“Are you guys ready to go?” asks Joe Howe, owner and operator of D.C.’s GameTruck franchise, as a group of 11 kids line up outside one of his video game trucks. “Yeah!” the kids scream. Video games have their pluses and minuses. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, new research shows that gamers can be more creative and faster decision makers. But video game detractors point to the dormant nature of the games as part of the U.S.’s obesity problem.

With four 50-inch televisions and long leather couches, each game truck can handle as many as 16 players at a time. Coaches like Cody Williams, below, help with gameplay.

Jason Smith, 10, probably didn’t think about any of that when he asked his parents whether the Game Truck, a neon green trailer on the back of a pickup, could come to his party to celebrate the end of the school year.

Video games are not something Jason plays all the time, according to his mother, Marjorie Smith, a computer programmer. She’s standing next to a row of four 50-inch televisions in the dark trailer, which is lined on the ceiling with neon green lights. The children sit quietly, eyes glued to the screens. “This is longer than he would normally play,” she says.

For two hours or longer, the game truck sits wherever the party is, while as many as 16 people, children and adults, play dozens of different video games inside.

“I was born to play Halo,” says one kid, sitting on the 20-foot-long black leather couch in the trailer parked outside the Smiths’ house in Alexandria.

The kids quickly become engrossed in the games. They choose their games, then sit down, four to a screen, and compete against each other — so there was no waiting.

“A lot of times, the kids come in and they’re so wound up, it takes 15 minutes to get them into the game,” Howe says. “Obviously, this is a good group of video gamers.”

The games are all vetted by parents before the trailer opens to the kids. Howe has as many as 50 games to choose from, including all of the newest and most popular offerings. A board by the door lists the games that the kids are allowed to play, and a coach assists everyone with game changes, battery issues or gameplay.

“We have an Xbox on every TV and Wii on every TV,” Howe tells the kids.

While Howe does a lot of kids parties, he accommodates adult also: bachelor parties, tennis tournaments and corporate team-building events. GameTruck started six years ago in Arizona, and Howe has been running trucks — he has two — here for about three years.

At parties, everyone gets along in the game truck, Howe says. There’s no drama, and he and his game coaches stress fair play and gaming with others. The only rule: no food or drink in the truck, except bottled water.

Chris Smith, Jason’s father who also works as a computer programmer, stands at the door with his wife watching the gamers. A couple more neighborhood kids join the party and the truck gets a little louder. Last year, Smith says, they had a water themed party to end the school year. This year, they got the ever-popular moon bounce along with the GameTruck.

But don’t expect Jason and his friends to turn into couch potatoes. They had to cut the party short because Jason had soccer practice.

 

Where: Anywhere in the DC Metro area How much does it cost? Monday-Thursday: $349 for two hours, $95 for each additional hour for up to 16 people at a time in the truck; Friday-Sunday: $395 for two hours and $175 for each additional hour for up to 16 kids at a time in the truck. Ages: 5 and older. For parties with 5- and 6-year-olds, Howe limits the party size to 12 children. For more information: Visit www.gametruckparty.com/dcalexandria or call Joe Howe at 703-955-6009.

Mobile video game theater supports Make-A-Wish^®

            (Tempe, Ariz.)—GameTruck Licensing, LLC will launch its first “Month of Giving” on July 1, 2012. Throughout the month of July, every event booked with GameTruck (with the actual event occurring in July or any month thereafter) will result in a donation of $15 to Make-A-Wish.

            “We are thrilled to be associated with Make-A-Wish and we are very excited about our first official giving opportunity,” said Scott Novis, founder and CEO of GameTruck. “The Month of Giving is a great chance for us to give back and for our customers to get involved in the community. We look forward to repeating the Month of Giving every year.”

GameTruck aligned with Make-A-Wish earlier this year and is now a proud sponsor of the wish-granting organization and its mission to enrich the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. GameTruck—a patented mobile video game theater concept featuring flat-screen HDTVs, comfortable seating, a high-quality sound system and the latest video game consoles—and its franchise owners will participate in more than 500 Make-A-Wish chapter events throughout the year. There is a $350 donation cap for each participating franchise owner and/or trailer during the Month of Giving promotion.

GameTruck offers a premier party experience for both children and adults in an interactive, multiplayer environment that accommodates 16 or more players. Self-powered, climate-controlled GameTruck trailers are outfitted with comfortable seating, four to as many as eight flat-screen HDTVs, enhanced sound systems, more than three dozen of the latest multiplayer video games and all the major video game consoles (XBOX360®, Nintendo Wii™ and Playstation®3). A GameCoach manages each event, promoting fair, interactive play. Since it was founded in 2006, GameTruck has grown to 60 franchisees operating 80 GameTruck rigs in 150 territories across 23 states and Lagos, Nigeria. Expansion is underway in Canada and Trinidad and GameTruck expects to add 30 new franchisees and 60 new territories in 2012 alone, 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.

ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH AMERICA

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted more than 212,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; nearly 14,000 in 2011 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish^®.

Here’s an easy way to add a teambuilding element to a company picnic or conference this summer: Hire a mobile video game theater like those offered through Game Trucks (888.602.4263). The nationwide company’s fleet of climate-controlled units can accommodate as many as 16 players at a time and is outfitted with up to five flat-screen TVs linked to at least four Xbox 360s, three Wiis, and one Playstation. The company carries more than three dozen multiplayer games, including Rock Band, Halo, and Mario Kart.

“For teambuilding events, there are four main genres of games we recommend,” says project manager Tawnya Sawyer. “Sports, racing, rhythm, and first-person shooter games, specifically Halo.” Game Trucks operates more than 80 vehicles across 23 states. Their corporate client list includes PayPal, GoDaddy, and Intel.

The company claims that, beyond being just a fun time, playing video games with co-workers can have long-term benefits that translate to the workplace.  “Recent studies show that multitasking, decision-making, and creativity are all increased through game play, so players are actually reaching a higher place in terms of communicating and trusting each other,” says Sawyer. “[Beyond free play] we also create programs that are specifically designed to increase cooperation, creativity, problem solving, trust-building, and communication.”

One example is a program created around Mario Kart called “Impaired Driver” that involves blindfolding the player holding the remote control while the rest of the group works together to communicate directions. Costs start from $300 per hour, with a two-hour minimum.