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Where do you go to fight dragons, buy turnips, and shoot aliens? We've all got our gaming spots, whether it's a full gaming den or just a favorite chair we curl up in with our Nintendo Switch. We asked team GamesRadar to show and tell their gaming setups and got a bonus turtle in response.
This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your answers and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.
An RGB extravaganza
If it's got RGB lighting in it, I want it. Anything that can synch the lighting output with the screen for ultimate gaming immersion, I will probably buy. This is why my PC gaming setup has Philips Hue surround, the Logitech G560 Lightsync speakers, and even a set of Nanoleaf panels to the right that you can't actually see in this shot. Oh, and a bonus lava lamp for an extra chill factor. Whether I'm playing games or working, I hate bright harsh lights, so having a set-up that allows me to tweak the colours, adjust the brightness, is a welcome addition. Especially one that really turns my level of gaming immersion up a notch too. I am also obsessed with this mammoth IKEA desk. It might not be the most stylish, but it means I've got everything I need within reach - Switch, Xbox One controller, iPad for a second work screen, even my Oculus Rift for impromptu VR sessions. It's all here, and it's all beautifully lit. Sam Loveridge
I don't have one - yet
I live in a three-bedroom apartment in New York City and barely have enough space for my extensive graphic tee collection, so my current set-up is a mess. On top of two overturned wine crates, I've got this rinky-dink shelving unit from Walmart that has my Xbox balanced precariously on top of it and all my gear unceremoniously shoved in a collapsible cloth drawer at the bottom. That's next to a dresser, which my TV rests on top of - at night I have to cover the shelves with various hats and doodads so my cat's don't walk across it as it's very wiggly. But at least I have the Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 headset with amp so I can drown out the sound of other people. But things are looking up, kids, as I'm moving into my own place next month where I will most definitely have a proper console unit and maybe even (gasp) a chair. The luxury of it all. Alyssa Mercante
FIFA 20 vs Frozen 2, 24/7
What I call a PlayStation 4 doubles as my daughters’ Disney Plus machine, so moving it out of the living room would trigger World War 3 in a tiny village south-west of Bath. My gaming set-up, then, is a 50-inch Sony telly (bought off a fellow journalist, via Twitter) opposite a crappy brown L-shaped sofa stained by seven years’ worth of encrusted Quavers, spilled fruit juice and overturned pizza – mostly the girls’ fault, or at least that’s what I tell house guests. A PS3 and Xbox One both gather dust by the Disney Plus machine. Controllers, leads and SingStar microphones (untouched for half a decade, though I can’t bring myself to get rid) sit in a small movable tray from which one item per month mysteriously goes missing, never to return. I do have a headset somewhere but ‘retired’ it after one-too-many abusive comments from dabbing 12-year-olds on FIFA 18. Ben Wilson
Relatively modest, but it gets the job done
I much prefer playing on console over PC, so my main place of gaming is in the living room, on the same TV that could also be used for Netflix, Spotify, or Coronation Street at any one time. The set-up is a something-inch 4K Smart TV that I couldn't name, but does that nice little thing where the backlights match whatever's on the screen in real-time, which is fun. The TV stand also has a little cubby hole beneath the display that perfectly fits my day one PS4, Nintendo Switch, and controller charging stand, though goodness knows how the PS5 will squeeze in there. Note the docking cover for my Switch, which I peeled off the can of a Borderlands 3 themed craft beer; surely my finest moment of inspired creativity yet. Alex Avard
It's my very boring living room
Honestly, I don't hugely get the obsession with a perfect gaming set-up. Since I've been playing games, it's either been on a PlayStation in my bedroom, a 360 in Uni shared living rooms, and now, my consoles in my living room. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with my 4K TV, but the set-up is a TV on a stand, and my buns planted on the floor next to my sofa (the sofa is a bit old now and offers less back support than my teammates in COD). There are a few games scattered next to the consoles I play on, but to be honest, that's laziness instead of a specific design choice. Anyway, I haven't included a photo because a) it's really not that exciting and b) no offense, but I don't want the internet to see my living room. Ben Tyrer
It's a cluttered mess, but it's my cluttered mess
I spend a lot of time planted in my generic gaming chair from Costco, so I want to be surrounded by the things I love. I have three Gameboy Advances to my immediate right, a 20-year-old Pokedex in front of me, souvenirs from my trip to Japan on the shelves along with my original SNES and Gamecube, and the very first article I wrote for my high school newspaper framed.
