Gone are the days of spending countless hours in a dimly lit room crouched over a card table in uncomfortable chairs. I have done it myself. But how do we take that passion for friends and game, and turn it into something we are proud to show off?
Today, I am going to talk about a type of man cave that is not often built. This article is going to discuss what a “super nerd” or “nerd room” man cave is and it will give you some ideas for building your own. There is nothing like having your very own nerd cave.
When building your nerd cave, you are going to want to make sure that you: use good natural lighting, use comfortable seating with back support, use the most unique table you can find, and use unique decorations. You are also going to want to make sure you don’t use immature designs, don’t go too deep on a single game, and don’t use bright or jarring colors. By following these guidelines, your nerd cave will be home to many quests for years to come.
We are mature adults now. As such, we are going to build a nerd cave that we can be proud of sharing. Here is how.
What Is A Nerd Cave?
When I say, “super nerd man cave”, I am talking about a man cave that focuses on your appreciation for only the finest role-playing and card games. This is an awesome and unique choice for a man cave. Gone are the days of needing to play in a basement. This will be your new game room.
You are reading this article because you are considering a nerd-themed man cave. The focus of your nerd cave is going to be on your decorations, and the actual location you will be playing. The one thing that most roleplaying and card games have in common is that they require you to gather around a table for extended periods. So you bet that table is going to get a lot of love.
If you are going to have decorations, they are probably going to be related to your favorite games. Don’t be shy here, proudly display aspects of all the games you are in to. The feel of a nerd cave is going to be comfortable, hospitable, and nostalgia.
It is going to be important that people have a comfortable environment to get into the game you all are playing. You know as well as I do that sessions can last a long time. You will want to make sure that you have all the amenities in your nerd cave. This way, you can limit the number of breaks in action during your gaming sessions.
Important Features Of A Nerd Cave:
When building a nerd cave, there are some elements you will need to make sure you have. As always, the decision is yours to use these suggestions. But these are the features that I feel help ensure your nerd cave has everything it needs to host many gaming sessions to come.
Use Good, Natural Lighting:
I’m not sure about you, but my party’s sessions are usually long. Whenever you are in one room for an extended amount of time certain things become super important. At the top of this list is the quality of the room’s writing. I may only be speaking for myself, but I can’t be in a room with harsh lighting for long periods.
I can’t stand those aggressive overhead florescent lights! To make sure the session in your nerd cave will be long and prosperous, be sure to use lighting that is easy on the eyes.
To make sure your lighting is easy on the eyes, remember that soft, natural light is your best go-to. If this is not an option, at least install lighting that has some type of dimmer. The easiest way to include this lighting is to buy floor or table lamps.
If you get good quality lamps, put them strategically around where people will be gathering, you will never need to touch your overhead lights again. Better yet, you can find some awesome looking lamps, that will inspire your party to continue in the face of danger. Out of everything in this list, these lamps will be the cheapest fix and will add the most to your space.
Some Computer Gaming Chairs, the Most Comfortable And Supportive Seating Possible:
Like I said earlier, one of the things that make a nerd cave unique is how long it will be used at a time. If you are doing a one-shot Dungeons and Dragons session with your friends, you may be in there for upwards of 12 hours!
So, comfortable seating is going to be vital to your party’s success in their fantasy endeavors. Even though seating like bean bags are super comfortable, they are not something you want to sit in for long periods.
Maybe when we were kids, we could have sat in a bean bag for hours and hours. But now that we are adults, we need to take care of our backs. We know that most of our gatherings in this space will be focused on the tabletop. Because of this, our options are limited. Normally I would be suggesting couches, sectionals, or bean bags. But we are going to need to get a little more creative.
As always, the decision is going to end up being yours. But I think you should start by looking at computer gaming chairs. This is a good starting point because it designed to be used will siting at a tabletop. They usually have a sit duration rating. That can help you figure out if it will be a good fit for what you are using it for. I will give my suggestion for your consideration at the end of this article.
Find The Most Unique Table Possible:
All right, you had to have seen this one coming. When we are talking about a nerd cave that is going to serve as the gathering spot for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and other tabletop card festivities, the table becomes the most important element of the room.
In a home theater, the TV gets all the attention, in a nerd cave, it’s the table. So, do yourself a favor and do a little exploring with the options you have. You could get a $25 card table if you wanted to. It would probably do the job just fine.
