Set up a game-based session pass when you want each guest to pay for their own time on the resource, and the session duration to scale automatically with the size of the group. ROLLER calculates the booking length and the resource allocation for you, so you don't have to create separate products for different group sizes or manually work out lane time.
When to use game-based sessions
Game-based sessions suit activities where each guest needs their own time on the resource, like:
- Bowling: each bowler pays for their lane time, and a larger group naturally needs more lane time.
- Axe throwing: each thrower gets a set amount of time on the booth, and the booth stays reserved until the last person finishes.
- VR: each guest gets their own play time on the headset or in the room, with the resource held for the duration.
- Mini golf, darts, escape rooms or karting sold per player: each player adds a fixed amount of time to the session.
If you'd rather charge a flat price for a whole resource regardless of group size, set up group pricing instead.
How game-based sessions work
A game-based session has two defining settings:
- Session duration scales with the number of guests. You set the duration per guest (eg 10 minutes per bowler), and ROLLER calculates the booking length from the number of guests. A booking of six bowlers at ten minutes per guest runs for 60 minutes; a booking of eight runs for 80.
- Pricing is charged per guest. The more guests in the booking, the higher the total price.
The operational benefit: ROLLER does the time and resource maths for you. You don't need separate products for different group sizes, and operators don't have to work out lane or booth time by hand.
How larger groups are allocated
When a group is bigger than a single resource can hold, ROLLER automatically splits the booking across adjacent resources. A few things to know:
- Adjacent resources only: ROLLER won't split across non-adjacent resources. If enough adjacent resources aren't available, the booking can't be made. Overbooking isn't allowed.
- Tickets are split evenly, larger group first: Tickets are split across the minimum number of adjacent resources needed. For example, 7 guests across two lanes split 4 + 3, not 3 + 4.
- All split resources share the same end time: The whole group finishes together, regardless of which resource each guest ends up on. The session duration is calculated from the largest split.
Example: a bowling session set to 10 minutes per guest on lanes with a capacity of six bowlers each:
- A booking of 6 bowlers reserves one lane for 60 minutes.
- A booking of 7 bowlers spans two adjacent lanes (split 4 + 3). Both lanes are reserved for 40 minutes, so the whole group finishes at the same time.
Set up a game-based session pass
In the parent setup guide, two specific choices make a session pass game-based:
- Resource: assign single-booking resources only (eg lanes, bays, booths, rooms). Multi-booking resources aren't supported for game-based sessions.
- Session duration: enter the duration in mins, then select per guest from the drop-down.
For the full session pass setup steps, see Create your session pass products.