credit: Observer
A Malibu home features a custom ping-pong table set in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with a direct view of the Pacific. The table, built with hidden paddle drawers and finished to a high gloss, stands out as both furniture and artwork.
Poker Tables With a Backstory
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One billionaire wanted to flaunt a poker table inspired by a snake motif. The result: a leather playing surface embroidered with the reptile’s coiled shape. It comes to a point where buying something so extraordinary is more than just buying luxury. It’s like a personal invention, replicating their unique and high-class taste in everything.
Game Tables That Replace the Dining Room
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Formal dining rooms are losing their purpose in the homes of the ultra-rich. Instead, game tables anchor the main entertaining spaces. These rooms are designed around play, and they invite guests into competitive, screen-free engagement where hierarchy gets reshuffled with every point scored.
Family Crests Become the Finish
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Designers like 11 Ravens are often asked to incorporate personal symbolism. That might mean embedding a family emblem into a shuffleboard plank or etching a tribute to a loved one into the table frame. Each element transforms a common game into a one-of-a-kind legacy object.
Shopping Meets Sport
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At Neiman Marcus in Hudson Yards, you’ll find arcade games and foosball tables in the middle of the luxury goods. It’s not just background noise. Some shoppers come in for a jacket and end up playing a quick round of pinball. The games break up the shopping routine and invite people to linger.
Luxury Resorts With Competitive Corners
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Step onto the villa deck at Nobu Hotel in Las Vegas and there’s a ping pong table with the Strip as a backdrop. Guests aren’t just there for the view; the table sees as much action as the rooftop pool. For many, the chance to play beats another hour at the slots.
Office Deals Played Over Billiards
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Business at the Oppenheim Group in California doesn’t always happen across a desk. Decisions might take shape over a game of pool or during a shuffleboard match. Deals get discussed between shots, and sometimes the mood at the table does more than any boardroom ever could.
Play as Social Filter
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Game rooms act as subtle social tests. Skill-based games like poker or ping pong reveal temperament and quick thinking. For the wealthy, these activities have become a way to understand new acquaintances, vet partners, or shift dynamics without the formality of titles.
Yachts With Entertainment Wings
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High-net-worth individuals are dedicating entire yacht levels to entertainment. That includes personalized game rooms complete with billiards, foosball, and gaming tables, all matched to the yacht’s design language. On the water, these become central hubs for curated social arenas.
Artistic Collaboration, Not Just Customization
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Some tables are co-designed with fine art and design houses. In one case, a client requested that Brentano wallpaper be layered into a ping pong table’s construction. Apart from being highly decorative, it was an embedded detail, treated like a medium rather than an afterthought.
Foosball as Conversation Starter
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One handcrafted foosball table sits in a Malibu beachfront home, not far from a Rothko. It’s not meant to disappear into the background. With hand-painted figurines and brass fixtures, it proves that playfulness and design precision aren’t mutually exclusive.
Tables Engraved With Quotes and Poetry
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Custom game tables are often inscribed with text—verses from favorite poems, inside jokes, or family mantras. These subtle messages stay hidden until someone leans in, changing how people interact with the table and each other. It’s narrative luxury in an unlikely place.
Athletes Commissioning Homage Pieces
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Some of the most intricate custom tables have been commissioned by athletes, who embed their jersey numbers, career milestones, or team colors into the design. These stylized symbols of achievement blend personal history with high design.
Replacing Screens With Strategy
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Many clients say the same thing: they’re done with passive entertainment. No one wants another screening room. They want active, meaningful interaction. Game tables draw people in and keep them off their devices.
Luxury Defined by Use, Not Just Ownership
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At this wealth level, objects must justify their existence. If a table takes up space in a prime room, it better function beautifully, tell a story, and invite repeat use. Otherwise, it doesn’t belong. That’s the new metric of luxury.