Headline: Near I‑295: Marlton Pike/Route 38 Gets a High‑Tech Play Spot — Activate Games Opens in Cherry Hill
By Ari Williams, 295Times
If you’ve driven the Marlton Pike/Route 38 stretch off I‑295 recently, you may have noticed something new lighting up the strip: Activate Games has opened a location in Cherry Hill, bringing a futuristic, projection‑based play experience to a retail corridor that’s been reinventing itself for families and weekday commuters alike.
What is Activate Games?
Activate Games is a growing chain of experiential entertainment centers that blends motion‑sensing projection technology with group challenges, family play, and birthday‑party programming. Think projected floor and wall games, team competitions, and a very different kind of “arcade” that emphasizes activity and social play over one‑off machines. That model has been popping up in suburban shopping centers across the region as landlords and towns search for uses that drive foot traffic in a post‑retail era.
Where it sits in Cherry Hill
The new Activate sits on Route 38, a short hop from the Marlton Pike corridor that many readers know as one of Cherry Hill’s main retail spines. For people driving from I‑295 (one of our most used commuter routes), Route 38 and Marlton Pike are convenient connectors to neighborhood shopping and dining. You can check the store location and parking options on Google Maps; the site sits within a multi‑tenant shopping center that already attracts weekday shoppers and weekend family traffic.
Why this matters for Marlton Pike and Cherry Hill
There are three local angles that make this worth watching:
– Economic and foot‑traffic boost: Entertainment concepts like Activate tend to extend the traditional retail day — families come during afternoons and early evenings, and party bookings fill weekend slots. That can help neighboring restaurants, nail salons, and service shops on Marlton Pike see more customers, especially on slower weekdays.
– Reuse and redevelopment trend: Across suburban New Jersey we’re seeing malls and strip centers pivot from pure retail to experiences — fitness studios, indoor playgrounds, entertainment venues. Local outlets such as NJ.com and Patch have reported on similar transformations; Activate’s arrival fits that pattern and signals confidence that Cherry Hill remains a regional draw for day‑trip family activities.
– Infrastructure and access: Positioning a destination like this near a major connector (Route 38/Marlton Pike) and close to I‑295 matters. It means easier access not just for Cherry Hill households but for families from neighboring towns and counties using I‑295. For municipal planners and parking officials, it’s worth tracking any changes in weekend traffic patterns around the center.
What neighbors and visitors are saying
Early community feedback on platforms like Yelp and Google Maps (as readers can confirm) skews positive: reviewers often note the novelty of the games, the suitability for kids, and the staff’s party hosting. That kind of word‑of‑mouth will determine whether Activate becomes a steady draw or a short‑lived novelty.
Local businesses will be watching responses, too. If parents pick up dinner after an hour of games, restaurants along Marlton Pike benefit. If the center draws larger weekend crowds, that could create congestion at peak times — something the township, center management, and neighbors will want to monitor.
Practical details for readers
– Hours, admission formats, and party options can change; check the store’s Google Maps listing or Yelp for the latest hours and real‑time reviews before you go.
– The site has parking typical of suburban shopping centers, but weekend party times can get busy — plan for a short walk if the closest spots are taken.
– If you’re using public transit, look at NJ Transit bus routes that run along Route 38 and Marlton Pike for connections; Cherry Hill’s transit network links to the broader I‑295 corridor.
What to watch next
Activate’s opening is part of a larger story about how Cherry Hill — and the Marlton Pike/Route 38 corridor specifically — adapts to changing retail patterns. Will more experience‑based businesses follow? Will nearby property owners invest in façade and parking upgrades to capture evening and weekend traffic? These are the small‑scale shifts that add up to big changes in how we use our commercial corridors off I‑295.
We’ll keep an eye on how Activate impacts foot traffic, parking, and nearby restaurants along Marlton Pike. If you live nearby or visit, send a note or photos — firsthand details from people who use these places matter to the neighborhood conversation.
For location, hours, and reviews, check Google Maps and Yelp; for regional trends in redevelopment and retail, NJ.com and Patch have good background reporting. 295Times will follow up with local reactions after the first month of operation.
