Video games were originally invented by the military as a way to teach men and women in uniform how to effectively leap over barrels and which color of ghost is safe to eat. Hone government-sanctioned skills with today's Groupon: for $6, you get unlimited MagiQuest for a day with a loaner wand at The Funplex in East Hanover (a $16.95 value).

Beyond its roaring arcade and indoor amusement park, The Funplex decrees that 8,000 of its 100,000-square-foot kingdom be annexed to the Realm where fantasy game MagiQuest disperses Magis on heroic adventurers through an interactive and spellbinding semivirtual lair. Carefully choose your Magi alias and grab your secret-yielding loaner wand (a $2 value) before embarking on a fantastical adventure filled with distinguished wizards, enchanting pixies, and cunning dragons. Seasoned with mystical spells and motion sensors, wands respond to trees, mountains, and flat screens sprinkled throughout the Realm, sharing clues so Magi can complete honorable tasks or surprise wicked goblins with an unexpected hug. With unlimited play (a $14.95 value), Magis can entreat the hours to swallow them into the transformative wormhole of role-playing bliss.

Reviews

REVIEWS TRENDS Four Yelpers and four Insider Pages reviewers give The Funplex a four-star average. More than 1,200 people like it on Facebook.

• If there's a place you need for a party, group event or just to let the children go wild, go to the Funplex. – Gail G., Insider Pages
• this is a great place to have a party for the kiddies. – roderick A., Yelp