A table was a piece of furniture. Raised above the ground or floor by one or more legs, it had a upward-facing flat surface. The design of a table was to facilitate holding objects on its surface and was often surrounded by seating in the form of benches or chairs. (DS9: "Homefront", "The Forsaken") There were 5,047 classifications of tables in the USS Enterprise-D's computer. (TNG: "Schisms")
According to Mess Officer Breil, tables were among the objects on the USS Enterprise that had apparently enlarged while the ship was orbiting the planet Cepheus in 2269. (TAS: "The Terratin Incident")
According to the fictional character Texas, it was bad luck to count your casino chips at the table. (TNG: "The Royale")
Use[]
The Vulcan D'kyr-type combat cruiser Seleya featured a platform-like table in the center of its auxiliary control room. (ENT: "Impulse")
The platform-like table prop was previously used as science worktable in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Klingon table in "Broken Bow", and Vulcan console table in "Fusion". (ENT Season 3 Blu-ray, "Impulse" text commentary)
On 892-IV, on which a society identical to 20th century Earth had developed (albeit where the Roman Empire never fell), this parallel world including such common Earth furniture items as lamps, chairs, and tables. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
In 2270, upon seeing the effects of the Slaver weapon's matter-energy conversion beam, Hikaru Sulu feared that were the Kzinti to acquire it, the whole galaxy would be their dinner table. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")
Most bipedal humanoid-populated worlds utilized variations of tables. Their simplistic form and functionality increased their popularity in a variety of structures. Most prolific were their use in eating establishments where patrons sat in chairs and ate their meals which were served on the tables. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
An establishment which featured many tables was Quark's. This was a popular recreational facility located in the space station Deep Space 9. Many other establishments had similar setups with tables and chairs. In 2285, Doctor Leonard McCoy visited a San Francisco bar to hire a transport ship which could bring him to the planet Genesis in the Mutara sector. The bar also had a lounge-like atmosphere with many tables, holographic parlor games, mirrors, plants, and lava lamps. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Riva considered the design of a table ("three-sided, and if possible made to resemble indigenous rock") significant for peace talks between two warring factions on Solais V. (TNG: "Loud As A Whisper")
In 2369, Varis Sul warned Jake Sisko that anything else he would wish to say to her could be said the next day across a conference table. (DS9: "The Storyteller")
Technical uses[]
At times, tables were the perfect platform for technical or mechanical use. There are a number of species that feature tables in such a function. The master systems display table was an installation on board the USS Enterprise-D located in the engineering portion of a Terran vessel. It was part of the master systems display units and featured a number of computer systems embedded within. Similar tables were featured in Starfleet Command. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
The situation room aboard the NX-class starship Enterprise NX-01 features a prominent table in its center equipped with monitors and control units. (ENT: "Terra Nova", "The Andorian Incident", "Breaking the Ice", "Civilization", "Fortunate Son")
Gaming[]
Although the most common use for tables was furniture, they were used for other purposes. A common use was for popular entertainment such as games. Games like dom-jot and poker were played on tables designed specifically to facilitate the gameplay.
Dabo was a roulette-style game of chance developed by the Ferengi which was played on a table that held the dabo wheel and player bets. When one won, it was customary to shout "Dabo!" Given the "profit at any price" philosophy of the Ferengi, it was not uncommon to find that a dabo table had been rigged. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")
Tongo was a strategic Ferengi game that was a combination of cards and roulette and was played with two to eight players. The object of the game was to win by acquiring as much wealth as possible. Games of tongo were occasionally played on gaming tables at Quark's. (DS9: "Meridian", "Business as Usual", "Change of Heart")
Pool, or pocket billiards, was any of several games played on a six-pocket billiard table, usually with fifteen colored, numbered balls, and one white cue ball. A variation of pool was played at a bar in Paradise City, on Nimbus III, which involved an actual pool of water for a table in which the balls floated. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; VOY: "The Cloud", "Jetrel", "Meld"; ENT: "Carbon Creek")
In a memo that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wrote Associate Producer Robert H. Justman about some of the final script revisions to TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (the memo was dated 28 July 1966), Roddenberry joked, "May the great bird of the galaxy never fly over your pool table."
Dom-jot is a game played with a ball and cue on a table with an irregular geometric coordination, similar to Terran billiards with certain elements of pinball. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")
Poker was a traditional Earth card game of chance and skill. The game had many variations, but all forms of poker were games of incomplete information in which the players wagered on the strength of their cards relative to those of the other players, and at least some of whose cards were hidden from the other players at the table. (TNG: "Time's Arrow, Part II")