Tables Problem

I've done it using both Rick's & LinSims approaches, plus just importing the tables as EPS or PDF from a spreadsheet.

If the whole page can stand it, a custom 4-column Master Page would also handle the 4-across case. Some considerations include:

• The MP gets invoked by Apply Master Pages, using the MasterPageMaps Reference Page table. You could apply the page manually, but it's at considerable risk of being lost due to normal repagination as text is added/deleted upstream.
• Use a unique Paragraph format for the para that anchors the first table on one of these pages (AMP doesn't trigger on Table content). This might be Body.4col. The other 3 tables on the page might be anchored to Body.ColTop (which has a pagination of Top of Column).
• It's likely to be necessary to use the negative space below on these anchor para formats, plus an identical -Space Above on the tables, so that they both align across the page, and can start at exactly column tops.
• For any non-table text on the page, that wants the whole page width, it will need to be a format with Across All Columns set, say Heading3.acc and/or Body.aac (which I used to use daily).

Rick's answer is probably best if you need the tables to be individual tables. If they only need to look like individual tables, make a single table that is 5 x 5 (for each set of two) and use borders, shading, and tags to make them appear to be separate tables. The middle column shouldn't have borders or rows so that it looks like there's a gap between the tables, and the row between "tables" should be the same way.

You could try using a two column layout with a straddled paragraph after each second table, like this: