Level Up Date Night at Activate Cincinnati

S omehow, I made it 40 years on this planet without ever playing laser tag. Maybe I was too busy watching Titanic as a teen or simply not hip to this Star Wars -inspired game, but laser tag is something all four of my kids play on the regular and have expressed varying degrees of disappointment by the lack of “laser tag” on my “Fun Mom” résumé.

Well kids, just a few weeks after my milestone birthday, I played my first game of laser tag.

Sort of.

And not against my kids, but with my husband—and that’s its own milestone, too.

You see, I am not a competitive person. How not competitive am I? Well in fourth grade, I was one word away from winning first place. The word was “bikini” and I knew how to spell it. Of course I did. But as I stood there, in front of the entire fourth grade class at Miami Elementary, I realized if I spelled this word right, I would “win” the bee, but that I’d then go on to the next level of this competition…signing me up for more hardcore nights of spelling drills with my well-intentioned, but slightly tiger momish, mom. This thought process lasted mere seconds and I quickly spat out “B-I-K-I-N-N-I. Bikini.” I took home a sweet second-place trophy and a strong sense of self, which I’m calling a win.

So me = not competitive. Except with my husband, Tony McCosham. In our early days of dating, we went bowling and he—the guy who owned his own bowling ball—soundly defeated me. I gave him the silent treatment the rest of the night. When we’d just gotten engaged, my soon-to-be in-laws took us mini golfing, an activity that resulted in me chucking my golf club and accusing Tony McCosham of “playing games he knew he was good at to make himself feel manly.” During the pandemic, my poor husband purchased a Scrabble timer because we’d been playing every night. I’m sure you know where this is going, and won’t be surprised that this board game is now gathering dust on a bookshelf.

The thing is, it’s kind of fun to be competitive—“friendly competition” is a thing for a reason. So when I heard about Activate Cincinnati , a brand-new gaming experience in the Queen City, I was intrigued and decided it would be the perfect location for a date night.

Activate Cincinnati is located in Oakley and billed as the “world’s first active gaming facility.” Just like the adventure centers geared toward kids, Activate challenges gamers to run, jump, play, and problem-solve while participating in a variety of unique activities.

Once you check in and sign a waiver, you’re given a wristband that keeps track of your scores and session time, and (most importantly), grants access to each room. Sessions typically last 75 minutes and include unlimited gaming within that time, and because of the electronic “sign in” for each room, you’ll enjoy a private experience with your partner/group, as the rooms are only open to one party at a time. Because games last just a few minutes each, you’re never waiting long for a room—and if no one is waiting in your room’s queue, you’ll have the option to “level up” once you’ve completed a game.

We were led back into a hallway straight out of Minority Report ; there with doors on each side and at the front of each, a screen that lets players select from an array of challenges. Each room offers myriad options for games that all fit a particular theme; my favorite was the “Grid” room that had Tony McCosham and me jumping around the room to follow a militant Siri’s fast-paced instructions on which color to land on. (Think “The Floor is Lava,” but faster paced and with a “Dance Dance Revolution” vibe.)

There were “Hoops” and “Strike” rooms that riffed on classic arcade games, and a “Laser” room that was laser-tag adjacent, but better because it doesn’t involve players shooting at one another (something that makes me very uncomfortable as a parent living in 2024).

Actually, there was no shooting or playing against Tony McCosham at all, and this brings me to my favorite feature of Activate: you can pick “collaborative” or “competition” on pretty much every challenge, which means no thrown golf clubs or silent treatments.

With the summer shaping up to be a hot one, Activate is a fun place to spend an active night of team building or friendly competition with your partner, family, friend group, or even work colleagues. I haven’t had this much fun in a while, and it was refreshing to be able to enjoy 75 minutes of play with my partner in crime. After 17 years of marriage and four kids, we definitely make a good pair and I love that we could tackle each room as partners and equals.

Except for Hoops, which I totally dominated. But who’s keeping score?

Activate Cincinnati , 3103 Disney St., Oakley

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