For Zaandam and the Zaanstreek
Interactive game park · Beverwijk
A party for
12, 13 or 14 year olds
from Zaandam
Interactive game rooms in Beverwijk, about 25 minutes' drive. Everything indoors, so it goes ahead whatever the weather.
- €24.50 per player, Battle Standard
- ±25 min drive from Zaandam
- 9 game rooms, all of them indoors
Zaandam has plenty, just not much for this age
There's bowling, there's trampolining, there's an hour at the arcade. But for twelve-, thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds who want something they'll still be talking about the week after, the Zaanstreek is thin on options.
PlayKinetix is an indoor game park on the Handelskade in Beverwijk. 9 game rooms: light-up floors that react to your feet, walls with buttons that light up, challenges you solve together. Everyone gets a wristband that keeps the score. No screen, no controller, you're on your feet the whole time.
From Zaandam it's about 25 minutes' drive. Not a local option, then. Below you'll find what it costs, what they do there, and how to sort out the dropping off and picking up.
Twelve is not eight
Around the age of twelve, the birthday kid decides. As a parent you can have a perfectly good plan, but if the teenager isn't sold on it, it isn't happening. And the verdict comes fast: something is for little kids, and that's the end of the discussion.
Which is why there isn't a single piece of play equipment here. What there is, is a result. Every game counts points, the wristband tracks who does what, and at the end there's a winner. That's the difference between being kept busy and wanting to win: whoever is bottom after the first round wants a rematch.
Nobody has to be good at anything in particular: it's about reactions, keeping an overview and talking to each other, not about one sport.
Dropping off and picking up from Zaandam
The drive is the only real hurdle. Four things that keep it simple.
- 1BeforehandTwo cars, two parents
Eight teenagers fit in two cars. Agree that one parent drops off and the other collects, so nobody does the trip twice. Setting off from Zaandam together saves everyone arriving separately.
- 2On the wayThere's no motorway, and that's fine
The A8 stops at Westzaan and the link to the A9 was never built. So you take the provincial road: via Nauerna onto the N246 and then straight on past Assendelft to Beverwijk. On the way back, the smell of cocoa is the sign you're nearly home.
- 3On arrivalFree parking right outside the door
The Handelskade is on a business park, outside the town centre's paid-parking zone. Parking is free and right outside the door. Just dropping them off? You stop, they get out and you drive on.
- 4AfterwardsPut the pick-up time in the group chat
When you book, the start and finish times are set. Share them with the other parents straight away and nobody is left waiting in the car park.
What it costs
Two versions, both worked out per player.
Teen Party Battle Standard
- Two half-hour rounds of play
- A break in between to get your breath back
- A wristband that keeps the score
Teen Party Battle Extended
- Everything in the Standard
- The roomier set-up; you'll see what's included when you book
You can hold a date with no obligation before you book for real. Handy while you're still counting up who can come. Torn between the two Battles? Put the question to us via contact. For a younger brother or sister under twelve there's the regular kids' party.
What exactly they do in there
9 game rooms, with names like LAVA ARENA, STRIKE ZONE and APEX CLIMB. Four things that come back in all of them.
A floor that plays back
Light panels that react to where you stand and where you step. Watching from the side isn't an option.
Walls covered in buttons
Buttons that light up and go dark again. Whoever looks and moves fastest takes the points.
Challenges you only win together
In some rooms you can't crack it on your own. Someone has to shout something, someone has to listen. That's usually where the group actually becomes a group.
The score sits on your wrist
The wristband records everything itself. No referee, and no arguing afterwards about who won.
Rain, hail, mid-December: it goes ahead regardless
A birthday in November or February is the hardest one to fill at home: outdoors is off, and ten teenagers in the living room have run out of things to do after an hour. Here everything is under one roof, so the forecast doesn't come into it.
Watch the days. The park is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday to Friday we open at 12:00, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30. On Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday you can start until 18:00, on Friday and Saturday until 22:00.
Those late Friday and Saturday slots are useful from Zaandam: you're not tied to one time slot in the middle of the afternoon, and with a later start you avoid driving back along the N246 in the rush. If you'd rather make it a Wednesday, check the school holidays to see when it's quieter.
Questions parents in Zaandam ask
My daughter is fourteen. Won't she find this childish?
By far the most common question. Honest answer: it stands or falls with the competition. No ball pits, no climbing frames, but a score and a result. What works best: let the birthday girl look through the game rooms and decide for herself. At this age she will anyway.
Can they come by train as well?
They can, but it isn't convenient. Zaandam is on the Zaanlijn and Beverwijk on the Kennemerlijn; the two lines only meet at Uitgeest, so that's where you change. With the connection you're travelling 30 to 40 minutes, plus an 8-minute walk from the station. By car it's a good deal less trouble.
What does it cost per player?
The Battle Standard is €24.50 per player, the Extended €29.50. So with ten players you know exactly where you stand. Questions about extras or about a bigger group? Put them to us via contact before you book.
Isn't it boring after half an hour?
There are 9 rooms and they're all different: one asks for reaction speed, another for keeping an overview, a third for teamwork. The break between the two rounds is mostly spent working out who was ahead. And there's more coming: CUBE SPIN opens on 1 November, NEON GRID on 1 December.
Other towns nearby
Is your group coming from somewhere else? The route and the journey time are set out separately for each town.
Hold a date, decide later
See which days are still free and put one in your name with no obligation. Counting up who's really coming can wait until after that.