Updates
What’s new and what we’ve corrected.
Every new page, significant update and correction, newest first. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will check it against the source.
- NewUsed pool-table viewing checklist
A play test, printable inspection card and true-cost worksheet for buying a second-hand pool table.
- NewSpare bedroom games room guide
What fits a typical spare bedroom, upstairs floors, getting tables up the stairs and dual-use rooms.
- NewKeeping a games room quiet
Practical fixes for noise from pool, darts, table tennis and air hockey.
- NewNews section
Seasonal advice and announcements, starting with Christmas delivery planning and a winter checklist for games rooms.
- NewCalculators inside our guides
Five guides now include an editable sentence, such as “My room is 5.2 m by 4.1 m”, that answers as you type.
- NewSite search
Search every guide, tool and glossary term from the header, or press / on any page.
- NewGames room flooring
Carpet, vinyl, laminate, rubber and concrete compared for pool, darts and table tennis, with levelling and floor protection.
- NewGames room ideas by room size
A chart of which games fit common UK rooms, from a box room to a barn, worked out with the layout planner.
- UpdatedHistory of darts and history of pool
Expanded with regional dartboards, throwing distances, the nine-dart finish, the origins of slate beds and leather tips, and how English pool is played today. Disputed stories are labelled as such.
- NewGames room layout planner
Checks whether several games fit in one room without their playing zones overlapping, and draws the plan.
- CorrectionAmerican table playing areas
We removed typical 8ft and 7ft American playing areas that we could not tie to a single standard. The guide now tells you to read the playing area from each maker’s specification.
- NewPool table sizes guide
A 6ft to 9ft size chart with the room each table needs, ball sizes and table heights.
- NewSnooker points remaining calculator
Counts the points left on the table and the snookers the player behind needs.
- NewHow to play 501 darts
Rules, scoring, finishing on a double and going bust.
- NewDarts games to play at home
Cricket, around the clock, killer, Shanghai, halve-it and 301.
- NewTable tennis rules
Scoring, legal serves, lets and doubles for home play.
- NewDarts checkout calculator and chart
Double-out routes for every score from 170 to 2.
- NewTable light height calculator
Shade height, suspension drop and a glare check for your ceiling.
- NewDelivery route checker
Checks doors, hallway corners and stairs against the packed size of a table.
- NewGetting a games table into your home
What to measure on the route in and what to ask the retailer.
- NewEditorial standards
Where our numbers come from, how the tools calculate and how corrections work.
- CorrectionDartboard diagonal check
The diagonal from bullseye to oche was given as 9ft 7⅜in. Calculated exactly from 1.73 m and 2.37 m it is 2.934 m, or 9ft 7½in. Corrected.
- UpdatedGame hubs
Every game hub now has quick answers, with room sizes calculated from the same data as the room checker.
Read how we research and correct our guides in our editorial standards.