Blogger Whit Honea enjoyed his GameTruck Party so much that he teamed up with us to offer a free party to one lucky reader!
"HOLY COW, MY SON TURNS 10 NEXT MONTH (give or take).
Sorry about that. Where was I? Birthday, that’s right. Anyway, my oldest son hasn’t had a birthday party in years (we’ve done other fun stuff), but he is turning 10 and that demands festivities.
Join GameTruck at Tempe Marketplace on Friday, April 26th and try out the new Star Trek game for free! Our own Patrick Milloy and Good Morning Arizona bring you more information, watch the video below or click here to see the story!
Star Trek: The Video Game is available now at your favorite retailer on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and also available online for PC. Come test out the game in person at the STAR TREK: THE VIDEO GAME truck!
Here’s where you can find the truck:
4/24/13 - Houston
12:30 pm - 4:30 pm
U Park N' Lock by Minute Maid Park
211 Hamilton Street, Houston, TX 77002
4/26/13 - New York, New York
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Union Square
West side between 15th and 16th street
NY, NY 10003
4/26/13 - Los Angeles, CA
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Hollywood & Highland Center
6801 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
4/26/13 - Tempe, AZ
Tempe Marketplace
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
By Dave & Buster's
2000 E Rio Salado Pkwy,
Tempe, AZ 85281
4/27/13 - Dallas, TX
Lone Star Comics - Arlington
1:00 pm - 8:00 pm
1215 S. Cooper St.
Arlington, TX 76010
4/29/13 - Washington, D.C
American University
12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Letts-Anderson Quad
4400 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
5/1/13 - Philadelphia - PA
Temple University
11:00 am - 3:30 pm
Liacorous Center
1776 North Broad Street,
Philadelphia PA 19122
5/3/13 - San Francisco, CA
UC Berekely
9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Kroeber Plaza
103 Kroeber Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-0001
Blogger Whit Honea enjoyed his GameTruck Party so much that he teamed up with us to offer a free party to one lucky reader!
"HOLY COW, MY SON TURNS 10 NEXT MONTH (give or take).
Sorry about that. Where was I? Birthday, that’s right. Anyway, my oldest son hasn’t had a birthday party in years (we’ve done other fun stuff), but he is turning 10 and that demands festivities.
A GameTruck is a mobile trailer that houses several flat screen televisions that can be connected to Wii, Xbox and Playstation systems where children and adults of all ages can play a variety of games at one time. The fee also includes a Game Coach who is a designated person who assists the players with changing games and any technical assistance for the duration of the party. I had the opportunity to host a GameTruck party for friends. It was a fantastic experience for both the children and the adults who were present.
Booking a GameTruck Party
A GameTruck Party is a mobile trailer that can be booked for various events, and arrives on-location to the site of the party. Included with the party is a Game Coach who helps facilitate game play and manage the participants during the party. Players will have access to various Wii, Playstation 3, and XBox games to use during the course of the party.
GameTruck is a franchised company, so you will need to first check out the GameTruck website to identify if there is a truck that is available in your location. Though we were in Massachusetts, it was possible for the GameTruck company from Connecticut to facilitate our party, but additional fees may be required for out of area locations.
Booking the GameTruck Party is simple, call the number online, or book the party through their website. Through their website I was able to gain access to party planning materials, that I didn't actually use, but that could include printed invitations, or themed invitations where contacts could be added into the system and emailed directly with the party details. Within the online website, there are also step-by-step videos that will walk you through the party process.
Throughout the process, I communicated with the company mainly via email. I did receive a confirmation phone call a few days prior to the event. We even changed the physical location of our event about a week prior, and I was able to view the change of venue through the online tools.
Since I live in a busy location and have a small home, we opted to have the GameTruck park in the parking lot of a restaurant with their permission. The GameTruck needed about 50 feet of linear of space to park and we were able to block off the space ahead of time. I received a phone call from the GameCoach, Alex, about 30 minutes prior to the party, stating that he was scheduled to arrive at the venue on time. After parking, since it was in February, Alex needed a few minutes to turn on the generators and the heat, but was available to start the party within 15 minutes.
