Indoor Ideas for a Church Fall Festival or Youth Lock-In in St. Louis

For an indoor church event in St. Louis or Metro East, the two things that work best in a fellowship hall are a Game Arena and mobile laser tag. A Game Arena is a pop-up video game lounge we build inside your building: Xbox and Switch stations on big screens, with PS5 added on the Pro build, for up to 20 players. Churches book it at $300 an hour. Mobile laser tag runs in the same room with no darkness needed and no projectiles, at $300 an hour for up to ten players on the field at a time or $400 an hour for up to twenty, with a two-hour minimum, so $600 or $800 for a two-hour night. Both include setup and teardown, and churches book with no deposit.

Updated August 2026

"This gaming entertainment was a big hit at our Community Give Back day at our church." That's Mary Love, and what she is describing is the part of fall festival planning that usually gets solved last, which is what the older kids do while everyone else is busy.

The problem every fall festival runs into

The bounce house is handled. Trunk-or-treat is handled. Somebody's mom is making chili. And then around week three of planning, a volunteer says out loud what everyone has been thinking, which is that the sixth through ninth graders are going to spend two hours leaning against a wall looking at their phones.

Little kids are easy to entertain at a fall festival. Middle schoolers are the ones who decide whether they come back next year, and they are the hardest group in the building to plan for.

What works indoors, and why

Two things hold that age group in a fellowship hall.

An indoor game arena is stations on big screens spread across the room, each with its own table and cover, LED lighting on the Pro build, and everyone playing in the same space. We carry it in through the front door and set it up in the room you already have. Nothing parks in your lot, and October weather in Missouri gets no vote in how your night goes. Churches and schools book it at $300 an hour.

"This was an excellent addition to our church VBS. The kids (and adults) loved the truck." That's Amanda Citchen-Taylor, about our game truck at a church VBS rather than the arena, and the part in brackets is the part worth noticing. Adults who came to supervise end up playing.

Mobile laser tag works in the same room and solves a different problem, which is the kids who need to move. No darkness required, no darts to sweep up afterward, no paint. Taggers reach 600 feet, so a gym is more than enough space, and it runs for ages eight and up. The church rate is $300 an hour for up to ten players on the field at a time, or $400 an hour for up to twenty, with a two-hour minimum.

Emily Mullin, after a school event, put the weather thing plainly: "Due to rain we had to move inside and Me 2 You flawlessly adjusted. The kids had a fantastic time."

Lock-ins are a different animal

A fall festival is three hours. A lock-in is all night, and the middle stretch is where volunteers start to fade. That is the part organizers underestimate, because the first two hours run on adrenaline and the last two run on exhaustion, and the three hours in between are the ones that need a plan.

A game arena works well there because it does not need a volunteer standing over it. Drop-off means we set it up, you run your night, and we come back and tear it down. If your volunteer roster is thin, Jason hosts it and you stop thinking about it entirely.

Gateway Students, a youth group here in St. Louis, has us back again and again, and a youth pastor booking you a second time is the only review in this category that means anything.

Sizing it for your headcount

Twenty players go at once on either service. That number matters more than it sounds.

20 to 30 kids, a lock-in. One service is your main event and it carries the night.
40 to 80 kids, a fall festival. Run it as one station in a rotation. The middle school group cycles through in twenty-minute blocks while the younger kids do everything else, and the room stays balanced.
Over 100 kids. Most churches run two services at once, usually laser tag in the gym and a game arena in the fellowship hall, so the age split handles itself.

What to ask any vendor before you book

Ask these four and you will separate the real options fast.

Will you set up inside our building, or does this stay in a truck in the parking lot? A lot of companies advertise indoor and mean inside their own vehicle.
How many kids play at once? This is where truck-based services and in-room setups genuinely part ways.
Is setup and teardown included, and does a volunteer need to run it?
Do you carry insurance for a church event, and can you provide a certificate?

Booking and timing

Fall festival and lock-in dates fill from late August through October, and Friday and Saturday nights in October go first. Churches book with no deposit, which means holding a date costs you nothing while your committee finalizes the rest.

We serve St. Louis, St. Louis County and Metro East Illinois, with free travel within 29 miles of Granite City. That covers Edwardsville, Belleville, O'Fallon, Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Alton, Troy, Fairview Heights and most of the St. Louis suburbs.

Call or text (618) 845-7171 and tell us your room, your headcount and your date, and we will tell you honestly which service fits and whether you need one or two.

That's the whole thing, you run your festival, and the middle schoolers are handled.

Frequently asked questions

What can you do indoors at a church fall festival?

A Game Arena and mobile laser tag both run entirely indoors. Both work in a fellowship hall, gym or cafeteria. A Game Arena is a video game lounge with Xbox and Switch stations on big screens, PS5 on the Pro build, for up to 20 players. Mobile laser tag runs in the same kind of room with no darkness required and no projectiles. Churches book either one at an hourly rate.

How much does entertainment for a church event cost in St. Louis?

Church rates are $300 per hour for a Game Arena, and $600 to $800 for laser tag. Me 2 You church and school rates are $300 per hour for a Game Arena, and for laser tag $300 per hour for up to 10 players on the field at a time or $400 per hour for up to 20, with a two-hour minimum, so $600 or $800 for a two-hour night. Churches book with no deposit.

Will laser tag work in our gym?

Yes. A standard gym is more than enough space. The taggers reach up to 600 feet, and the game does not need darkness. There is nothing to clean up afterward, and it is built for ages eight and up.

Do we need volunteers to run it?

No. Setup and teardown are included on both services. A Game Arena is drop-off by default, so your volunteers do nothing, and a host can be added if you would rather have someone running the rotation. Laser tag is always fully hosted.

How many kids can play at once?

Up to 20 players on either service. Larger festivals run it as one station in a rotation, and churches over 100 kids often run laser tag and a Game Arena at the same time in two rooms.

Do you serve Metro East Illinois churches?

Yes. Travel is free within 29 miles of Granite City, Illinois. That covers Edwardsville, Belleville, O'Fallon, Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Alton, Troy and Fairview Heights, along with most of St. Louis and St. Louis County.