But This is your chance to take your nerd cave to the next level. Look at some of the more extravagant tables. This is going to help you set the tone of your room. If I were picking a table specifically for a nerd cave, I would be looking at tables that are reminiscent of a great hall table: large, rustic, and sturdy.
For those of you who are good with your hands, this table could be a DIY project opportunity. Get a poker table, a monitor, and some plexiglass; put it all together and create the best D&D table imaginable! If this is a build you would like to see, let me know, and I will give the build a shot. That way you can learn from my mistakes.
Find Unique Decorations And Memorabilia:
So we have talked about tables, seating and light, I have one more thing you need to make sure you do in your nerd cave. Just saying it’s a nerd cave isn’t enough. Just putting a table, good seating, and comfortable lights in a room also won’t make your room a nerd cave. We are going to want to bring it all together with decorations and other collectibles from your favorite franchises.
If you aren’t sure where to start, first think about the games or franchises you enjoy the most. For me, I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering with my buds. So I would need to think about those two games and figure out if there would be anything interesting worth displaying or hanging on the walls.
I would probably display my graded cards on the wall (because they won’t be going into decks). If you want suggestions on the best way to do this, check out this article where I go over my suggestions. Or maybe I want to go with the D&D theme. If this is the case, then maybe I try to decorate my nerd cave as a tavern and have other elements that capture the feel of that game.
What will set your nerd cave apart is your ability to stage everything together. Anyone can create an average room by putting a lamp here, a table there, wood paneling over there, and a sword on the wall. But the real payoff comes when you are can be deliberate with what you include in your nerd cave. Remember you are aiming for a feel, as well as a look.
Things To Avoid When Building A Nerd Cave:
There are a few things you are going to want to avoid while building a nerd cave. Your guest’s gaming experience will be impacted if you make these mistakes. We want to make sure our party wants to come back!
Don’t Use Immature Designs:
Kind of like I was just talking about; we need to be sure that we don’t forget to use mature design choices when building a nerd cave.
Sure, we are building a room dedicated to what some may call an “immature” hobby (first of all, screw them right?!), but we can still use mature design in it. I go in-depth in this article on how to plan a man cave, budget, and execute that plan.
Since this is about what not to do, I do not want you to use immature design. Immature design means not having a plan. You are using immature design if you are just taking what you enjoy and sticking it on the wall or in your nerd cave. If this is all you are doing, you are missing an important step.
Remember, everything you include in your nerd cave needs to contribute in some way to the final goal of your nerd cave. For a nerd cave, my goals would be to have the room as comfortable as possible for long sessions and for the feel of the room to be uniform/deliberate. A room made with an immature design will feel scattered and pointless. We don’t want that.
Avoid Going Too Deep On One Game:
I am curious what you all think of this one. I think it is a mistake to focus your nerd too much on one game. This is a mistake because what’s going to happen if that game stops being updated or having new versions? Does that mean your nerd cave is obsolete? I’m not sure honestly.
My guess is that if you are passionate enough about this stuff to make a nerd cave, then you probably have a bunch of interests. Instead of your nerd cave being a single theme, I think it may make more sense for it to be a celebration of that culture as a whole. At the same time, if the theme of your nerd cave is more about the culture as a whole, your guests will probably be better able to relate to your room.
At the end of the day, I feel like we are putting a load of effort into our man cave. So it makes sense that we aim for it to be as relevant as possible for as long as possible. If we go all-in on one game, and that game’s developer or creator goes under, then we are screwed! For the sake of future-proofing your nerd cave, don’t focus exclusively on one game.
Don’t Use Bright And Jarring Colors:
Depending on the end goal of your nerd cave, you and your guests are probably going to be spending a lot of time in your space. If that’s the case, it would be a pretty egregious mistake to include all kinds of super bright and jarring colors.
The colors used in your room can have just as much of an impact as the lighting itself. If you were to use super bright colors, you are going to be giving your entire party headaches. No one wants a headache. The bright colors can also distract your guests from the task at hand, world domination.
Instead of going for the out-there colors, you may want to play it the same. Stick in the naturals color palette when choosing your nerd cave’s wall color. Colors like browns, greys, sands, and blues are popular choices. If you want a more in-depth guide to choosing colors, take a look at this article where I talk on that exact topic.
Final Thoughts:
Building a nerd cave is an awesome choice.
My hope for you is that these do’s, don’ts, and ideas help in some way. If you are taking the planning process of your man cave seriously you probably are familiar with how hard budgeting can be. If you want a tool to help you budget, check out the free tool that I designed. To get it, just fill out the below form!
Until next time,