A set inside a Game Show Battle Rooms location. (Courtesy Game Show Battle Rooms)
Ever wanted to spin the Wheel of Fortune? Or compete in a Minute To Win It-style activity? Maybe battle it out with Family Feud prompts?
This fall, Coloradans can do just that – just not on live television.
Game Show Battle Rooms, a business that sets up mock game shows for people to compete in, is opening its first Colorado location in Centennial at 8230 S. Colorado Blvd. this fall.
“It’s a fun concept. It just brings everybody together and puts the masses on a game show as the contestants,” co-owner Kevin Letnes said.
He said groups of eight to 100 people can book an hour time slot at about $35 per person. Each group is separated into two teams that compete against each other in three games. There’s no cash prize or new car in it, he said — just bragging rights.
“We made it feel like you’re on a game show set with lights and different things going on … and you face off against each other,” Letnes said.
Battle Rooms offers off-brand games like Spin the Wheel, where contestants spin and try to solve a puzzle, and Matchup Wars where players predict their teammate’s answers to phrases. But Letnes said the fan favorite is Survey Battles, a Family Feud-style game in which contestants have to guess the most common answers from a survey.
Letnes said the 3,500-square-foot Centennial space will have roughly 20 employees, including the hosts that guide groups through the competition. He said Battle Rooms typically hires people with comedy or improv experience.
Letnes started the concept in Minnesota with David Sauer in 2017. They both were in the business of selling experiences; they together owned a pedal pub, a passenger-powered mobile bar, and Sauer ran an escape room, where visitors race to solve puzzles.
“(Sauer) saw the value in experience-based businesses and entertainment,” Letnes said. “People are looking for fun things to do. We spent a good amount of time diving into how the whole experience would work and we took a leap of faith.”
After opening three locations, the team brought on their college friend, John Dockendorf. Battle Rooms now has seven locations in markets across the country, with plans to open three more in Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis this fall. Letnes declined to disclose revenue information.
“It might be too early to tell if it’s a fad – but I think it’s just fun,” Letnes said. “It’s just kind of a fun new unique thing that not many people have tried or done before so that’s part of the success as well.”
Letnes said the business gets a combination of families, friend groups and corporate work events or retreats, which is why they landed on opening in Centennial.
The Denver Tech Center “was a big spot we were eyeing up. This spot felt close enough to DTC … and also a good mix of neighborhood and residential as well,” Letnes said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misnamed John Dockendorf.
A set inside a Game Show Battle Rooms location. (Courtesy Game Show Battle Rooms)
Ever wanted to spin the Wheel of Fortune? Or compete in a Minute To Win It-style activity? Maybe battle it out with Family Feud prompts?
This fall, Coloradans can do just that – just not on live television.
Game Show Battle Rooms, a business that sets up mock game shows for people to compete in, is opening its first Colorado location in Centennial at 8230 S. Colorado Blvd. this fall.
“It’s a fun concept. It just brings everybody together and puts the masses on a game show as the contestants,” co-owner Kevin Letnes said.
He said groups of eight to 100 people can book an hour time slot at about $35 per person. Each group is separated into two teams that compete against each other in three games. There’s no cash prize or new car in it, he said — just bragging rights.
“We made it feel like you’re on a game show set with lights and different things going on … and you face off against each other,” Letnes said.
Battle Rooms offers off-brand games like Spin the Wheel, where contestants spin and try to solve a puzzle, and Matchup Wars where players predict their teammate’s answers to phrases. But Letnes said the fan favorite is Survey Battles, a Family Feud-style game in which contestants have to guess the most common answers from a survey.
Letnes said the 3,500-square-foot Centennial space will have roughly 20 employees, including the hosts that guide groups through the competition. He said Battle Rooms typically hires people with comedy or improv experience.
Letnes started the concept in Minnesota with David Sauer in 2017. They both were in the business of selling experiences; they together owned a pedal pub, a passenger-powered mobile bar, and Sauer ran an escape room, where visitors race to solve puzzles.
“(Sauer) saw the value in experience-based businesses and entertainment,” Letnes said. “People are looking for fun things to do. We spent a good amount of time diving into how the whole experience would work and we took a leap of faith.”
After opening three locations, the team brought on their college friend, John Dockendorf. Battle Rooms now has seven locations in markets across the country, with plans to open three more in Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis this fall. Letnes declined to disclose revenue information.
“It might be too early to tell if it’s a fad – but I think it’s just fun,” Letnes said. “It’s just kind of a fun new unique thing that not many people have tried or done before so that’s part of the success as well.”
Letnes said the business gets a combination of families, friend groups and corporate work events or retreats, which is why they landed on opening in Centennial.
The Denver Tech Center “was a big spot we were eyeing up. This spot felt close enough to DTC … and also a good mix of neighborhood and residential as well,” Letnes said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misnamed John Dockendorf.
