This place is great. Our staff came here to celebrate and have fun together. After breaking up in teams and trying out the rooms, we had such a blast. I should have brought a change of clothes because we were sweating! I like how each room has different styles of games. And that the games do get harder on different levels. This is a fun place for friends, coworkers, and families! read more

If you've ever wanted to feel like you're inside a real-life video game like Wreck It Ralph, Activate is the place. I've been to Level 99, so it's comparable where there's multiple rooms and activities and you work together to finish the game. Here, you can do competitive games against your group, which makes things more interesting. Theres about 10-15 rooms and each room has different activities to choose from and levels. Unlike Level99, the directions here make sense when you get the hints. As soon as these doors open, within seconds, we were sprinting between glowing rooms trying to beat puzzles, dodge lasers, and slap light panels like our lives depended on it. The concept is basically part escape room, part laser tag, part interactive arcade, except you are the controller. And yes... you will sweat. Each room has a different challenge, and the games ramp up in difficulty so it gets weirdly competitive (especially when everyone's scores are tracked on the wristbands). One minute you're carefully solving a puzzle and the next minute you're hopping across light-up floors like it's an adult version of "the floor is lava." A few notes from the field: * Free lockers to store your belongings. * Bring a water bottle! * Wear athletic clothes and sneakers. This is not a cute-boots/sandals activity. * It's way more physical than expected--in a fun way. * Eat AFTER you come, especially if it's a date night. You don't want to see anything coming up during the activities. What I loved most is that it's fast-paced and replayable. You can bounce between rooms, try different difficulty levels, and keep chasing a higher score. It's perfect for groups, birthdays, team outings, or honestly just blowing off steam. Bottom line: it's chaotic, active, and ridiculously fun. Also in comparison to Level 99, it's not as busy and we don't have to wait outside rooms for long. Would I go back? 100%. My competitive side refuses to accept my current score. read more

Maximum per game room is 5 players. We spent $40.28 per person for 90 minutes. They have so many game modes testing from your physical to mental abilities, competitive or not. They also have a leaderboard to view the scores of everyone that is currently playing, including those not in your group They don't sell beverages, I highly advise you bring your own drinks. They have a free locker for each group. We loved the megagrid game mode and the lasers! Will definitely come again. read more

Activate Sterling - MegaGrid Game Mode - Team Building Activities Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

Decided to go to Activate with a group of four (ages 24, 24, 25, 26) and we had a blast. There are several rooms with different base level games, each with multiple modes and levels. Once you choose a game and a mode, you start at the first level, and if you complete it, you can proceed to the next level within that mode. Each game only takes a couple of minutes at most, so if there are multiple groups waiting for a room, it goes by quickly. From what we experienced on a Friday night, it was not busy. The difficulty and physical level of the games vary, but there are games for everyone, and it will be fun regardless. The best part is all of your progress is saved to your email, so if you return, you can start exactly where you left off. The staff is really nice, and the place seemed pretty clean. I will note that they don't sell water or anything, so I'd bring some since you will be doing physical activity and might get a little hot. Ninety minutes was enough for us, even though you could definitely spend longer. Don't forget to do the cute photo booth at the end, which you don't need any minutes left for. read more

Wow! I was lucky enough to come to their grand opening and had so much fun that I visited again 2 weeks later. They use a lot of modern technology and lights in their games. The arena is shaped like a donut with 3 game rooms in the center along with a live score board and like 10 games on the perimeter. I noticed one game room was closed so it might be a game that opens up in the future. I liked that each game room had different game modes you can choose and you can progress in difficulty if you pass the games. Your progress and rewards points are also saved so you can start where you left off next time you come back to Activate. The game rooms vary greatly from each other to cater to people both young and older. Some examples of game rooms they had are: avoiding lasers, light-up floor tiles to step on, throwing balls at targets, basketball hoops, button pressing while avoiding an evil eye, and something similar to pac-man. I left Activate sweaty; some of the games are a great workout! I do wish they had a better way of indicating if a room is in use like making the lights a different color. The only way we can tell if a room is in use is if we look through the door windows and see lights/people moving around. Otherwise when you click to start the game, it'll tell you to wait (upwards of ~1 minute since games don't take too long). read more

Activate Sterling - Prices and rewards - Team Building Activities Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