Inside the GameTruck there was a long, leather sofa that ran the length of the trailer. There was a television on the right, immediately upon entering the truck. Across from the couch, there were 4 additional televisions. The truck was spotlessly clean. Before any of the children entered the truck, Alex and I previewed the available games. We removed the more mature games and limited the selection to games that were appropriate for all ages. Due to the weather, our party happened entirely inside the truck, but I have seen other trucks that have windows that are able to open up featuring more playing space and additional televisions.
The Party
We had over 20 different children that were available to attend the GameTruck party. The truck easily holds 16 children, and Alex our GameCoach had a very calm and easy going personality. He got the children playing various games of their choice, and was able to respond to the needs of all of the children, changing the games when necessary. Just Dance 4 (compare prices ) was very popular, and there was enough space in the front of the trailer for 2-3 kids to play at the same time.
It was helpful to have a large indoor location nearby for families to be able to filter in and out of the truck to take a break from the gaming. At the height of the party, most of the kids were specifically focused on the television in front of them. I know some parents were concerned prior with the noise that could be generated during the party. I would say more then the noise, it could be quite dark inside, so this is something to keep in mind with younger children.
I know that XBox Kinect, RockBand and Skylanders toys are quite popular with this age group, and I didn't specifically ask, but I don't think they were available during our party. If your child has a specific interest like these particular games in mind, I would suggest confirming with the franchise about the availability of certain games and experiences prior. I have seen additional photos of other people's parties who have had these items present, so I'm sure that this could be arranged prior to the event.
I didn't hear any complaints from other parents or children that they didn't get enough playing time. We utilized the truck for about 2 1/2 hours, and that was a perfect amount of time for the event. Certainly there were times during the party where it was busier than others, but it was a great way to include children of various ages happily playing at the same time. It was a popular discussion among the parents present that this would be such a fun experience for adults as well, as a tailgate party prior to a football game, to celebrate a monumental birthday, or for just a fun weekend event.
GameTruck brings video-game theaters to birthday parties, office events, fairs and community get-togethers. Each GameTruck is equipped with flat-screen TVs and a wide range of video games and operating systems.
When Game Truck pulls up for video game party time on wheels, you can hear the collective, “WOW!”
Game Truck arrives for Party Time
in Chapel Hill, NC!
Parents and kids alike can’t wait to climb inside, take a look, and play: Game Truck wows everyone! Game Truck makes party time easy and delivers the fun straight to your home/business/location in Chapel Hill, Durham, Pittsboro, Raleigh and throughout the entire North Carolina Triangle.
Our recent Game Truck video game party (for our 3rd grade Birthday Boy) in Chapel Hill, NC was great fun with the least amount of effort: one phone call and Game Truck brings the fun!
Inside the beckoning bright green Game Truck, you will find a comfortable black leather couch that spans the length of the truck, with lots of cushion and game screens to accommodate 16 players, and all of the accessories to go along with the games (including guitars for Guitar Hero, Skylanders figures for Skylanders games, etc). Game Truck’s driver/expert GameCoach is there for the duration to help players learn the games. The games are set to multi-player so all of up to 16 guests can play together in the Game Truck at the same time.
When Game Truck arrives (around 15 minutes or so before the party begins), the Game Truck coach goes over the game choices with the parent(s)/party giver, so that you can choose which games will be available for gamers to play at the party. (For our party, we had mostly 9 and 10-year-olds, but also our younger children, so we opted to have only games that would be appropriate for everyone.) They all had a great time with the dozens of game choices still available even after we had (surreptitiously) removed some of the game choices before the party began.
You can go to the Game Truck website in advance to see the game choices and read game reviews so that you will already know which games you may or may not want to include in the possible game choices for your party.
Our GameTruck coach, Brandon, was great with the kids, polite, friendly and personable. After an hour of game play, he took a photo of all of the kids in front of the game truck (part of the party package), then they went back inside to play. After 2 hours of Game Truck play, we had pizza and cake (in our neighborhood clubhouse) before pick-up time. Then the kids played tag and hide-and-seek on the lawn on a warm spring evening. Great fun and some exercise to round out one of the best – and most memorable – parties ever! Both boys and girls had an awesome time.
