In recent years, HBO has set the standard for offsites at San Diego Comic Con. Their activations for The Penguin and Peacemaker have completely immersed fans in the worlds of the shows whilst also being well organised and thought out. So when the Lanterns offsite got announced this year, it’s no surprise that fans scooped up tickets and they were gone within seconds.We were lucky enough to attend and are happy to report that HBO smashed it out of the park, yet again.

Set up as a Lanterns recruitment experience, attendees were guided by trainers and given missions to complete in order to prove their worth to become a Lantern.

We were first challenged to get through a mini-horror maze, dodging lights and avoiding detection in order to sneak into the compound where our main challenges would take place. We were then interrogated by the sheriff before our instructor revealed our first assignment: to sneak into the sheriff’s office and find out her password in an escape room style challenge. The last mission was the most exhilarating when one of our group was challenged to display their bravery by attempting to fly. This was essentially a trust fall style exercise where the attendee fell through a trap door into foam. Multiple missions ran at the same time so as to give fans more opportunity to attend. Other experiences included a shooting challenge and an assignment to find a hidden Lantern.

After successfully passing our assignments, The Guardian came out to give a speech and confirm our acceptance as Lanterns. We then all recited the oath and were given our rings.

Afterwards, we were taken to the Lanterns Lounge where we could celebrate with a Heineken (or Heineken Zero) and have a photo op with our rings.

The Lanterns offsite struck the ideal balance between immersion, fun, and originality. HBO always hire fantastic actors for their offsites and it does a great job of making guests really get into the experience, and this year was no different. The actors who played the trainers were a real standout in an already brilliant activation. The rings were the perfect item of swag and who doesn’t love free beer? The experience was the perfect way to get fans excited for the show and we can’t wait to see what HBO comes up with next year!

Lanterns premieres on HBO on 16th August.