SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Have you ever been playing a game and wanted to be IN the game? Now you can.
“You’re not watching, you are the game, basically,” said Jackson Worley, Activate's general manager.
Activate is an immersive, active gaming experience with an emphasis on active. The activity tends to be more tiring than people expect, Worley said
Activate opened last month in Southlake, its second North Texas location after one previously opened in Plano. Guests get 75 minutes to play as many interactive games as they want, Worley said. The games invite guests to dodge lasers, shoot at targets, activate buttons and much more.
“It’s hard to really understand what this experience is until you get in it and you try it for yourself,” Worley said.
Once people do, it’s addicting. Some customers come every single day, Worley said. Even he has trouble leaving sometimes.
“It’s hard to stop,” Worley said. “Last night I closed the facility and I wanted to stay and play the games even after I spent a whole day here.”
Each visit, guests can accumulate points that can be exchanged for rewards. Activate also keeps a tally of each month’s top scorers. Those guests are invited back at the end of the year for a tournament of champions where they battle for a large cash prize.
Activate Southlake is open seven days a week and hours vary by day.