Board game night

Whether you want to learn a new table top game or just want to gather with friends to play good ol' Catan, board game cafes can make it happen. Across the Board is a gem of a cafe in Winnipeg's Exchange District, where you can choose from an insane amount of games while snacking on menu items like "The 12 Sided Dice Bowl" (a mix of BBQ soy nuts, hot cajun sticks, corn nuts, toasted walnuts, smarties and gummy worms) or the "Board Game Club" (Roasted chicken, bacon, tomato, sautéed onions, iceberg lettuce, grated Bothwell cheddar, and a honey dill mayo).

Escape the room

Escape rooms are definitely having a moment and continue to pop up across the city. The Real Escape are experts at creating immersive, multi-room escape challenges, from abandoned stations to alien-invaded spaceships.

With three locations throughout Winnipeg, Enigma Escapes is another excellent option for making your escape. Rooms take participants to the depths of hell (where they have sold their soul for a #1 hit) and to the jungles of Africa in pursuit of a lost jewel.

And there's more. Head to Time Lapse to escape the warlock's curse, Escape Hatch to solve the riddle of the vampire, Codebreakers to loot Grandma's attic for hidden treasure, Epic Escapes to escape-room-duel against your friends, and Next Level Escapes to go back in time to the wild, wild west.

Go old school and new school

You don't have to go far for arcades in Winnipeg, in fact, both U-Puttz and Lasertopia have a plethora of old and new school arcade games.

While it may seem an unlikely choice, XSCAPE Entertainment Centre in St. Vital Centre Mall has all the latest arcade games, directly adjacent to the movie theatre. And if you ask me, movies + arcade games = the perfect first date.

For something entirely new, try The Portal, Winnipeg's first virtual reality arcade. There are 20+ games to choose from, depending on what kind of virtual world you want to escape to. There's even a "Job Simulator" where you learn what it was like 'to job'. I'm not kidding.

At Flying Squirrel Sports, go freestyle on the courts or test your abilities on the Olympic-grade trampolines. And if you'd still like to test your strength and endurance further, try the slack line, the ninja course and the climbing walls.

Or do what I do, and just jump into the foam pit and admit defeat.

Race to the finish

As Winnipeg's only indoor kart track, Speedworld brings the thrill of the race to well, anyone willing to take on the challenge. Depending on your age and height, there are three ways to take on the track: Sprint level (40km per hour), Race level (50 km per hour) and PRO level (60 km per hour).

Grand Prix Amusements is another option for racing, with sprint, double and wildcat go-karts. If, in the end, you decide racing is not for you, simply switch over to the bumper boats or another one of the many attractions in this amusement park.