If you plan to have food/cake, we recommend scheduling (at least) an extra half hour for the food and cake (before or after Game Truck play time), since no one will want to leave the Game Truck during the video games.
Game Truck makes hosting a party for up to 16 kids amazingly easy. When you schedule a Game Truck party, all you need to do is log into the Game Truck site using the password info you’ll receive. There you can enter the guests’ email addresses and the detail for your invitations, and Game Truck sends Evites to your guests, and logs RSVP counts to allow you to keep track of which guests can or can’t attend. The Game Truck website also has links for local offers and discounts on party food and other party gear for your local area.
A few more party ideas we found when we were originally reading about Game Truck on the web: Game Truck is a fun way for parents to get together for a grown-up dinner and let the kids have supervised fun on the Game Truck.
Our Game Truck coach also told us about a recent local neighborhood Superbowl Party here in the NC Triangle, where the neighbors got together and rented the Game Truck for their kids. (Cool neighborhood, right?) Game Truck is climatized and air-conditioned, so it’s great for keeping cool for a Summer birthday party, and equally comfortable in any season! Book your Game Truck party at http://www.gametruckparty.com/Triangle or visit Game Truck of the Triangle on Facebook.
The Game Truck will be heading to the upcoming festivals & events in the Triangle; visithttp://www.gametruckparty.com/Triangle for the Game Truck events schedule or to Book a Party.
Game Truck Triangle, NC provides video game parties throughout the North Carolina Triangle including Apex, Carrboro, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Raleigh, Holly Springs, Clayton, Garner, Pittsboro, Knightdale, Wake, Orange, Chatham, and surrounding areas.
Three of my four grandchildren have had birthday parties in the past few weeks. Two of them were girlie parties -- the 3-year-old celebrated with a Minnie Mouse theme, complete with mouse ears, and the 4-year-old hosted a princess tea party, complete with tiaras.
But my 8-year-old grandson's party was all boy. So what do you do with 18 8-year-old boys? Dude, you host a video game party. I haven't been to an 8-year-old boy's birthday party in years. Things have changed since my son turned 8. Back then, it was either a pizza parlor or skating rink party, where kids ran around, yelling, screaming and begging for more coins. There wasn't much else to choose from.
But today's hottest ticket is the Game Truck Party, where they bring the party to your doorstep -- or at least your driveway. I wish they'd had this when my son was a kid because it was so easy. All you do is call the video game truck company, book the date, pay the fee and invite the kids. They take it from there.
Here's how it goes: At the allotted time, a big brightly colored truck pulls up in front of your driveway, making you look like a rock star. The truck is greeted by 18 wide-eyed 8-year-old boys who can't believe they're about to play video games for the next two hours.
A really nice guy called a "game coach" opens up the doors and side windows, turns on wall-to-wall 50-inch flat screen TVs, hooks up the gaming systems -- like Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii -- inserts the 8-year-old players' favorite games -- like Skylanders, Wii Resorts, Mario Brothers -- and hands over the controllers. Dude, it's birthday party heaven.
I know what you're thinking. Kids today play enough video games. But they don't usually play together. Believe it or not, hosting a video game party is actually good for kids. They collaborate, they socialize, they learn skills, they move around, they take turns and they're inspired to read, do math and solve problems. Some of the game truck companies even include laser tag games that get the kids running, hiding, playing in teams and using strategies.
The game coach, with the enthusiasm of an 8-year-old boy, makes sure everything runs smoothly and fairly. Meanwhile, the parents get to mingle outside, comfortable in the knowledge that their kids are safe inside the self-contained party. With the convenience of keeping the party at home--and with no mess to clean up--it's a parent's dream too. The prices are comparable to a party at the play gyms, bounce houses, trampoline sites, movies and giant mouse pizza parties.
Dude, I have to say, the two-hour party flew by faster than a speeding Mario Brother. I've never seen so many boys in one place get along so well. I don't even think they took a bathroom break during the whole event. And I learned 18 different ways to use the word "dude."
The only problem? Dude, they could have used one more game truck -- just for the dads.
