Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Gaming table snacks should ideally follow three criteria:

- Easy to share. Anyone can just reach into the shared bowl and grab some.
- Does not require plates or utensils to eat.
- Not messy, sticky, or prone to making crumbs all over the table. (Avoid chips, and absolutely no Cheetos.)

Healthiness is a secondary consideration, since many tabletop gamers care little about that, though it can be a nice bonus, especially for aging gamers like myself who need to start watching their weight.

I'm partial to chocolate-coated almonds, raisins or craisins, myself, but I tend to play with people who don't have as much of a sweet tooth as I do, so I often end up being the only one eating them. Assorted nuts are also good, and if they're unsalted, it makes them both healthier and less messy (since you don't get salt all over your fingers).

If you're health conscious, you can go for raw vegetables with dip, as long as you're careful not to spill any dip on the table. I also love green grapes.

What are your go-to snacks?

.

Grapes.

But dont cheap out on them though - get 'Sable' or 'Muscat' or both.
Sable are black grapes, Muscat are yellow/green with copperey blemish.

Mini pretzels are good.

Most bite sized flavored cracker-type snacks where the flavor is baked in, not powdered on. I’m partial to cheddar Goldfish.

Thick dips can be OK, like an onion dip. You want something that will cling to the chip, and not drip onto the battlefield. It’s still a risk, but much lower then something more fluid like salsa.

You guys share snacks?

Something like M&Ms or Skittles can be a good shout if you want something sweet, though I agree with the chocolate raisins - of course, need to be careful with potential nut allergies.

At the Warhammer club we typically only have beer, no food. At the painting club, there's a snack bar (of various store-bought and home-baked sweets) and most of the time we walk over there for a few bites every so often. At the table, sometimes gummy candy.

good old jambon-beurre halfway through the game. You make them small and pick.

Cheese, such as gouda or emmental that easily cuts into small cubes.

A can of beer.

I avoid greasy food at all costs though, for fear of having it spread all across the terrain and minis.

Anything choc-coated is an interesting choice. I find that chocolate quickly melts onto fingers and leaves brown residues everywhere- I find it more frustrating and worse than the salty residue from crisps!

I'm gonna support Maréchal with cheese. Especially with crackers. Also partial to Haribo and similar. Sherbet can be a bit messy, but it is much better than salty stuff.

We tend to have a break to eat rather than snacking the whole time. It's usually sandwiches of some sort since we don't play at home.

Drinks wise, we're driving to the location so it's juice or sugar free coke most of the time.

I prefer the break-to-eat way because it's less to worry about while playing.

Nothing that involves greasy or sticky fingers reaching out to my models or cards. Men have died.

Ideally? None at the table itself.

On a side table? As others have said nothing that’s gonna leave you with Gakky Digits, or crumbs/flakes everywhere.

Various ways round that, from suitable snacks (mini pretzels are good here) to hand wipes on, erm, hand.

There is a reason they call them Beer-and-Pretzels games.....

Our group generally has a variety of stuff. Most popular is stuff like sausage slices, cheese cubes, and other such things that can be speared with one of the little sword-shaped appetizer sticker things and eaten without ever touching the food with your fingers.

 Gert wrote:
You guys share snacks?

I do, although not with one communal plague bowl. Everyone gets their own, with snacks poured into the bowl instead of filched from the bag with gamer fingers.


Ideally everyone will remember to use forks, spoons or chop sticks to handle the food, or else they get to wash hands before touching my minis.

Anyone who sprays food by talking with a mouthful gets cut off.

Strangely enough, while eating with the fingers is not an issue as long as you wash hands before touching minis, (that is, practical reasons) it would be HIGHLY inappropriate in France to speak with your mouth full, regardless of the circumstances.

At our twice monthly club meetings there's always beer and carbonated water, salty snacks and a bit of small, individually wrapped candy.

I supply little trays for each person to put their snacks in. We haven't had problems with crumbs, but generally folks aren't eating a ton and probably also mindful that they're mostly handling their own miniatures.

Drinks go in table-topper cup holders or on coasters.

 Haighus wrote:
Anything choc-coated is an interesting choice. I find that chocolate quickly melts onto fingers and leaves brown residues everywhere- I find it more frustrating and worse than the salty residue from crisps!

Depends on the type of chocolate. The brand of chocolate-coated almonds I buy (President's Choice, available in Canada only) doesn't melt that quickly. And of course it's best to keep them in a small bowl (or right on the table if it's clean enough), only touching them with your fingers on the way to your mouth.

 Vulcan wrote:
Our group generally has a variety of stuff. Most popular is stuff like sausage slices, cheese cubes, and other such things that can be speared with one of the little sword-shaped appetizer sticker things and eaten without ever touching the food with your fingers.

Cheese cubes with toothpicks is a great idea. I'll consider it.

With toothpicks, you can also serve small chunks of fruit. The other weekend, a friend of mine had a Tupperware full of diced melon, but tbh I'm not a fan of this fruit. More into apples, grapes, strawberries and pineapples.


Re: drinks: I often have a can of beer, but most of my gaming friends don't drink alcohol. For hot drinks, I like coffee to keep me awake, though once more, I seem to be the only one in my friend group to drink it. One of my friends will sometimes serve tea during our games taking place at her house.

.

Tea is great. Once we brought vodka to the game, but to be fair, that wasn't a great idea and I don't recommend it

I don't eat while gaming, which is probably why it strings me out so bad...

I thought the only appropriate beverage when wargaming was the bitter tears of your enemy?

 Nevelon wrote:
I thought the only appropriate beverage when wargaming was the bitter tears of your enemy?

Sure, if you're playing Warmachine.

Snacking is for degenerates but my go-to snack is cashew nuts. Otherwise, a steak and eggs a day keeps the snacking at bay.