Active indoor entertainment, also referred to as “active social play” –has seen continued investment on the amusement and entertainment landscape as the population ages. The movement almost weighs as a counterbalance to immersion.

The interest in active citizens addressing health concerns following lockdown has also linked to the growth of “eXergaming” as a savior to the slowdown in the fitness and gym industry.

Following is a rundown of recent entries into this exciting sector seen across Europe.

• Valo Motion, a Finland provider of mixed reality products, continues to penetrate the active entertainment market with its highly active and attractive platforms, such as seen with its new ValoArena tracking players’ movements with computer vision and representing the movements on screen. Tracked player movements represented on screen are also seen with the “ValoJump,” while projection mapping defines the popular “ValoClimb” system.
• CSE Entertainment Ltd., also based in Finland, has introduced compelling active entertainment with strong “eXergaming” roots with “iWall 3.0” tracking players movements and representing them on screen in two-player action. This is a concept that the company has fielded for years and has entertained millions of users with, including a considerable library of games. The company’s new “runBEAT 2.0” system, a motorized treadmill with an exergaming and networked component, offers a fun fitness experience drawing heavily on gamification of the exercise process. CSE’s “cycloBEAT 3.0” is also able to have four units linked together; this cycling experience offers up to four games for fun competition.
• Pleyo, based in Caen, France, has introduced its “Pleyo Station,” a mini-trampoline style single-player attraction which tracks players’ movements and represents them on screen. The game experience has been upgraded significantly and features great new game elements.
• SisyFox GmbH, based in Hildesheim, Germany, famous for its giant game-controller game, introduced “Jumplings” — with five players on individual jump pads controlling their character on a central screen. The system is configurable in numbers of players from three upwards, and offers a unique, multi-player, highly physical experience for young players — with 15 games in the library. The company is also working on a highly physical and digital game mechanic.
• Pixel Games, a Magdeburg, Germany based provider of interactive floor games, has introduced an active experience with a social element using an illuminated interactive floor-scape that players must navigate in various game modes, avoiding the red blocks. Able to accommodate single and multiple game modes, the platform has already been installed in social entertainment sites. The system was developed as a kiosk launched, fully automatic gaming experience.
• Mini-golf specialists Greenspan Projects Ltd., based in Andover, U.K., has been working for some time on its interpretation of the gamified golfing experience and has launched “Puttify” which the company is calling “not just a golf game” but the next generation of social entertainment, with interactive course elements and a digital scoring component. The holes include a trivia selection element and unique play aesthetics, all fed from a touchscreen kiosk.
• Conductr, based in Stretford, U.K., has opened a social entertainment game division, Game Volt. The first fruit of this had already been installed in the new social entertainment element of Dave & Buster’s, with its new “Supercharged Shuffle” inspired shuffleboard, now including a layer of tech to support gamification, including automated scoring and kiosk control.
• SimWay, based in Stockholm, Sweden, presented its selection of shooting experiences and updated this approach with the first showing of “ClayShot”— with realistic shotguns blasting clays on screen. This is a new game offering aimed at a more social entertainment mix than a realistic shooter. It is offered as a standalone arcade shooting unit, configurable for two players, with a sharpshooter linking the “ClayShot” experience for four players in a Wild West challenge, and with 60 different experiences on the system.
• Bowling, of course naturally lends itself to active entertainment. NGT-Bowling, based in Julich, Germany, has introduced its “airO” pneumatic pin stacking platform, offering a simple operation and supported by lights and sound for social venues.

No doubt, the active entertainment sector will continue to carve out its niche on the amusement/entertainment landscape for some years to come.

(Editor’s note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published in collaboration with the LBX Collective and publisher, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)