Area Attractions - Activate Games (Roseville MN and Other Locations)

Last weekend, my kids and I had a chance to check out Activate Games. Although we had a comped experience this first time, we will absolutely be back again.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect before we went - the website calls it a high-tech active gaming experience, and that's pretty accurate, if somewhat vague.

The facility has a bunch of different room types - lasers, grid, hoops, and more. Other than mega grid and grid, the game play is completely different in each one. One room has a running pad and directional arrows to push, one room has constantly changing colored tiles on the floor, one has basketball hoops, one requires throwing balls, one has balls going through pipes, plus a few others. Each game room can be played competitively or cooperatively, and each has several game types.

The games are suitable for pretty much everyone. My kids and I each had different favorites, and different games we were better at, but we all enjoyed all of them. Some of them require quicker reflexes than others, some are more about observation or logic. All of the games are pretty quick, so even people who don't have a high endurance level for physical activity can have fun.

Even picking games because sort of a high-intensity game itself, since the wristbands count actual time, not time playing (it would be nice if it was time playing, but I can understand that they want to limit how long people are actually in the facility). Fortunately that was made clear, so we took care of drink/bathroom needs before we went. The photo room can be done before or after gaming, and lockers were available on-site (free) for our belongings, so that was nice as well.

Activate has a progressive rewards system, so even though we might not be going enough to work up to higher level discounts (you need to go once every 30 days), that is an option. At $30 per person it might seem a little spendy, but the unique gameplay was well worth it - enough that my kids both decided they each want to bring a friend for their own birthdays. Since gameplay tops out at 5 people, everyone can stay active and engaged.

Two other things to note - although there were several other groups there when we went, only twice did we have to choose a different room than we planned. Also, twice we saw rooms that were "in maintenance" but both times that happened, they were up and running the next time we finished a game, so the staff was definitely on top of taking care of any issues that came up.