How can you combine the thrill of physical activity with the joy of video gaming away from the glare of Houston’s angry sun? The answer is Activate, an immersive live-action group gaming experience that will get the blood pumping.

Activate opened their first Houston area location in Katy last November, and now they are adding one in The Woodlands that will celebrate its grand opening on August 18. Both locations offer the same wide range of gaming rooms.

“Our mission is to fuse technology, movement, and strategy to create a unique, interactive gaming experience,” said Activate partner Bryce Anderson during the Katy opening. “We want guests to bring their closest friends, family, or co-workers and leave with a feeling of achievement, ready to come back for more.”

The goal of Activate is to put people inside a game using a mixture of augmented reality and traditional button mechanics. Even something as simple as a classic basketball hoop is updated with shifting sensors and color indicators to give players additional challenges.

Other rooms involve stealth missions where players move around the area searching for the appropriate targets while avoiding cameras that track their movements. Anyone who has played Metal Gear Solid will feel instantly at home dodging enemy sightlines to achieve a goal.

Activate hosts 2-5 players at a time for a total of 75 minutes of activity. Groups cycle through the rooms in order to keep the games moving along and to allow Activate to host multiple groups at the same time.

The activity is physically intense. Expect to be moving and dodging a lot as you try to figure out puzzles. Similar to the Immersive Gearbox gaming center in The Woodlands Mall, Activate treats your body like it’s the controller. That means a great deal of spacial awareness, especially in some of the laser-based games where getting a single finger in a beam is enough to deduct points.

Houston's intense summer heat makes sustained outdoor activity difficult. Activate’s increasing presence in the area is a welcome way to experience physical games within air conditioned comfort.

For tickets and more information, visit the Activate website.