Maybe it was bowling that was the first true marriage between an organised activity and a chance to socialise? It’s been around for such a long time it’s become a social staple, like pubs or cinemas, almost to the point of them now starting to disappear as people grow tired of them when actually, they’ve laid the groundwork for countless social entertainment venues that followed…
A new kind of night out…
Places like Bounce in London really upped the game here. Ping pong meets bar, perfectly capitalising on the after-work city crowd in a way that broke down social barriers and provided a fun way of levelling the playing field in the office. The boss being hammered by the intern at the Wiff Waff table not only made for great Thursday night entertainment, but also vastly improved office dynamics for staff, so it’s easy to see the appeal!
Bounce is not the only place around – Flight Club is a similar concept based on Darts – but they are the ones who have set the standard where the attraction got just as much attention as the food and drink. It’s one thing popping a ping pong table in the pub corner – it’s a very different offering to build your entire business around it.
So what’s next when it comes to blending immersive experiences into our social life? Well, one area that’s seen huge growth in the past 12 months is board game, and we predict some very interesting venues on the horizon…
Stepping into the game.
Consumer data firm Statista estimates the worldwide tabletop games sector will be worth $12billion by 2023, up from $7.2billion in 2017 with tabletop game sales up a whopping 31%, with the stay at home impact driving the greatest gains. Immersive theatre company Colab have even just started a Monday Games Night for players to come and play board games at their pub venue, starring actors from their shows.We’ve recently been involved with the pioneering Gamepath who have created an incredible Monopoly Lifesized experience, following in the footsteps of The Crystal Maze Live by opening up a permanent attraction game in London. And after these success stories, surely more are to follow; watch this space for the popup venue offering a Battleships drinking game experience!
