When Activate Games invited Shortlist to try out its new-ish gaming establishment in the 02, we were a little hesitant at first. Normally, our gaming is confined to Mario Kart and a 12-inch pizza but this is very different — it's a place where you are put in the centre of the game and you need to be prepared to sweat.
This high-energy, high-tech ‘active gaming experience’ is already well-established in North America and it’s now made it across the pond, giving us Brits the chance to run, jump, shoot, climb and crawl our way to victory.
Melding elements of arcade and fairground games with a novel way of keeping score, it’s a seriously energetic experience which will leave you sweaty and breathless.
Located in the outlet shopping mall of The O2 in London, there’s plenty of shopping, eating and attraction options to make a day of your time in North Greenwich. Although, you won’t necessarily want to head to a fancy meal after this. More on that in a bit.
So, what’s this all about?
Nine challenges are spread across 12 rooms (three of the challenges have two rooms, to help ease wait times and keep everyone moving round). Teams need to be between two and five players - with both adults and kids welcome.
Each challenge experience only lasts a couple of minutes, which may not sound like a lot, but it’s actually an ideal amount of time and prevents groups hogging a room for an extended period. It means you’re quickly moving between rooms during your 60 minute time slot, with plenty of time to play all nine and replay some multiple times.
The aim is to score points to complete the current level and unlock the next one. Each time you complete a level you earn stars, which go towards your ranking on the leaderboards (and earn you goodies!). As you work your way up the levels, the difficulty of the particular game increases.
In short, make sure you arrive with plenty of energy… and a comfy pair of shoes.
Only nine challenges? That doesn’t sound like much variety
Oh, don’t you worry. Each challenge room has a number of games to choose from - between two and six, depending on the room. They’re based around the setup of the room, but the objective and rules differ between game modes.
Each game mode has 10 levels to unlock, and all games can either be played collaboratively (your team working together to score as many points as possible) or competitively (with team members playing against each other for points and bragging rights).
This means there’s plenty of variations for each room - many more than you’ll be able to get through in your 60 minutes of play time. Replay-ability is a real bonus here, and obviously the company wants you to return.
How do I know if I’m doing well?
Each player gets a wristband assigned to a profile you’ll be asked to create at check-in (and you’ll sign a waiver as part of this process). If you’re a returning player, let the desk know and they can assign your existing profile to your band, so you can continue to accumulate stars and move up the ranks.
Players scan their wristbands on the screen outside a room to register their intent to play. Once the room is available the door unlocks and you can rush inside. You’ll want to move quickly, as you only have a few seconds before the game starts.
Once your game is over (usually in around two minutes) you and your team will be awarded points and asked to leave the room within 10 seconds. Completing a level for the first time earns you five star points, while successfully replaying a level earns you one star point.
There’s a huge leaderboard projected onto the wall between game rooms, showing top scores of people currently playing, and the all-time high scores.
There are small screens throughout the gaming area allowing you to scan your wristband and check on your personal score and rank progress.
Ready, Set, Sweat!
Whether playing collaboratively or competitively against your team, one thing is for sure. You will be sweating.
During our visit, there didn’t seem to be much in the way of air-con, with the stuffiness of the check-in and waiting area a sign of what was waiting for us in the gaming arena.
By the end of our 60 minute session we were suitably sweaty, and a couple of the group commented that next time they’ll wear a gym outfit and bring a change of clothes next time.
It’s something I wish I had considered (along with some deodorant), as we were heading out for dinner and drinks after our session and the sweat marks on my shirt were less than ideal. At least I’d managed to work up an appetite.
Don’t forget to say cheese
Once your time is up you won’t be able to sign in to any of the rooms, but don’t leave the playing area just yet. You can snag free team photographs in the photo booth area. Tap your wristband on the screen and the images taken will be automatically emailed to you for free.
The green-screen tech isn’t the most advanced - the photobooth is run off an iPhone - which can lead to some humourous ghosting, just do your best to hide the sweat marks.
Not food or drink allowed, but water is available
While you’re not allowed to take food or drink into the game zone (you’ll need to leave anything you’ve brought with you in the lockers provided), there is a water fountain and toilets available in the challenge area.
With lots of bodies moving in the corridor between rooms, and without much in the way of a breeze, you can’t easily escape the stuffiness - although you can nip back to the waiting area to grab slightly less warm air (although your 60 minutes play time will continue to tick down).
You can securely store your stuff for free
As mentioned you don’t want to be wearing layers when playing Activate, while bags and accessories are not allowed in the game zone.
Good news then that there are lockers in the waiting area, and even better news they’re included in the price of your entry. They are secured with a different coloured wristband, which one of your team will need to strap to their wrist and keep safe.
They are spacious, with even the smaller of the two size options providing enough room for a couple of coats and bags.
If you are hungry or thirsty before or after your session, there’s a limited selection of snacks and drinks available to purchase in the waiting area - plus rentable power banks if you need to charge your phone.
The waiting area has four benches, which can fill up quickly during peak times, and with the challenge rooms on the other side of the wall it’s a noisy place to sit (or stand) for your time slot to be called.
Rewards for players
Once you’re finished and you’ve retrieved your belongings from the lockers, head back to the front desk to return your wristbands and see if you’ve earned enough stars to claim a reward.
You’ll need to earn 25 stars (equivalent to beating level one in five games) to move from Rank 1 to Rank 2 and unlock your first reward - a keychain. But not any keychain, it’s a NFC tag which links to your profile, so bring it with you on your next visit faster check-in and pick up your scoring where you left off.
If you catch the Activate bug, moving up the ranks will unlock further rewards including a water bottle, cap and umbrella. And if you make it all the way to Rank 8 (a staggering 10,000 stars) you’ll get a personalised hoodie and £200 gift voucher. It’ll take a while to get there, though.
A 60 minute Activate session during peak times (weekends, school holidays and Friday term time from 5pm) is £28.50 per person, while off-peak play will set you back £22.50 per person.
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