Gamin' Ride Brings Video Games to You

It’s a young gamer’s dream—a 38-foot trailer that contains four large video screens inside, two large screens outside, five sets of the leading gaming consoles, seating for 16 and hundreds of games to choose from.

Gamin’ Ride, as it is known, is a mobile game center that is available for children’s parties, fundraisers, and any other event where people just want a sensory experience playing video games.

It’s all owned by Michael Butrico, a Warren resident who bought into the Gamin’ Ride franchise with his brother William, although William is now a silent partner in the endeavor.  Butrico said the center of his territorial radius of 40 miles is Warren but he has gone as far as Staten Island.

“Business has been great, we have been busy,” Butrico said at his home recently. "It’s a pretty easy party. We just pull up to a house, they send us the kids and we take it from there.”

There’s a lot to like for a young gamer—the trailer offers three different gaming platforms—Xbox 360 Kinect, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. With a target audience of between the ages of six and 18, Buctrico says that he has games that can accommodate anyone in that age group with titles such as Call of Duty, a shoot ‘em up for older kids, to the Mario Cart racing for youngsters.

Butrico said a standard party booking is two hours; a third can be added for one hour of laser tag. The trailer can accommodate up to 24 participants simultaneously with eight players able to interact outside under an awning, and only 16 gamers in the climate-controlled trailer at one time. 

Gaming parties are run by trained “game gurus,” Butrico said. They can set up four separate games on the four screens or a single game where all participants can play each other in a networked environment.

And each game comes with what Butrico calls “smellivision,” a motorized unit that emits motion-activated scents in several varieties including, bubble gum, gun powder and coconut, among others.

They also take photos during the event and at the end of the party produce a five-minute slideshow featuring photos and videos for all guests to watch.

Butrico said that the trailer can be booked to appear in a public place—a parking lot or a pizza place, for example and in the coming months the trailer will be appearing in the Somerset Patriots parking lot in Bridgewater.

When the trailer appears in public places Butrico said he offers a pay-to-play structure and offers giveaway prizes.

If you want to see the Gamin' Ride up close, call Michael Butrico at 732-357-3670, or email him at mbutrico@gaminride.com.