Jora Vision celebrates the opening of the first RemarkaBall© minigolf
Leading creative company Jora Vision celebrates the opening of the first RemarkaBall© minigolf, Dama Factory in the French town of Deauville. In the former tennis club of Deauville there are 9 unique holes spread out over approximately 250m2.
“We’re delighted to bring the first interactive mini golf to France in our brand new FEC in Normandy. The collaboration with Jora Vision was very exciting to give birth to this new product. It’s interactive, accessible to all, and the guest response has been incredible all summer long. Mini golf of the 21st century has finally arrived!” explains Thibault Lievre, COO of Dama Dreams.
Having opened its doors to guests on July 1st 2022, the venue plays into the growing trend of social entertainment. Next to minigolf, a restaurant and bar can be found in the same space. Mostly known in the market as the uprise of “retail and social entertainment” the strict demarcation between solely retail (only shopping), food and beverage (only eating) or leisure (only activity) are fading away and becoming more intertwined. The best examples are venues supporting a new mixed-use setting, fusing lifestyle, best-in-class food & beverage and active social experiences, aimed at young adults (millennials) but also families (local and/or tourists). In this mixed-use setting, social gathering, sharing, hangouts, and competitive socializing plays an important role.
What is RemarkaBall©?
RemarkaBall© is no ordinary minigolf. It’s a unique gamified experience with state-of-the-art tech, software and co-operative gameplay. RemarkaBall© reinvents the way minigolf is played and goes far beyond relying on your putting skills. It will immerse players in a social game of trust, luck, speed, physics, wits and sheer unpredictability. It combines time battles, physical challenges, point multipliers, questionnaires and timed shots. RemarkaBall© has a library of 18 unique holes that are high-quality, modern, but most importantly provide a different gameplay than traditional minigolf courses. So you can choose, mix and match your courses to build your own unique minigolf experience. And there is even more, each course comes with interactive lighting and audiovisual animations to keep you engaged during the entire play.
Jora Vision, a minigolf specialist
Jora Vision is mostly known for its design and build of immersive experiences, attractions and theme parks, however minigolf has always been in Jora Vision’s DNA and they have realized over more than 30 turnkey minigolf experiences. Jora Vision even created the first and only minigolf ever to have won the prestigious Thea Award by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) in 2009. Already back then Jora Vision proved to be one of the innovators in the minigolf industry with their project The Forgotten Mine for Center Parcs Molenheide. Shane Lieberman, Project Advisor at Jora Vision explains: “We keep on innovating, and our great designers at Jora Vision are always looking for opportunities to bring new minigolf experiences to the world. An interactive technology driven minigolf experience was the obvious next step in the digital age we live in today. And because RemarkaBall© is software driven, we can roll out updates to keep improving the gameplay even further.”
How does RemarkaBall© work?
Guests use an RFID wristband to login at every course. The systems then carefully guides you how to play the specific course. Some games are based on time, others on the number of putts. The system keeps track of your score throughout the course and nominates a winner in the end. So no more tiny pencils and old fashioned paper score forms. Some holes even require the involvement of multiple players. This co-operative gameplay enhances the group dynamics and creates a more fun experience. By increasing the amount of variables in the game, the winner is required to have more diversity in skills which makes the game more fun and outcome more unpredictable. Consequently this makes RemarkaBall© way more attractive for return visits than normal minigolf courses.
The Business Model
RemarkaBall© is a great entry into the Putt-tainment market, since it is much less capital intensive. The holes are developed in such a way that you can still offer your guests a full 9-hole experience with a very limited footprint and at a reasonable price. Minigolf has always been a steady investment with its low operation cost and high capacity, but RemarkaBall© opens up new revenue possibilities by appealing to a broader audience than traditional minigolf. Besides being suitable for kids and families (think family entertainment centers, bungalow parks and indoor playgrounds), RemarkaBall© is specifically appealing to those age groups that demand more challenging and interactive experiences and are looking for more grown-up competitive socializing, so young adults, creating additional revenue opportunities in food and beverage.
Jan Maarten de Raad, CEO at Jora Vision concludes: “We are excited to see the uprise of retail and social entertainment. This creates exciting new venues and other types of leisure experiences for which RemarkaBall© is a perfect fit.”
The realization of the first RemarkaBall would not have been possible without Jora Vision’s trusted partners: Dama Dreams and Lagotronics Projects.
Dama Factory opened its doors last July 2022. For more information visit www.damafactory.fr or www.joravision.com.