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Retro Game Room Inspiration- 5 Concepts You Can Use for Your Man Cave

Decorating a man cave should be fun. The most enjoyable moment about making this space yours is determining what the theme or content should be. With retro gaming gaining popularity with adults, this creates even more unique opportunities when designing your special area.

Listed below are just some suggestions for retro game room inspirations. In reality, the sky’s the limit when it comes to creativity. You can adjust many of these concepts to suit your specific style and taste. We just selected the most popular. It is up to you to customize it.

How Do I Start?

When thinking about what you would like to incorporate, consider your favorite game and design your space with that theme. For example, if you are into Pac-man, there are Pac-man lights, arcades, and signage readily available.

Tetris permits a lot of play in the room in terms of signage and backlit storage areas. You can be creative with this design and incorporate it in multiple places because of the sleek, clean designs.

Can’t choose which one you like best? Try creating an arcade-style room. Be creative with your space.

Concept #1- Revisiting the 80s Arcades

Remember the long afternoons spent when you were young playing at the arcade? I’ll bet you remember all the hot video games that you had to play repeatedly. What if you could bring that home?

Arcade machines used to be difficult to obtain, and if one did come out, chances are it was expensive! While the originals are still not cheap, manufacturers are coming out with replicas.

There are arcade machines for Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros, Pac-man, and Space Invaders. Most of them are inexpensive. Also, if you are limited on space, there are mini versions as well.

What many men have done with arcades is they line them up against one wall. Each machine is angled against each other (on average 30-35°) to save a little space or to recreate that private arcade feel.

Most men flank them close by the television/gaming area as it ties in well. This bar sign can be added above this area, as well.

game room arcade tv man cave bar club dual color led neon sign

Concept #2- The Gamers Game Room

If you lack the space for an arcade but have tons of vintage systems, this design may appeal to you for a man cave.

Get a large flat-screen television (or more, depending on your preference), and place it in the center of the longest wall. If you are using more than one screen, then you can mount a large screen and flank smaller ones around it.

You can also have one main screen and place the ones on the side on a movable arm. This way, you can create separate sections for multiplayer games just by moving the arms.

Underneath, you can either purchase or construct a large, horizontal bookcase/shelving unit, to house all of the consoles. Add an extra creative flair by backlighting them in blue, green, or red. For added storage, you can flank each side with shelving units to keep all your games organized and stored. You can easily convert entertainment units, too.

home accent furnishings new television stand in charcoal finish

Concept #3- Tetris, Anyone?

Some men have selected just one theme. The easiest being the Tetris theme. For this concept, choose a wide bookshelf or shelving unit, and remove some of the dividers for larger storage areas. These larger storage areas contained things such as vintage guitars or even collections.

The rest of the sections can be different consoles, collectibles, etc. Now, here is the fun part…

Each row is backlit with a different color. For example, you can have three green boxes, four on the side yellow, etc. Each represents a shape in Tetris and comes together like a puzzle. This design has been a great way to incorporate a little old school into your man cave.

Concept #4- Nuts for Nintendo

This look involves creating a game area that looks exactly like an arcade Nintendo. For this look, a screen is mounted inside a box frame with two long blackboards on each side to look like an arcade. The boards are notched out to round in where the box/screen is encased and flare out again at the bottom.

A black shelf slides underneath, holding consoles and video games. Two joysticks are on the top at either end to simulate an arcade. Then, for the header, just reads has the Nintendo logos done exactly as it would appear in an arcade.

Concept #5- Star Wars Studded Theme

full color star wars decal

Star Wars has lasted for generations and is in no way slowing down! Show off your Star Wars memorabilia proudly.

For this look, purchase a wide, l-shaped desk. Place your screen on one end with your gaming chair underneath. Below, you can have a backlit neon storage area highlighting your collectibles. Above, you can place a shelf for your games. This shelf can also be highlighted in bright neon colors.

Find large box frames and mount them to the adjacent wall. The middle should be a long, rectangle box frame, while the ones on the side should be slightly shorter and mounted horizontally. Then, add lightsabers in the middle of each box frame. Place your most valued possessions in them.

star wars illusion lamp toy 7 colors changing dimmable with smart touch and timing remote control

You can also choose to add the Enterprise to a wall for added interest or a Star Wars 3-D lamp.

The fun doesn’t have to stop with just these suggestions. You can turn any gaming area into a retro space. Pac-man lamps are readily available to spice up any gaming room, as are most Super Mario characters.

The best advice is to take advantage of what is popular and avoid putting pieces off-especially when it comes to video game themes. While retro Pac-man and Streetfighter may be popular now, they might not be in six months. This makes these pieces hard to find. Take full advantage of their availability.