Activate Halifax — Attraction in Dartmouth

**Edit: minimum of two people is an option for a lot of the rooms now! Love that they added this because it makes for a fantastic date night!

One of the best experiences in the HRM.

Physically active video game challenges. Some of these are easy, some of them are very physically demanding. Make sure you know your limits going in and wear workout clothes! Groups of 3-5 people per room.

A bracelet is used to track your time, points, and leaderboard score. Individual rooms so you’re not interacting with other groups at all. You can play until someone else registers for the room, then you just step out and either try another room or get back in for another round. Most games last 2-3 minutes so you aren’t waiting around long at all for anything. You pick your rooms so if there is one you hate, you don’t need to play it again.

Each room has different game modes so it doesn’t get boring. Levels scale the better you do so you can either keep trying to get through the physical challenges or try a completely different mode.

Some of these are easier than others. We had four people and once we hit level 5 for some of them, we just were not fast enough, but that’s part of the fun.

Extremely affordable. $32.20 for 75 minutes of play and it’s plenty of time. If there is room, you can add more time to your card.

We booked ahead. Very easy process. They also have lockable cabinets for your stuff, so you don’t have to carry your stuff around with you. Highly recommend not wearing a sweater, you’ll get warm fast. Make sure you have deep pockets if you plan to carry your phone in or else it’ll go flying.

Can’t...

I’ve visited Activate several times without any issues and always followed the standard protocol, including removing my footwear before entering the game areas. However, my recent experience on Saturday, November 2nd, at 9:30 PM was disappointing due to the rude and unprofessional behaviour of the staff.

Upon arrival, I was told my footwear was deemed improper. While I understand that Activate has specific rules about footwear, the last time I was there I was told I couldn’t wear footwear in the game. I understand that the website now says you need proper footwear however how was I supposed to know as a customer who has gone there multiple times without issue. Explain to me how was I supposed to know the rules changed. As an account holder who receives regular with promotional material in my inbox, it would been helpful to get notifications about updates to the terms and conditions or rules directly via email.

The worst part was the unprofessionalism shown by the staff, who made me wait outside after the fact. The entire experience left a negative impression, and ruined a night out with my friends and, I will not be returning anytime soon. It’s unfortunate that what used to be a fun outing has been ruined with unprofessionalism and rude staff who didn’t even...

Activate Halifax is one of the few things that keeps me sane. I work crazy hours and I love heading there to blow off steam and work up a bit of a sweat. When I was younger and my parents would throw on Cheers, I always thought that I would find a bar where everyone knew my name once I was grown up, but it turns out that it's actually Activate. Chelsey and Theo in particular always absolutely make my day when I go, but I'd have to list a dozen names to cover everyone who's been supportive of my goal to catch em all, so to speak. I look forward to seeing the staff as much as I do to actually getting to run around and play with the pretty colored lights!

I've had some issues with badges not being awarded when earned, and they've both absolutely been on top of talking to corporate and escalating the issue so that I can get my completionist dopamine fix.

I hope that Activate brings back the 10-visit summer pass as a year round thing! The fall pass wasn't actually a savings for those of us who come frequently and already benefit from the 25% discount, but the summer pass made it so that I could get in a good round of Statues or Laser Relay a lot more frequently.

All in all, I love coming here and I feel like the people absolutely make the...