Last week, Supercell and creative team GDX Studios transformed the 5th Avenue Landing to a mandatory fun zone, known as Starr Park, based on a virtual location in their very popular Brawl Stars mobile multiplayer game. The offsite was full of details from the game, larger than life sculptures of their well-known characters, and a team of actors making sure Fun (with a capital F) was fully enforced.
A ticket pre-sale for the event occurred earlier in the month, and those quick with the keyboard had the option to reserve time slots for a $2 charity donation to the San Diego Rescue Mission, with Supercell matching all donations. We heard that entry for those with tickets went smoothly throughout the weekend — very important in the making of a great offsite.
One of the most surprising elements of the “Welcome to Starr Park” experience was the location itself — a huge floating barge on the San Diego Bay. Set just behind the Convention Center, the venue gently swayed on the water, making the entire carnival feel like a surreal amusement park adrift at sea.
The event began with a pep-talk on shore, leading us to the Starr Rail, where we boarded the train car. Once inside, screens serving as windows showed our journey to Starr Park, with the appearance of familiar characters like Shelly and Colt, and a good amount of chaos caused by Spike the Cactus (do not hug!).
After our exciting arrival to the amusement park, we were given some instructions and gem collection bags, and then had our choice of carnival-style attractions: Mike’s Mine for some light explosions, Piper’s Pie Shop with a delicious reward that was totally not a grenade, Haunted Haven to test our strength, and Frontier World for throwing skills.
At each station you could earn a stamp for your passport card and gems, which you turned in at the end to be reused. You were then able to collect your swag bag and, with any luck, escape from the mandatory Fun!
Starr Park wasn’t just limited to the waterfront: The game also had a roaming street team, giveaways from Mr. Beast’s Feastables with in-game codes on the wrapper, and a second offsite next to the Omni hotel.
The second offsite, called Spike’s Fountain of Tears, allowed visitors to cause their own mayhem by throwing paint balls at the Starr Park sign, and receive swag like hats and water bottles.
We met the mischief squad on the streets with Spike the Cactus, as they caused mayhem on their (slow moving) travels.
From its easy ticketing system, to its unique location on the bay, Starr Park breathed new life into gaming activations at Comic-Con. (Plus we think this is definitely a step up from last year’s Clash of Clans “Bathroom Battlestations!”).
We look forward to what Supercell may have in store in the future!
