Newest immersive experience in Atlanta: Be on a pretend game show
Game shows have been a staple of the TV landscape since the 1950s.
And since most Americans have never competed on one, entrepreneurs in the burgeoning world of “immersive” experiences are replicating game shows for anyone with a few dollars in their pocket.
Over the past 18 months, four have arrived in Atlanta: Game Show Battle Rooms in Dunwoody; The Game Show Challenge on the West End; Game Show Studio in downtown Atlanta; and Great Big Game Show at The Battery Atlanta, which just opened.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution visited all four and the templates are similar. Each one features a host who splits groups into two teams to compete in various games. Many are similar but for legal reasons, somewhat different from classic game shows like “The Price is Right,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “Press Your Luck.”
The experiences, all open daily, typically last around an hour and cost $35 to $40 per person. All chase after the lucrative corporate team-building market on weekdays, and the friends and family/birthday party crowd on weekends. Every single one has a spinning wheel and a Plinko-style board. Three use buzzers like “Jeopardy.”
The lights, music and host banter replicate real game shows minus the cameras, studio audience and, in most cases, real prize money.
“I think it’s more important than ever that we get away from our phones for a bit and create these shared memories, these unforgettable moments and laughs,” said David Sauer, who opened the first Game Show Battle Rooms in a Minneapolis suburb in 2017 with his business partner Kevin Letnes and now has 22 locations from Seattle to Orlando, Florida.
Here are summaries of each of the four now in metro Atlanta:
Game Show Battle Rooms
Address: 4550 Olde Perimeter Way, Dunwoody
Website: gameshowbattlerooms.com/atlanta
Headquarters: St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Founded: 2017
Dunwoody location opened: November 2024
National locations: 22
Standard number of players: 8 to 32
Keeping it classic: Games include Survey Battles (think “Family Feud”), Spin and Solve (think “The Wheel of Fortune”) and What’s That Cost? (think “The Price is Right”).
Why it got started: “My partner and I were into escape rooms, but we saw that space getting oversaturated,” Sauer said. “Once we got into game shows, it blew up right away. And, naturally, we got copycats.”
What makes them special: “We pride ourselves on having the biggest props, the biggest arenas, the best lighting. We invested a lot in our lighting sequences,” Sauer said. “We have a lighting truss and everything is synced to each game.”
Drink up! “We’re the only one in town that offers beer and canned cocktails,” Sauer said.
Game show host’s role: “It’s fun to see people have their moment in the spotlight. You can see the full spectrum of emotions. And it’s great when people tell me they had a good time even when they lost,” said Conrad Davenport, Game Show Battle Rooms host and assistant manager.
The Game Show Challenge
Address: 1000 White St. SW, Atlanta
Website: thegameshowchallenge.com/atlanta
Headquarters: Columbia, South Carolina
Founded: 2019
Atlanta location opened: May 2025
National locations: 4
Size: 4 to 14 per room
Most unique game: Match Masters is kind of like the game Concentration, where you have to match cards on a screen. As you match more cards, the board shows parts of a celebrity face. The first team to name the celebrity wins the round.
Coolest gamble: At the end, each player gets to roll an oversized die. If you hit the same number eight times in a row, you win $100,000. Odds: 1 in 1.7 million. Nobody has done so yet, though someone has gotten six in a row and won $100.
Reaction: “We enjoyed it,” said Kimberly Troutman of Stockbridge, who called her team the “Bayou Gals,” competing with three friends from high school. “The camaraderie and sharing the experience with friends. And the winning.” She and her friend Lakisha Brown enjoyed dancing around with an oversized fake $1 million check.
Flexibility: Birthday wishes can be inserted into the “Wheel of Fortune” style game. Trivia questions can be modified depending if it’s a group of kids or senior citizens.
Success so far: “We were so inundated with guests in a good way, we opened a second studio in the space earlier this year,” said Game Show Challenge co-creator Josh Brickey, who previously ran escape rooms. “We’ve had groups of up to 100 at our facility at one time.”
Game Show Studio
Address: 22 Park Place SE, Atlanta
Website: gameshowstudio.com/atlanta
Headquarters: Roseville, Minnesota
Founded: 2023
Atlanta location opened: December 2025
National locations: 9
Number of players: 6 to 20
Combo deal: The downtown space near Underground Atlanta also features a rage room, bicycle spin art and splatter art.
Sampling of games: Match Up Madness tests your knowledge of your colleagues, friends or family. High-Low has you guess whether the next card is higher or lower and the team that goes the longest wins. Three Door Monty has you pick from three doors, two of which have worthless prizes, like “Let’s Make a Deal.”
Not worried about competition: “I’m a firm believer there’s enough space in Atlanta for game show experiences like this,” said Game Show Studio co-founder Julian Wagner. “It’s a timeless concept.”
Future concepts: “We are rolling out a kids experience for ages 6 to 12. We’ll have a teenage experience,” Wagner said.
Great Big Game Show
Address: 900 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta
Website: greatbiggameshow.com/atlanta
Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Founded: 2023
Atlanta location opened: May
National locations: 22
Number of people who can play at a time: 2 to 14
Channeling their inner Bob Barker: More than 300 people applied in Atlanta to be a game show host but only 18 got the job. “We are looking for people who bring energy and excitement,” Atlanta general manager Nick Pinelli said. “We have people with stage and improv backgrounds.”
What makes it special: While the rooms are the smallest among the four game show experiences, the creators have developed the greatest variety of games, with 18 available. In a given hour, players might play five or six. While they are randomized by default, users can request specific games.
Examples of games:
- Build it Up: Two teams have 60 seconds to build the tallest tower out of various shapes.
- Wait For Me: You are given different time frames (e.g. 3 seconds, 17 seconds) and whoever presses the button closest to that time wins.
- Spin Out: Each team spins a wheel up to seven times with different number amounts. Each time you hit that particular amount, it gets zeroed out. You land there again, you get nothing. You can stop at any time. The team with the highest point total wins.
Participant reaction: “I liked the one where we got to spin the wheel,” said Amy Schnabel of Smyrna, who came with her husband, Harry, and their 10-year-old daughter, Winnie, and competed against another trio. “I always wanted to spin one as a child. We actually won that one!”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
