Gaming is often a sedentary experience. Players sit on a comfortable couch in front of the TV or computer and play their favourite games, sometimes for hours on end. But that doesn’t always have to be the case.
New experiences are sprouting around the UAE that bring gaming into real life, allowing players to feel like they’re part of the action, either completing tasks against the clock or racing against friends Mario Kart style.
Here are four places in Abu Dhabi and Dubai that offer real-life gaming experiences.
Activate, City Centre Mirdif, Dubai
Originally launched in Canada, Activate is an interactive gaming experience that invites players to choose from nine uniquely challenging rooms. Recently opened at City Centre Mirdif in Dubai, these rooms feature a variety of obstacles, such as racing from wall to wall to hit buttons before time runs out, or collaborating with friends to guide a ball through the correct holes.
“I think in a world where everybody seems to be getting more secluded with video games, with telephones, with Covid, working from home, I think Activate is the pushback to that," says founder and chief executive Adam Schmidt.
Schmidt says that places like Activate are a good way to get children who have grown up with video games to try something fun and active. He adds that the median age of visitors is anywhere between 15 and 40. He says: "It's like a way of playing video games but also you're coming out sweating and so it has that sort of active, healthy element to it."
The rooms in Activate also have the option to increase the difficulty once a task is mastered, keeping the playing experience different. The rooms use all manner of technology from laser detection to sensors on the floor that bring a game like the floor is lava to life.
Schmidt says that the rooms aren’t static, they can be changed and reprogrammed to offer new challenges if needed. "What's really cool about Activate is that it's a platform and that platform not only has the ability to add games with the click of a button, but it also has the ability to add new ways to play," he says.
Between the many rooms is a leaderboard display for all to see with players who excel at a particular room having their names on it.
Prices for entry start at Dh95 for an hour
Cube Challenges, Reem Mall, Abu Dhabi
Cube Challenges is a venue that offers players 32 different challenges, each testing different skills like quick thinking, puzzle solving, physical challenges and overcoming horror scenarios. The challenges also come with a time limit that makes it a thrilling experience for those who decide to take it on.
Located at Reem Mall, the many different rooms offer an eclectic adventure, each with a different design and feel, recreating the video game experience of going through different levels. Some of these include Golden Gate Bridge where team members have to work together to cross a bridge safely. Another is the Laser Maze, in which players must traverse a challenging maze while avoiding touching the sensitive lasers.
There are also more sports-based levels such as Subbuteo, which require players to score as many goals as possible past the electronic goalkeeper. Basketball fans can try the Buzzer Beater challenge, scoring as many baskets as possible before time runs out.
Horror fans have a choice between four levels: Ghost Hunters, Horror Route, Magic Potion and Who’s There.
Prices for entry are Dh100 for children and Dh120 for adults
Chaos Karts, Al Quoz, Dubai
Most people have played Nintendo's Mario Kart before, competing against friends or the computer to claim the top spot while traversing colourful tracks and avoiding obstacles. At Chaos Karts in Dubai, that experience is brought to life. Located in Al Quoz near Alserkal Avenue, the real-life kart track aims for a thrilling racing experience.
The track at Chaos Karts incorporates augmented reality technology to create a variety of scenes that make players feel like they’re racing through anything from a desert landscape to traversing the cosmos and avoiding stars.
The technology also enhances the driving experience by adding obstacles and giving drivers power-ups, such as virtual slugs to slow racers ahead of them or planting a trap for those behind them much like in Mario Kart.
With the changing environments and evolving challenges, racing at Chaos Karts sets itself apart from a normal karting experience and brings in gamers who have always wanted to drive on the Rainbow Road themselves.
Ticket prices per person start at Dh140
Pixoul, Al Qana, Abu Dhabi
Opened in 2022, Pixoul has become the destination for all things gaming in the capital. The venue has everything from an esports academy to a retro games hall with classics such as Street Fighter and Contra.
“We believe that everyone should be a gamer today as esport fosters creativity, encourages problem-solving and builds leadership skills," general manager Paul Hamilton previously told The National. "So, we designed Pixoul Gaming to offer a new world of digital amusement and showcase Abu Dhabi as a global leader in esports and digital entertainment."
What really sets Pixoul apart though is its cutting-edge augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. Named Pixoul Planet, the experience is broken down into different levels each with its own challenge that lasts around 10 minutes.
The first level in Pixoul Planet is CryoGenesis, which puts players in a pod. Then comes a level called The Lift which simulates the experience of being in an elevator while being attacked by enemies. Then comes Operation B in which two players must attempt to safely get to a helipad while facing enemy fire.
These are just three levels in the Pixoul Planet experience that puts players in the heart of a virtual world and requires them to react and fire back or defend territory with their own hands rather than using a controller.
Prices start at Dh200 to experience the full Pixoul Planet story
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Rating: 3/5
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Three stars
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
