How To Choose Game Rentals for Your Next Event
If you are reading this blog, you are most likely looking for games to rent for a corporate event, charity gala, school function, or even a wedding or backyard party. While this may seem like an easy feat, there are many things to consider when deciding what games you should have at your event. If you consider these 5 things, you should not have to worry about having some successful game entertainment at your next event:
1 – Venue
Will your event venue be outside or inside? Does the venue have restrictions on what you can bring in? These are important things to think about and to discuss with your chosen venue and they may even be determining factors when choosing where to hold your event.
Outside
Outside offers opportunities for game trucks, portable arcades, large obstacle courses, lawn games, and the like. Things to keep in mind here are that anything requiring specific lighting for visibility, anything that won’t work in certain types of weather, anything that could blow away, etc. will need additional thought and accommodation.
Inside
An inside venue will likely dictate how big your games can be. For example, a game where attendees roll around in a bubble ball or jump on an inflatable probably isn’t feasible. However, an inside venue is a perfect opportunity to set up an arcade, have table top games like Chess or Jenga, or an evening karaoke challenge.
Venue Rules
All that said, some outdoor games are begging to be set up indoors for a change – think Giant Connect Four, Giant Chess and even Cornhole – bigger venues may be able to accommodate these BUT you need to talk to the venue to make sure there are no restrictions on what you can bring into their space.
2 – Space
The next big thing you need to consider is how much space you actually have. Whether the event is inside or outside, you need to make sure you have ample space for any game(s) you select.
An event where attendees are seated around tables in a room does not offer much space for games apart from what can be played on their individual tables. In this situation, you may opt for a separate game space (or casino) if that’s important to your event or if additional space exists.
An outside event at a park or other venue with a vast area begs for big games spread out over the space so that guests are encouraged to circulate and use the full space. If there is too much unused space, there is a risk that guests will spread out and can ultimately disconnect from the event.
3 – Time
What time of day and what time of year will the event take place? Planning is often done well in advance of the event itself and sometimes time gets overlooked. So when you are doing your planning, remember – morning events beg for different types of games than evening events and outdoor summer parties require different game options than indoor winter events. Think about it – beer pong at 11am? Unlikely. Giant Jenga in the dark and snow at a winter evening event? Probably not.
4 – Guests
Who and What?
What is the purpose of the event and who are the guests? This is extremely important to consider in choosing what games will work best. The goal here is to tie games back to the event theme and the attendees. Sometimes this is easy – think about an employee recognition ceremony for a golf course. In this case, guests are likely to enjoy golf and know something about it so a putting contest, golf video game, or golf or ball related games would probably work well. Similarly, if you are having a corporate event for a virtual reality company, games using virtual reality are ideal. It’s not always this easy, so it’s important to think about who your audience is and what type of event you are holding when choosing your games.
Will they know each other?
Another thing to consider is whether or not the guests know each other. If so, participation in certain games will be high but if not, guests may be slow to join in group games. In this case, choose games that encourage participation or come up with some kind of a challenge or competition when guests arrive. One idea is to give guests a scorecard when they arrive at the event and have them enter a score or participation stamp for each game they play. Another is to assign guests to teams and allow them to earn points toward a final team score.
5 – Budget
One of the most important factors to consider when planning games for your next event is your budget. If you plan a big event with big expensive games only to find that you can’t afford them, it can create a lot of work re-planning not only the games themselves but often event themes, venues, and decor.
Small budgets usually mean small games which are easy to pick up from a rental company and set up and take down yourself. This saves delivery fees, any additional costs built into games for set up and take down, etc. Plus, small games cost less.
Larger budgets allow for big carnival rides, inflatables, multiple options for guests, etc. If games are the main entertainment, be sure to put your budget dollars there to ensure that guests have a good time and stay entertained throughout the event.
In summary, games can help make your event a huge success but it is important to think about these 5 things at the beginning of your event planning to ensure you don’t create work for yourself or end up disappointed.
Be sure to check out our other blogs like the Top 10 Game Rentals for more ideas!
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