Gifts
The Best Gifts for Someone With a Game Room
Written for the person buying, not the person who owns the table. Here is what works when you do not know the specifications.
How these picks were made: from published manufacturer specifications, governing-body standards and the room arithmetic - not from first-hand use. We have not played on these tables. Read the method.
Buying for someone with a game room is harder than it looks, because the obvious gifts - a cue, a table accessory - are usually size-specific or personal. These picks are chosen so that most of them work without you knowing anything technical about their setup.
What to check before you buy anything
| Gift type | What has to match | Do you need to ask? |
|---|---|---|
| Pool balls | Standard 2.25 in on any home table | No - unless it is a coin-op bar table |
| Pool table cover | Table size: 7 ft or 8 ft | Yes |
| Pool cue | Length against their room; weight is personal | Yes, and it is a risky gift |
| Darts | Steel tip for sisal, soft tip for electronic | Yes - and it is visible in a photo |
| Shuffleboard wax | Speed grading is brand-specific | No - buy two grades of one brand |
| Table brush | Fits any table | No |
| Short cue | Only useful if a rail is tight | No - look at the room |
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Key spec | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aramith Premier Billiard Ball Set | Anyone with a pool table | Standard 2.25 in set | |
| 2 |  Winmau Plumata Steel-Tip Darts | Anyone with a sisal board | Steel tip, mid-weight | |
| 3 |  Sun-Glo Speed Shuffleboard Table Powder Wax | Anyone with a shuffleboard | Numbered speed grades | |
| 4 |  Fitted Pool Table Cover | A table in a garage | Fitted, by table size | |
| 5 |  Players Short Pool Cue (48 in / 52 in) | A table in a tight room | 48 in / 52 in | |
| 6 |  Pool Table Brush and Rail Cleaning Kit | A thoughtful small gift | Brush and rail cloth |
The picks
#1 · Anyone with a pool table
Aramith Premier Billiard Ball Set
Phenolic resin balls. They stay round, they do not chip, and they are the cheapest upgrade that changes how a table plays.
Phenolic resin balls are the cheapest upgrade that changes how a table plays, and they fit every standard pool table - so you do not need to know anything about theirs. Almost nobody buys themselves a better ball set, which makes it a good gift.
- What works
- Fits any standard table - no sizing question
- A genuine upgrade they will notice
- Nobody buys this for themselves
- What does not
- Check their table is not a coin-op bar table, which uses an oversized cue ball
#2 · Anyone with a sisal board
Winmau Plumata Steel-Tip Darts
A mid-weight steel-tip set. Weight preference is personal and unteachable: start in the mid-20-gram range and adjust.
A decent set of steel-tip darts for someone still using the ones that came in the box. Check the board first: steel tips are for sisal boards only and will destroy an electronic one.
- What works
- A real upgrade over bundled darts
- Mid-weight suits most throwers
- What does not
- Must match the board type - steel tip on sisal only
#3 · Anyone with a shuffleboard
Sun-Glo Speed Shuffleboard Table Powder Wax
Numbered speed grades of silicone beads. The number is the speed: low numbers are slow, high numbers are fast. Buy two and test.
Shuffleboard wax is a consumable that owners always need and rarely stock properly. Buying two speed grades gives them something to experiment with, which is the fun part.
- What works
- Always needed, always running low
- Two grades let them tune the board
- What does not
- Speed grading is brand-specific - buy within one brand
#4 · A table in a garage
Fitted Pool Table Cover
Dust is what kills cloth in a garage. A fitted cover is the cheapest item on this site and the one that pays back fastest.
Dust is what kills cloth, and a cover is the cheapest protection in the whole category. You do need to know their table size - 7 or 8 foot - which is the one question to ask.
- What works
- Genuinely extends the cloth's life
- Inexpensive
- What does not
- Size-specific - you have to ask
#5 · A table in a tight room
Players Short Pool Cue (48 in / 52 in)
A short cue for the side of the table that lost its clearance to a wall. Two of these fix most tight-room tables.
If their table is in a basement with a wall close to one rail, a short cue is the thing they have been meaning to buy for two years. Look at the room and you will know.
- What works
- Solves a problem they live with daily
- Not something people prioritize for themselves
- What does not
- Only relevant if a side of their table is actually tight
#6 · A thoughtful small gift
Pool Table Brush and Rail Cleaning Kit
Brush along the nap, not across it. A two-minute habit that adds years to a woolen cloth.
Unglamorous and genuinely useful: brushing along the nap after each session is what makes cloth last. Pairs well with a ball set as a two-part gift.
- What works
- Cheap, useful, fits any table
- What does not
- Not exciting on its own
What not to buy
- A pool cue, unless you know their preferred weight and the clearance in their room. Weight is intensely personal and a cue of the wrong length for a tight rail is unusable.
- A table of any kind, unless you have measured their room. Everything on this site exists because people buy tables that do not fit.
- Replacement cloth. It needs the exact table size and someone to fit it.
- Soft-tip darts for a sisal board, or steel tips for an electronic one. They will not work, and steel tips will damage the board.
- Themed decoration, unless you know their taste precisely. A neon sign is a strong opinion in somebody else's room.
If they do not have a table yet
The most useful gift for someone who wants a game room and does not have one is the thing that tells them what they can have: a long tape measure and an honest conversation about the four numbers. The room-fit pages do the rest, and they are free.
If you want to give something physical, a dart board is the gift that fits every house - 11 feet of floor and a wall is all it needs, and almost every room has that. The board roundup is here.
How these were chosen
On compatibility - how likely each item is to work without knowing the recipient's specifications - and on whether it is something people actually fail to buy for themselves. Every product here appears in a category roundup on this site with its full reasoning. We have not used these products.
