Beat the Bomb, opening Friday, April 4, is the latest in a string of immersive experiences for Denver, and founder Alex Patterson did not hold back. "Only about 10 to 15 percent of all teams beat the bomb on their first try," he says. But don't worry; the explosion doesn't hurt.
Read on for everything you need to know about Denver's newest team-building and strategy game.
What is Beat the Bomb?
Developed in Brooklyn by Alex Patterson in 2017, Beat the Bomb is an immersive, five-game sequence that includes three bomb missions (paint, slime and foam). Groups choose which bomb mission they want to take on; how well they do in each of the four ten-minute game rooms leading up to the bomb room sets how much extra time they get to beat the bomb before it explodes.The first room of the paint mission is a game called "Hack Attack," in which players must work together to follow a barrage of increasingly difficult tasks on a touchscreen.
In the second room, the team completes patterns for "Floor Grid," which Patterson describes as akin to human tic-tac-toe with a censor on the ceiling tracking the team's movements. Like the other games, it gets harder as the team progresses, with timers and digital fireballs moving through the room. If you get hit by a fireball or don't make it to your spot before time's up, your team will have to restart the level. "It’s a communication game as well as a movement game," Patterson says. "It feels like magic, like you’re truly stepping inside a video game, because as you move around in the room, your position is moving around the wall."
In the third room, "Echo Chamber" is a game where you see and hear a pattern and have to figure out how to play it back with unmarked buttons on the wall.
The fourth room is a maze with thirty lasers. Twenty of them are vertical columns, and the other ten are angled up and down. The whole team must figure out a way across the maze, which gets more challenging as the game goes on, with lasers to duck and lasers to walk over. Eventually, the lasers turn on and off in regular and irregular patterns. "It becomes the hardest laser maze you've ever been in in your life," Patterson says. "We could probably protect all the art in the Louvre if they licensed our laser maze technology."
Finally, the team enters the bomb room, where it plays a game called "Cyber Bots," guiding a robot through a maze on a giant screen. Each person is given a controller with a different function, and the team must figure out each of their functions and how to move as a group.
"If you don’t beat the bomb, you have ten cannons aimed at you that explode with paint, kind of like a fire hose of paint. It’s not paintball. It doesn’t hurt," Patterson promises. "Then, the bomb room turns into the world’s coolest photo booth. Our technology there takes a slow-motion video of you getting blasted. You get to pose for a bunch of photos in light and black light, so you’re glowing. You get a ten-second dance video and all of this stuff is sent to your phone within a minute or two of finishing the bomb room."
The other missions are made up of different games, like a bop-it-style game and a word game. "They'll challenge you in different ways, but they all require teamwork," Patterson says. He adds that Beat the Bomb is also developing a cash bomb, where if teams beat all three missions, they'll be able to play a really hard game for money. "It's not out yet, but we'll bring it to Denver at some point soon," he promises.
Where is Beat the Bomb in Denver?
Beat the Bomb Denver is at York Street Yards, 3863 Steele Street. There are also locations in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.Patterson says he chose to expand to Denver because it's known as a good market for immersive experiences, and it's also far away from other major cities. "That’s what Denver’s reputation is, that people are up to do new immersive, interactive things. People are very active and up for adventure," Patterson says.
He adds that Denver is also a great place to visit. "There's an enormous amount of tourism coming to Denver," he says.
How much is Beat the Bomb?
Standard tickets are $51.95 per person. You must purchase tickets for a minimum of four guests when you book a mission.How is Beat the Bomb different from an escape room?
While an escape room is static, Beat the Bomb is an ever-changing experience in which every player matters. The game is equipped with radio-frequency identification, which identifies each participant as a unique player."It's up, it's active, it's moving around and it's social," Patterson says. "Every person is useful. I played so many escape rooms in the development of Beat the Bomb and I often felt that sometimes I wasn't really useful." In escape rooms, he adds, experienced people tend to play by themselves, figuring out all the clues. In Beat the Bomb, every player is needed to complete the puzzles. "There's no wallflowers," he notes.
How many players are needed for Beat the Bomb?
A group must have a minimum of four people. Large groups can bring up to 250 players to split up for different missions.Patterson says about 75,000 people visit each Beat the Bomb location a year, with many school groups, work gatherings and parties coming through. "It's as likely that someone's celebrating their ninth birthday at Beat the Bomb as someone celebrating their fiftieth birthday on a Saturday with us," he says. "We get both."
The game is for anybody ages eight and up.
How long does the experience last?
A bomb mission usually lasts about an hour. Teams can also play Arcade Battle, a more casual, six-round game that pits teams against each other and includes drinks and appetizers. Arcade Battle is a ninety-minute experience.What is the point of Beat the Bomb?
"A lot of the Beat the Bomb games are team-building challenges to figure out how to play the game as a group, to come up with and agree on a strategy," Patterson says. "If your team has figured out the game halfway through and how to play it and has a strategy and everyone is on the same page, this is the point of Beat the Bomb and you’re already winning."He adds that it's also a good social skills experience for kids. "What do kids need these days more than anything? Social skills," Patterson says. "They're all playing video games, but a lot of the time, it's very lonesome on their own; they're slumped on the couch with their face in a Nintendo Switch."
Does the bomb hurt?
The bomb does not hurt, Patterson says. Before entering the bomb room, each team member is suited up with a hazmat suit, booties, a helmet and a face shield. The paint bomb is more of a spray. While the protective gear should keep your clothing safe, it's recommended to wear comfortable clothing that you won't mind getting stained just in case.After the bomb goes off, a bomb tech comes in with a hose and washes off the players. Participants then remove their gear and wash up.
Is there food and drinks at Beat the Bomb?
The space has both a Bomb Beer Garden and a Bomb Bar, which offer a full-service bar and food menu including pizza, salad, hot dogs, bomb slushies and more. You can sit in the Beer Garden and watch the bomb explode on people or rent an arcade bay for your group, which Patterson describes as like a bowling lane, but with arcade games.Beat the Bomb opens at York Street Yards, 3863 Steele Street. on Friday, April 4. To book a mission or for more information, visit beatthebomb.com.
