You may love playing video games at home on your couch. But would you ever consider participating in one in real life?
That’s exactly the kind of experience you can expect at Beat The Bomb, a new immersive gaming experience and “eatertainment” venue in Denver’s York Street Yards development.
The signature attraction is the “Mission Experience,” a one-hour activity for four to six players. Your crew will put on hazmat suits, then make its way through four high-tech game rooms with touch screens, motion cameras, projection walls and lasers. It’s sort of like an escape room on steroids.
In each room, your communication, collaboration and coordination will be put to the test by a different game. You must work together to advance and earn time on your “Bomb Clock.” When you reach the fifth and final room, you must collaborate to disarm the “bomb” before the clock runs out. If you fail to do so, the “bomb” will go off and you’ll be covered in colorful foam, paint or slime, depending on which mission you choose.
Afterward, though, you’ll walk away with fun photos and videos of the experience—and plenty of good memories. It’s the perfect team-building exercise for your work group, or can just be an adventurous outing for your family and friends.
Only 10 percent of teams disarm the bomb on their first try—so it’s the kind of thing you get better at the more you do it. Winning teams get access to rewards through Beat The Bomb’s loyalty program, while losing teams can return for a second attempt or to experience a different mission. Since the game room system is reprogrammable, the immersive challenges are always evolving.
“Beat The Bomb is about having an absolute blast with your team, win or lose,” says Alex Patterson, the founder and chief executive officer of Beat The Bomb. “We’ve created a totally new and insanely fun experience that brings people together. It’s the kind of adventure that Denverites are going to love.”
Beyond the immersive activity, Beat The Bomb offers an array of food and beverage options. The location has a full-service bar called the Bomb Bar. Here, guests can watch the most recent teams’ “Bomb Blast” videos on a pair of giant projector screens while sipping slushies, cocktails, Colorado craft beers, seltzers, ciders, wines and zero-proof drinks.
The slushies are particularly fun, with bold colors and vibrant flavor combinations. The Blue Hawaii, for instance, is a bright cerulean hue. It’s made with rum, vodka, pineapple juice, blue curaçao and lime. Bartenders can also whip mystery slushies with surprise ingredients.
There’s also a 1500-square-foot dining area where visitors can enjoy tasty shareable bites. Guests can nosh on fan-favorite menu items like chicken wings in six different flavors, loaded fries and tots, pretzel bites and crispy chicken sandwiches. The menu also includes a variety of pita pizzas and shareable dips like Mexican street corn, buffalo chicken dip and classic spinach dip. And, for dessert, there are decadent treats like Oreo brownie bites and apple cinnamon empanadas.
Surrounding the dining area, there are four semi-private arcade bays where guests can eat, drink and participate in an Arcade Bomb Battle, a 90-minute competitive socializing experience with interactive mini-games.
The venue also boasts a 450-square-foot event space, which is perfect for things like team-building retreats, corporate outings, birthday celebrations and other special occasions. Customizable catering and bar service packages are also available.
Denver is the seventh location of Beat The Bomb, which debuted in Brooklyn in 2017. Since then, it’s expanded to Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Houston.
“We are very excited about bringing Beat The Bomb to Denver and the neighborhood,” says Rebecca Arnold, senior vice president at ScanlanKemperBard, the company behind the York Street Yards redevelopment project. “Our vision is to build a place where innovation and community collide—and getting Beat The Bomb to York Street Yards is a big win in realizing that vision.”
