Things We Learnt at IAAPA Expo Europe 2026
This year, IAAPA Expo Europe came to London, and it was the biggest one yet. For a UK company that designs, manufactures and installs indoor play, it felt like a home fixture. The mood on the show floor was confident and realistic. Operators are ambitious and ready to grow, but they’re investing more carefully than ever.
Our team didn’t just walk the aisles or stand aimlessly on the stand. We spent the show talking to operators, catching up with partners and getting hands-on with the latest interactive attractions. Here are the four biggest lessons we brought home, and what they mean for your venue.
1. Operators Are Adding More Than One Product at a Time
The biggest shift we noticed? Fewer conversations about a single piece of equipment, and more about complete experiences. Leisure centres, holiday parks, family entertainment centres and farm parks are planning play frames, interactive games and active zones together, as one project and a complete one stop location for the whole family.
It makes sense. One installation means one shorter period of disruption, one design that ties everything together, and a venue that reopens with something worth shouting about. Instead of adding a new attraction every couple of years and hoping it lands, operators are thinking about the whole visit: where families start, where they move next and what keeps them on site for another hour.
That approach needs a partner who can see the full picture, from the layout of the play frame to the interactive games around it.
2. Variety Brings Families Back
Operators told us the same thing again and again: when families have more to do, they visit more often, stay longer and spend more. A child who has conquered the play frame wants a new challenge next time. Give them one, and the whole family comes back. Parents stay for a coffee, the birthday party gets booked, and a one-off visit becomes a regular one.
Interactive technology is one of the quickest ways to add that variety, and it was everywhere at IAAPA. Here’s a look at the interactive attractions we bring to UK venues, starting with one of our own.
Strike Arena by The Play Company
Operators told us the same thing again and again: when families have more to do, they visit more often, stay longer and spend more. A child who has conquered the play frame wants a new challenge next time. Give them one, and the whole family comes back. Parents stay for a coffee, the birthday party gets booked, and a one-off visit becomes a regular one.
Interactive technology is one of the quickest ways to add that variety, and it was everywhere at IAAPA. Here’s a look at the interactive attractions we bring to UK venues, starting with one of our own.
Groundfall by Valo Motion
The “floor is lava” game, brought to life. Up to 10 players leap between projected platforms while the game reads the group and adjusts the difficulty in real time. No headsets, no controllers and, judging by our team at the show, very hard to walk away from.
iWall by CSE
A motion-activated game wall packed with games for every age and ability. Players use their whole body to play, and new content arrives through automatic updates, so there’s always something fresh to try.
Pixel Floor by Pixel Games
An interactive floor built from touch-sensitive tiles, with 18 game modes for up to seven players. It turns as little as 20m² of unused space into a fast, competitive attraction.
Each one adds a different kind of play alongside a traditional play frame. Together, they give families a reason to try something new on every visit, and they keep your offer fresh without a full refit.
3. Operators Want One Partner, Not Five Suppliers
Budgets are under pressure. Across the show, operators spoke openly about tighter access to capital and rising costs. When every pound counts, managing a separate designer, manufacturer, installer and technology supplier adds cost, delay and risk. Every extra supplier is another contract, another timeline and another person to chase when something needs fixing.
That’s where The Play Company stands apart. We design, manufacture and install indoor play all under one roof. We build our own interactive attractions, like Strike Arena, and we’re the official UK distributor for Valo Motion, CSE and Pixel. You get one team, one contract and one point of contact, from first design to final handover and beyond.
It also means your play frame and interactive attractions are planned together from day one, not bolted on later. The layout flows, the theming matches and the whole space works as one. And because Groundfall, iWall and Pixel Floor all run without an attendant, they add revenue without adding to your staffing costs.
We don’t recommend anything we haven’t tried ourselves. IAAPA was proof of that.
4. Indoor Play Pays Off All Year Round
Weather was one of the biggest talking points in London. Hotter summers and wetter off-seasons are pushing operators to invest in covered, climate-controlled space.
Indoor play doesn’t depend on the forecast. It earns 12 months a year, fills quieter off-peak periods and gives families a reason to visit whatever the weather. For holiday parks, that means guests have something to do on a rainy afternoon. For leisure centres, it means a steady stream of visits through the winter months.
Add interactive attractions, and your venue keeps drawing people back long after opening day. Software updates bring new games, high scores bring rematches, and a space that changes keeps families curious.
What This Means for Your Venue
The message from IAAPA Expo Europe 2026 was clear. Operators want more variety, delivered with less risk, in spaces that work all-year-round. That’s exactly what we do, and it’s why we’ll keep testing, building and bringing the best interactive play to the UK.
Are you planning a new venue or refreshing an existing one? Talk to us at The Play Company about a complete indoor play scheme, from play frames and Strike Arena to interactives and everything in between.