Then there's just some very random shit that makes me happy, like a 60 million-year-old fish fossil my friend's mom gave me, a coaster from my favorite arcade bar, and the top of a pizza box (it was very good pizza). Crammed into a tiny corner desk with a massive Alienware gaming PC and 27" monitor, my gaming nook is a cluttered and confusing mess, but it's my little space and I love escaping into so many different worlds there. Jordan Gerblick
Old hardware on a new desk
I divide my time between playing consoles and PC pretty evenly, but my TV setup looks like any other 4K screen with a bunch of gaming systems under it, so here's my relatively new desk. I have an old Asus monitor ergonomically elevated on a box of Android Netrunner cards (RIP), a mechanical keyboard with no key legends because I really wanted to be that guy and a Razer DeathAdder on a Minecon mousepad. Thanks for lending that mousepad to me back in 2012, Maxwell McGee. On the window sill behind my monitor, there's a nice arrangement of my wife's succulents, which she waters but which I get to breathe all the oxygen from. Not pictured: the collection of tabletop RPG books I currently have on rotation or the Gelgoog-J figure standing on guard duty. Connor Sheridan
A desk that is way too small for my setup
I built a new computer at the start of the year, and it finally pushed me to even out my dual-monitor setup. I'm now rocking two 27" 1440p monitors. One of them is a top-shelf Asus model, and the other is the cheapest one I could find in that size and resolution. After all, all the second one does is display Google Chrome. Well, that, and remind me of how comically oversized my monitors are for my tiny glass desk.
I don't really have anywhere to put my speakers, for one, and my mouse is constantly fighting for space on my not-quite-big-enough mousepad. My headset and controller storage options are also limited, so they're just kind of... there. Oh, and I keep my external hard drive on top of my PC, for reasons. I'm already planning to get a new desk the size of Texas with a desk pad to match, and I look forward to finding a way to make it feel cramped too. Austin Wood
Twofold and space-efficient
I now oscillate between PS4 (mostly) and PC (sometimes) so my setup is spread over two areas. The PS4's natural under-the-TV home means it can melt into the living room TV stand inoffensively and easily. However, in truth, I have taken that bit of furniture over completely, nabbing one whole shelf for one console, filling up the two deep drawers, and I have even planned in a PS5 space: take that shelf out, remove the other home-y nonsense; bingo bango, Robert's your mother's brother. The PC setup has come about almost solely due to lockdown and I too, feel Austin's small-desk pain. I do what I can with a corner desk at one end of the living room - my 'library' - and have managed to squeeze two 27-inch monitors as well as my peripherals on there. Shelves and storage under the desk are a lifesaver though, i'll tell you that for free. And while it's a bit cramped, I have enjoyed making it cheery with some Razer RGB goodness too. (Not pictured: my booze and books cabinet which features a lovely, large selection of video game art books (and booze).)
We've all had to get used to everything being at home for work and play these past months so my gaming setup has had to adapt: it's very much a 'means to an end' approach on the whole but it works in the space I have. Until I win the lottery and get a new house with a designated office for work and play. Sigh. Rob Dwiar
All about that cosy comfort right now
Okay, so I do have a "proper" set-up as it were. I'm usually huddled in front of my TV on my not-so-comfy sofa that came with my flat to play on my consoles, or I'm tucking into some PC games at my desk (which is covered in anime and game figures I've collected over the years). But If I'm being totally honest, lately my favorite set-up (that's not really a set-up) basically involves me taking my Switch out of the dock and lying on my bed to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons, or one of the many visual novels I've already played to death on my Vita such as Code Realize or Collar x Malice. Since I don't have a cute pet at home to accompany this, please enjoy my favorite cat head cushion that's easily one of the best gifts I've ever received. Heather Wald
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