Leveling Up: A Firsthand Look at Immersive Gamebox Adventures

If you’ve been to Avalon in Alpharetta lately then you might have seen the new experience there – Immersive Gamebox.

Immersive Gamebox is an interactive, 3-wall adventure that allows you to bond as a team to solve puzzles, answer questions, and play arcade-style games using two inputs – your hand and your head. If you’re confused, you should be, because this experience is totally unique.

When they reached out to ask us if we would be willing to try it out and share it with you guys, I knew we had to. And the boys were in complete agreement.

The Booking Process

Head to the website, pick your location, then… the hard part: You have to pick a game.

Luckily they make it easy by letting you filter games by age group, date night options, family-friendly games and more.

Us? We picked Ticket to Mars which I highly recommend.

Then, indicate the number of tickets you want. Prices are lower for children under 12 years old. Pick the date and time you want to show up, and then pay for your tickets.

On Game Day

You’ll want to arrive 10-15 minutes early your first time so that you can sign waivers for everyone. Also, be sure you are in comfy clothing, and I recommend sneakers instead of flip flops.

You’ll wait until you game time begins, then a staff member will lead you down a hall of doors. One of those is your gaming room… but strangely it just looks like a white room with a few visors hanging on the wall.

Don’t worry… that’s about to change!

The Experience

You’ll get a short tutorial from the staff member as you each don a visor that looks a little like a hat with a propeller head.

He explained to us that three of the four walls were touch screen, and the color of our visor matched the color of our game player.

He was gone, and the game was about to begin. But first, the system asked us if we wanted any food or drinks which we ordered using the touch screen. They offered bottled sodas, canned alcoholic drinks, and a limited set of snacks.

The boys got a soda, and they brought it in to our room and charged our card when the entire experience was over. The room does include a tray that keeps you from spilling your drinks and food everywhere.

OK – now down to business.

On our mission to Mars, we played five games, each one lasting about 10 minutes.

I know, I know…. you’re wanting to know what kind of games you play here!

Imagine that you are playing a sort of video game, but YOU are the joy stick. Your whole body! Run left and right across the room to move your game piece… got it?

Now, add the challenge. My favorite game included moving a “mushroom” like object along as a snowball bounced along with obstacles along the path… ala Mario. But three people played the game… “tossing” the snowball from person to person in order to get it in the goal.

We also played matching games… a Tetris-like game where we shot gems with lasers… and even an interesting rope-style game where two players were connected at each end of the virtual rope and had to work together to get it into the shape on the screen.

Why We Liked It

Our family spent 60 minutes “locked” in a 12×12 room with funky hats on our heads… running, jumping, and laughing hysterically. So, yeah, I recommend you visit!

It’s a great way to spend time together (especially if it’s raining or super hot outside)… and what I love is that it’s using technology… but in an interactive, full-body way.

No one was sitting on the sofa, lounging about.

And… unlike other active tech (like VR) everyone is interacting with each other and the tech. So the connection between people is an incredibly important part of the fun!