How to improve the comfort of your gaming stools

The question endures…how to improve the comfort of gaming stools and casino seating and give players a better gaming experience.

The last thing that you want is your patrons leaving your gaming area because they find your stools uncomfortable. The comfort of any chair, whether it is an office chair, dining chair, car seat or casino gaming stool, is always subjective. While some patrons will find a certain stool exceptionally comfortable, others will think the exact opposite. Although there is no one-size-fits-all, there is one factor that will always improve the comfort of any casino chair or gaming stool…..gas height adjustment.

Designing chairs for the “average” person

When manufacturers design chairs for offices, gaming rooms, restaurants, function rooms etc, they always do so for the “average” person. Unfortunately, the basic rule of ergonomics says that there is no such thing as an “average” person! Get patrons to spend more time in your gaming room – improve the ergonomics!

Lunar casino chair. Casino seating for slot and table games. Disc base gaming stool with footring and swivel mechanism.

A chair or stool designed for the “average” person will suit 90% of the population. With regards to the height of the chairs, the 90% rule means that the tallest and shortest 5% will find the chair height to be incorrect.

For example, anyone sitting on a slot chair that is too low, will have to stretch to reach the console. This will soon make them uncomfortable and result in muscular pain, particularly in the upper back, shoulders and neck.

To try and accommodate a greater percentage of the population, gaming stools should be height adjustable.

Why venue operators prefer Fixed-Height gaming stools

When it comes to casino chairs, the majority are a fixed-height design. There are 2 main reasons why this is the case:

a) Neatness on the gaming floor

If the gaming stools are fitted with gas height adjustment, the stools could all be set at different heights, thereby creating an ‘uneven’ or untidy looking gaming floor. Fixed-height chairs always result in a neater looking gaming area.

Now answer the following question:
What is more important…. a neat floor, or improving the comfort of your gaming stools and providing your patrons with a better overall experience?

b) Breakage

Many venue operators believe that gas height adjusters break easily resulting in costly repairs and stool downtime. This is no longer the case. Modern gas lifters from reputable manufacturers are extremely reliable. In general, you can expect them to last at least 7 years, and in many cases, longer. This is a far cry from the “early days” when gas lifters wouldn’t last much longer than 12 months! Furthermore, if they do break, gas lifters are normally easy and inexpensive to replace.

The problem with Fixed-Height gaming stools

Fixed-height casino chairs are designed for the “average” person sitting in front of an “average” machine.

a) The stools

All manufacturers of fixed-height gaming stools will design and build them to accommodate the “average” person. Assuming that all the machine consoles on your gaming floor are at the same height (a big assumption – see below), then only 90% of all players will feel that the height of the stools is correct!

b) The gaming machines

Each gaming machine manufacturer has their own design preference regarding the position and angle of the machine’s playing console. This means that the height of the console is not always the same, and differs from one manufacturer and machine type, to the next.

Because venue operators normally have machines from multiple manufacturers on their floor, the actual height of the playing consoles varies throughout the gaming area. When you combine the console height variations with a fixed-height gaming stool, the result is that the stools are suitable for only some of the players at some of the machines.
Stools that were designed for 90% of all people, will now only suit a much lower percentage of players.