See all

I'm almost 40 and no kids. I came here with a group for a total of 8 adults. We had to split up into two groups of 4 because the rooms can't accommodate so many at one time. I didn't know what to expect from this place, but it turned out fun! We did 90 minutes and 30 minutes in, we finally got the gist of things and time went by fast. The first couple of times you're playing, you might as well expect to lose while you're learning what to do. Some of the games go really fast too so expect to lose a bit fast. There are about 10 rooms of games. Some are repeated like there are two laser rooms. There's a grid room and then a much bigger mega grid. So some repeats. So the set up of this place is basically, enter, put things in locker, get wristbands, activate wristband, go inside, find a room you want to play, tap your wristband to be in the room, select game, press start and if there's another group inside, wait. If not, directly go inside. The games go fast so it's not a long wait. If you finish the game, there are two choices. If there are no other groups waiting, you can keep playing but it increases in difficulty and level (and more points). If there is another group waiting, then the room tells you to get out. When you enter a game, be ready fast. It starts almost immediately, especially lasers. When a bunch of people are just standing aimlessly, you could lose all your lives in the first couple of seconds. Stay vigilant! A surprise at the end is that you can scan and spin for points, accumulate the points, and select a gift. After 90 minutes, most of us got a water bottle as a gift. The lowest gift is a keychain. Overall, a fun and unique experience. read more

Activate Sterling - Front - Team Building Activities Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

See all

Came with family on a Saturday night and was surprisingly not too busy. Check in process was easy and went from check in to the rooms within 5 minutes. Every room (especially the laser and grid rooms) were very fun and got the blood pumping. It was fun to try and strategize with all of us and keep trying to finish the next level. They have a lot of great rooms so it's hard not to have a great time here. read more

I think it's better than Level 99 because even with fewer rooms they are more focused and active experiences, and the instructions are way better. They are also more futuristic with lasers and such. I don't like how they levels are restricted until you level up. The early levels are too easy. You basically have to keep paying to play more and get to the challenging levels, it's definitely designed to force you to come back often if you really want to maximize the fun. read more

I had the pleasure of going to Activate Sterling during their soft opening with my girls and we had a ball. There were so many rooms with various level of play and variation from competition to collaboration. It is a work out for sure so be prepared to run and sweat. We're super competitive so we will be back to get on the leader boards. read more

It's a great change of place from a regular arcade. The games are pretty physical and are a great opportunity to think a little while getting your whole body involved. The time goes by faster than you expect and when it's busy, your games get interrupted (between levels) so I recommend going early. The prizes aren't really much except for merch or 10% off future trips. Overall, it's a great place to check out if you want to kill some energy with some fun games indoors. read more

So much fun for all ages! It is a tiny bit overwhelming when you walk in, but they are really great about explaining things and walking you through how it all works. We checked it out at the soft opening. Despite all the slots being "sold out" around us, we were able to play a lot without much waiting (which was what I was worried about most)! Braydon was awesome, and kept checking in on our big group to make sure we were managing okay and had fun with all the kiddos. Nothing is allowed back in the rooms (no water bottles). We left everything in our car to be easier, but they do provide you with a free locker to secure your things. 6 is the minimum age to play. I went once with my kid as a test-run (just the two of us) before we had our large group come together. A few of the games were too big physically for him to play. It was also very hard to play a few games with just 2 people and they were much more enjoyable when we had 4-5 people in the room with us. Each game only allows up to 5 players per room. The eye game was "scary" for a few kiddos that scare easily in our group. Some games could also be overstimulating because of the lights. It was a little hard to hear instructions in some of the games, and we probably would've been clueless about how to play if we weren't playing with someone who already knew what to do. Some of the rooms could also use more circulation, like maybe some fans at the top to help circulate air. Or maybe we were just extra hot from all the running around Wear layers, you'll most likely end up with just a sleeveless on after a few games. My kiddo has been talking about it nonstop since we went last week, and we have plans to go back again with two bigger groups. Can't wait! There's no difference between a normal booking and a large group booking. read more

Had a birthday party for my 11-year-old son there and he had a blast, my wife and I went as well with our six-year-old son and his friend, and we had fun too! Really cool place. read more

Place was actually pretty fun. I was kinda expecting something that was catered to kids but me and my wife had a good time. We got the 90 min package and there were some really fun games that really wore us out. So if u are looking for a fun place to go on a date night. This is it. They need some kind of bar and food but I'm sure someone smart will come along and start doing that. The employee Haseenn (or Yaseen) was very helpful and did a great job of explaining everything to us. We will be back here. read more

We went during the soft opening and had a great time! It was an activity the whole family enjoyed. We had a newly 6 year old (youngest recommended age) in our group and 1 or 2 games were a little challenging for them but we made it work. There were multiple rooms with different types of games. The games are quick so there aren't long wait times and if there isn't another team waiting you're able to stay in the room to play another level. They have lockers in the lobby to store your belongings so make sure to bring water because you'll get a workout. All the employees were really nice and helpful. I already booked another visit! read more

The genuine joy that my son had during his experience here was priceless. We worked together on challenging but achievable games to create a lasting memory. The staff were caring, helpful and welcoming. Thank you for a great time. We look forward to returning in the near future. read more