Kids and adults can look forward to an adrenaline-pumping experience at NERF Action Xperience at Marina Square Singapore!
UPDATED 6 June 2024 - Nerf Action Xperience has closed as of end-2023.
Original post: 8 December 2021
We've heard about NERF Action Xperience a while back and from social media posts, it sounded pretty fun. Honestly, I was a little clueless as to what to expect as I hadn't seen many pictures or videos on all the play areas at the venue (which I later realised why!).
Anyhoo, we finally made our way there this school holiday and though we are not exactly NERF fans, we found NERF Action Xperience to be a pretty unique experience. Not all play areas were our cup of tea (well, we all have our individual preferences!) but overall, we still enjoyed ourselves. So here's our review and 10 things to know before you take your kids to NERF Action Xperience (NAX)!
1) What's there exactly?
There are four main areas of play - Compete, Conquer, Challenge and Create.
Compete:
There are two games here - Zombie City and Camp Dune. In Zombie City, two teams will compete against each other to be the team that scores the highest points by shooting zombies in your team's colour and locating hidden "vaccines" in the game zone within a specific time. I estimate its play including the instructions at around 15 minutes.
My girls, who are age 9 and 11, were actually a bit nervous about the "zombies" before the game but they are really just cardboards with targets that you're supposed to shoot at. I could see they were very into the game once we were inside and when they realised there were no scary 'live' zombies!
At Camp Dune, you go up against another team by being the first team to bring back all five of your team's flags from the centre to the back of the room. If you get hit by the other team, you have to wait out 15 seconds before your can return to the game.
Our team of six - which consisted of my girls and I, and another family of three with two adults and one child - lost to the other team of six adults in Zombie City mainly because they found the hidden "vaccine" which gave them a lot more points! But we won in Camp Dune, which I think is mostly because we let the kids be in charge of running to get the flags - they were fast and being smaller sized, were hard to hit - while the adults provided cover for them! Haha!
I quite enjoyed firing at the zombies in Zombie City but I don't know if it's because there were some problems with the larger gun I opted for or I'm not good at using it, but my gun kept jamming during the games. Would have been more fun for me if my guns worked fine! The girls didn't have any issues with their smaller guns though.
BTW no pictures to show here as you are not allowed to take photos once inside Zombie City and Camp Dune. NAX does take pictures of you in the games, however, which you can view and choose to purchase at the end of your session.
Conquer:
There are two activities here - The Ice Cliff, The Summit, The Volcano and The Glacier (the latter was closed for maintenance when we were there).
The Ice Cliff is basically a rock-climbing wall. There are two walls which face each other, so the girls could go together at the same time. Big E was pretty good at it though we haven't been wall climbing for a while!
Next up is The Summit, an impressive looking two-level obstacle course! You have to go one round of level one first, before proceeding to the second level.
I like that the obstacle course has quite a bit of variety. Like this net...
...these steps which were a little challenging initially for Little E but she figured it out after dawdling a little...
and this one where you can pull yourself across...
My girls have been on a number of obstacle courses - including those at Forest Adventure, Houbii Spot and MegaClimb - so I wasn't really expecting them to be daunted by this. But Little E was actually rather nervous at the start of this but after seeing her elder sister go first, she gamely finished the two levels of obstacle courses. Big E, on the other hand, didn't think it was scary at all, though they both did say that it was a bit hard to maneuver their lanyards and carabiners. They finished the entire course in around 20 minutes (excluding queuing and getting into the safety gears).
The Volcano is a challenge (but not as as challenging as The Summit of course!) where you climb some simple obstacles and fire at targets with a NERF gun with only six shots. You have one minute to complete this course so you'll have to go as fast as you can - well this auntie only took around 40 seconds so it's really a breeze for kids! My girls thought this activity was "so-so" and weren't keen to go another round. But of course, if you're already there, just go for a round to see what it's like! No pictures once again as only one person - the person that is playing - is allowed in the play area!
Challenge:
This is like a mini playground with different activities that challenge your speed and agility. These are the games my kids had fun with: an obstacle course which you can challenge yourself to finish in the shortest amount of time...
...and this one where two persons compete against each other to be the one who hits the most of their coloured lights.
They also had fun at the playground structure in Challenge. BTW only two persons are allowed at each area at the same time, though not all kids follow the instructions, unfortunately!
Well, my girls were pretty knackered after going a few rounds at the speed challenges and they really enjoyed Challenge the most at NAX!
Create:
Here you use NERF guns loaded with paint to design your own take-home tote bag or tee-shirt. We didn't go for this but we spied some kiddos having fun with it.
2) How much are tickets?
Standard tickets are at $39 per pax for "Massive" tickets, which includes Compete and Conquer, but you'll have to choose between either Challenge or Create. The "All In" ticket at $49 includes all four zones and there are also other bundles which you can explore at NAX's website. We bought the "Massive" ticket and opted for Challenge over Create which on hindsight was a better choice for my kids as they had enjoyed Challenge the most!
