Event Idea: Let's Play! We Visited The Happiest Place in DTLA

We put down our phones and just had fun!
Report from our visit to the new Two Bit Circus, a VR Powered micro-amusement park in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.

Two Bit Circus invites visitors to put their electronics down and play, 21st century style and opened it's doors on September 7th.
The tech world has taken notice. TechCrunch, CNet, Bionic Buzz, Rich DeMuro and Forbes Magazine all published positive articles.
Forbes Magazine comments:
"Two Bit Circus is a multi-faceted celebration of the new wave of out-of-home entertainment: custom escape rooms called Story Rooms, VR Cabanas (private rooms), VRcades, re-imagined arcade games, free roam VR, and live interactive game shows".

We checked it out.

Alisa Walsh: "I am not a gamer by any means so I was surprised that my favorite game was a VR game that was both technical and physical and competitive on top of it. We had to dance and move as we waved our sabers to fight off objects that were flying at us. Imagine Dance Dance Revolution meets Star Wars. It was really fun.

The best aspect for the event industry: the team building! Many games are designed for groups of 6 people instead of the usual 4 players. It encourages you to meet people and communicate to get your 6 players together. It also challenges you to work together as a team. As a corporate client you have the option of pre-building your teams or just let your guests lose and let them build teams naturally. 
Catering is in-house. Two Bit Circus offers carnival food reinvented, very high-end, including vegan options.
The bartender is a robot smartly named Guillermo Del Pouro who will concoct classic and virgin drinks to perfection.
Decor: Two Bit Circus is event-ready as is." 

This must be the only photo of four EventWorkers together without a single cell phone in sight!

Kristen Rensch: “My favorite area of the micro amusement park are the group immersive Story Rooms, which are a take on escape rooms. Two of the rooms - The Lost City and Space Squad in Space - offer team-based challenges you work together to complete, and The Raft is a very fun VR multiplayer experience!”

Ted Bowers: "I enjoyed seeing the merger of the latest VR & AR technology with vintage style carnival and arcade style games. There was something playful that everyone could identify with. Every attraction had push buttons or levers that encouraged participation.

The Robot Bartender is one gizmo that is imbedded in my memory. The Rube Goldberg style contraption mixed up a super savory cocktail."

Kate Brack: "Two Bit Circus is at the crux of experiential gaming: approachable, nostalgic and just plain fun! I can’t wait to go for the full experience with friends!"

Entering the Two Bit Circus the first things that visitors see is a circular bar in the center of the converted warehouse space.

To the left is a Midway arcade that is filled with updated versions of Coney Island style classics like “Demolition Zone” where two players swing a physical wrecking ball at a virtual skyscraper to see who can cause the most damage; or “Big Top Balloon Pop” a game for up to four players where contestants have to color match balls fed to them and toss them at colored balloons in front of them to pop as many balloons as possible. Classics like skee ball are also available unadorned and timeless (really, who messes with perfection?).

Behind the Midway is a purpose built robotic bartender that banters with patrons who sidle up to watch the automated cocktail maker work its magic. Named Guillermo del Pouro, the robot behind the bar will mix up classic and virgin drinks.

As patrons head to the back of the establishment they can find the story rooms, which are virtual reality enhanced escape room-like experiences where would-be adventurers can explore secret Aztec temples, hurtle through space and explore strange new worlds in the game “Space Squad in Space”, or try to survive a trip down a haunted river in the bayous of Louisiana.

Some of the games, like Space Squad in Space rely on episodic content so players can advance through multiple levels and are rewarded with repeat game play. Others have a more discrete story line.

Owner Brent Bushnell also noted that there is an element of immersive theater that’s available for anyone who attends the park, regardless of whether they enter one of the virtual reality experiences or not. “There are clues that take you on different experiences in the park,” Bushnell said. “We want to reward the curious and provide Easter eggs for fans.”

Picking up a seemingly random phone located in the park can provide clues to a meta-game, which is the adventure of simply exploring the park itself. And through the variety of play options — from virtual reality to classic carnie games, to immersive theater within the park, Bushnell said there should be something for everyone.

Two Bit Circus also holds more traditional virtual reality and arcade gaming options for folks who don’t want their experiences quite so immersive. There’s a modular virtual reality maze, which is a six meter by four meter physical maze that players navigate wearing an HTC Vive VR headset and a backpack PC. In the maze players can either try to navigate a minotaur’s maze or battle fierce “rabbids” that are preventing a space ship from launching.

Then there are virtual reality pods which will offer an array of gaming and experiential options, while the Hologate four player virtual reality game station offers cooperative and competitive gaming. For people who want a little bit more privacy and a more bespoke virtual reality experience, there are private rooms available for rental.

A food stand offers updates on old street-and-state fair standards and there’s seating in an upstairs area to watch the crowds or by the counter where circus-goers place their orders.

Finally, there’s a section for classic arcade games and the modified games, including, amazingly, an air hockey game in which four people play simultaneously.

While the individual and group games are show-toppers, Gradman and Bushnell are hoping that their 150-seat show-starting venue, Club 01, will be another attraction for attendees of the Two Bit Circus. There, in a room equipped with 75 shared touch-screens where a master of ceremonies will lead the crowd in interactive games and quiz shows.

Source: Jonathan Shieber/TechCrunch

Learn more: A message from co-founders Brent Bushnell and Eric Gradman.

What did we take away from the experience? Games are back - and while Two Bit Circus is a fixed installation in Downtown Los Angeles, we can bring a mobile Micro-Theme-Park to your event.
Call us! Let's play!

Thank you for reading.