As I sit here this morning writing this over coffee, my birthday boy is next to me telling me last night was the “best birthday party ever.” The party he is referring to; Game Truck; an amazing green and black truck filled with every video game a gamer could ask for.

Game Truck is a complete video game party brought direct to your door step. Each truck comes equipped with Wii, Xbox 360 and Play Station 3 consoles. You are given a choice of over three dozen of the latest video games and you can cater to any age appropriate party. Prior to the children boarding the bus, I met with the staff and chose age appropriate selections for the wall. Everything from Skylanders, to Wii resort, to a vast selection of Mario Brothers were there for the picking. The children were so excited; waiting by the window to be told it was time to board.

As my birthday boy stepped onto the truck, he was greeted by two Game Coaches and wall to wall video game choices. All the children lined up and sat down along the truck-long couches and were given a quick orientation of all the fun they were in store for. There are 4-5 giant flat screen HDTVs with consoles all set up for each one. In the corner, Skylander’s Giants was set up (my son’s personal favorite) and in the front, there was plenty of space for a “dance floor.” Players can play against friends, in teams or at the same time. Our two Game Coaches kept everyone busy, going from group to group changing games, helping with the set up and adjusting game controllers. They were friendly, experienced and had the video game enthusiasm to make the party a complete success. Our party had a range of ages from 4 to 10 years old and the Game Coaches were able to provide a selection that brought smiles to everyone’s face.

Two hours flew by in what felt like seconds and I can certainly say my 7-year-old would have stayed on the bus for two more. It must be said that the day of our party we were greeted with terribly inclement weather and the Game Truck did not let us down. I was so thrilled that they made the trip out to us regardless of the snow, ice and rainy conditions. In addition, the local branch owner was in touch with me the day before, a few hours prior and even the next day with information and feedback. Everyone was excited and I even overheard a few kids tell their parents, “I want Game Truck for my birthday.” I would recommend this party to any parent with a video game enthusiast like my son. Thank you Game Truck; you made my little guy’s day and we will never forget it. In closing, a quote direct from the birthday boy: “That was the coolest party ever mom; thanks for getting me Game Truck.”

Scott Novis wanted to create a dream arcade.

So the former videogame designer bought eight large projection TVs from Costco (COST, Fortune 500), covered the walls of his garage with plywood, installed all the popular consoles — including Nintendo’s GameCube, Sony’s (SNE) PS2 and Microsoft’s (MSFT, Fortune 500) XBox — and loaded up on games like Halo 2, Mario and Mario Kart Double Dash.

An executive with Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) at the time, Novis thought of transplanting the entire setup to a truck, making a video arcade on wheels that would appeal to kids. Later that year, he ordered a trailer and created his first GameTruck. It had four 50-inch plasma TVs on the wall, LED lighting and carpeted walls.

“It was a visceral experience, like you were stepping inside of the game,” he said. Novis rented out the GameTruck, which could accommodate up to 20 kids, for birthday parties.

“Moms loved it,” he said. “We could park it in front of the house and mom could keep an eye on the kids and not deal with any mess in her house.”

Novis franchised the idea in 2008 and immediately locked in five franchisees. “Business exploded after that,” he said. Today, GameTruck has 79 franchisees operating 85 trucks nationwide. He expects to add another 20 to 25 franchisees this year.

“We have a generation of kids today that are connected by technology but physically isolated from each other,” said Novis. “GameTruck is bringing these kids together in a fun way.”

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GameTruck Licensing, LLC is excited to be ranked #218 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 34th annual Franchise 500®, moving up 167 spots since last year’s ranking.

To view the full ranking and any of these related stories, pick up a copy of the January 2013 issue of Entrepreneur, or visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500/index.html.

Since being founded in 2006, GameTruck has steadily grown to more than 70 franchisees operating 85 GameTruck rigs in 155 territories across 25 states and Lagos, Nigeria. GameTruck expects to add 30 new franchisees and 60 new territories in 2013, with long-range projections for 200 to 250 units covering the U.S. and Canada. GameTruck is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 8,029,368 issued October 4, 2011.

GameTruck Ranking History

Franchise 500®:#218 (2013), #385 (2012),

Fastest-Growing: #87 (2012),

Top New: #37 (2012)