To score some discount on tickets, you can look out for sale at third party vendors. For instance, we bought our tickets at Klook. The prices are the same but we did get some discount via vouchers we claimed during Klook's Black Friday sale and we had some Klook credits too. Also, if you still have Singapore Rediscover Vouchers (SRV), you can redeem them on Klook for NAX too!
3) How do you plan your play?
Compete: You get two rounds of play at Zombie City and Camp Dune during your session, which you'll need to book a timeslot for once you arrive. A staff at the entrance of the Compete area will book this for you. Note the timing you've booked as you need to be at the Compete area five minutes before your booked slot and decide if you should start activities at Conquer or Challenge. For instance, if you are booked for a 1pm game, you don't want to go for The Summit at say 1245pm.
Though NAX's website said you get unlimited play at Compete, we were told when we got there we get two rounds of play here. Could be due to capacity limit owing to safety management measures (SMM) during the pandemic!
Conquer: There is unlimited play here. Same thing, you just need to take note of any booked slots in Compete before you attempt The Summit (which took my kids about 20 minutes to complete excluding queuing and getting into safety gears), Ice Cliff or Challenge.
Challenge: There is a 15-minute time limit for each session with only ten participants allowed in the area at the same time. You can go unlimited times for this. Same thing, take note of any booked Conquer games before you go for this.
Create: I understand you only get one go at this but am unsure if you'll need to book a timeslot for it once you are there as we didn't attempt this. So do check with the staff.
4) Is NAX more for younger or older kids?
Only those 7 years and up are allowed entry. There is also a 1.3-metre height limit for The Summit.
For The Summit, I see some kids who are younger than my kids attempting the obstacle courses. But that said, everyone has their own fear threshold and I don't believe in forcing my kids to try out such obstacle courses - they were the ones who requested to go to Forest Adventure when they were younger because they said it looked fun! If high element obstacle courses are new to your kids, it might be good to go up there with them or be prepared for them to "chicken out" when they are there.
I think this is a place both kids and adults can have fun at, especially The Summit and Compete. The rest of the activities, I feel, are more suitable for children. My kids especially had a fun time at Challenge.
5) How much time do you need?
Tickets come with a three-hour timeslot. It was really just right for us. In fact, the girls were knackered near the end such that we left about 15 minutes before our session ended. There said, it wasn't too crowded when we were there, which explained why three hours were enough for us (see below on crowd).
6) Was it crowded?
The venue was operating at 50% of capacity when we were there and when we arrived at 1230pm, there was a sign outside that said that it was fully booked for the day. It wasn't crowded at all on a weekday school holiday but I think it could be so because of the timing as well because it's lunch time. There were hardly any queues for the games, and when there were, they were pretty short and didn't take longer than 15 minutes.
However, when we were leaving at 3pm, we did see a much longer queue at The Volcano. I guess it's always best to visit on weekdays if you can as given that there is a 3-hour limit on play, you might not get to fully enjoy the experience if you had to waste time on queuing.
7) Is pre-booking required?
Yes, you need to book a timeslot at NAX's website whether you purchase your ticket from NAX's website or from third party vendors.
8) What to wear and bring?
NAX recommends "athletic clothing with some stretch" to ensure "maximum comfort". I was in stretchy jeans and tee, works as well! Grip socks (any type) and covered shoes are required. You'll need to remove your shoes and be in grip socks at The Volcano and Challenge. Ticket prices exclude NAX grip socks but you can purchase them at $3.50 per pair at check-in counter.
9) What else to note?
You'll need to fill up a waiver form which you can do so online on NAXs website before arrival so you don't waste time on such administrative matters when you arrive at the venue. It's quite a straightforward process which you can do when you purchase your tickets and book your timeslots.
Do check the latest COVID restrictions and NAX's SMM on their website before you go. As the restrictions can change anytime with government announcements, you'll need to know the allowed group pax at the venue. It was a maximum of 5 per group when we were there but children 12 years and below from the same household are allowed to tag along in the party of five. Only vaccinated adults are allowed into the venue at the time of writing.
You'll need to store your bags in lockers which you can hire at the venue. But try to bring a small bag as tickets do not include locker hire and the bigger the locker you hire, the more expensive it gets! We paid $6 for three hour rental of a medium locker to store my backpack. More locker rental details here.
10) Where is it located?
NAX is located at Marina Square, 6 Raffles Boulevard #01-208, Singapore 039594. Can't advise on parking as we didn't park anywhere near NAX given that we had entered the carpark that had only the blue zone. But given that Marina Square is not huge like Suntec, it was still quite easy to locate NAX as there were signs in Marina Square that led you there.
What other fun places have you taken your kids to this school holiday? Let us know in the comment box below!
Disclaimer: We paid for our tickets, and my opinions and reviews here are strictly my and my family’s own.
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.
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