A year ago, my friend emailed me shortly after Night It Up! and told me she won a Guitar Hero at a night market. I recalled seeing her at Night It Up! and inquired further. As it turns out, she played a game booth hosted by an E3 Challenge team and won a flippin’ Guitar Hero set. Yes, the game, the guitar, everything. Ridiculous, right?

This year, the E3 Challenge is doing it again. Five teams compete against each other in three challenges in two summer months. Their first challenge is to manage a game booth at Night It Up! Presented by Air Canada. The team that earns the most wins. Simple as that! E3 Challenge game booths run all night Friday and from 5pm-1am on Saturday. Here are some information about the teams and what they have to offer!

Team: QBL | Booth Name: Balloon Balloon Revoluton
Facebook Event | Facebook Fan Page
BBR is an extremely easy, flavourfully fun, and highly addictive DART game where players try to pop balloons and win exotic prizes. To win, players just need to destroy two balloons from the three darts given! Those skilled enough can attempt to win bigger prizes by decimating three balloons! Our prizes are drool worthy, especially the GRAND DADDY of all prizes, an XBOX 360! Look for our PROMOTER at NIU! with the floating balloon signs for FREE STUFF!
Find our booth at E4 with the DANCE music and giant RED balloon.

Team: Team Youth Alive! | Booth Name: A-Maze-Ing Race
Facebook Event | Twitter
Team YA! will be creating a steady hand game for Night It Up! 2010, titled ?A-Maze-Ing Race?. The point of the game is to go through the wire maze in the shortest time without the wand loop touching the wire. Players will be given a limit of 45 seconds to complete the maze from start to finish and prizes will be awarded according to the time. A one-second penalty will be added for each time the wand touches the maze. The price will be $3 for 2 plays; an individual can have two tries, or compete against a friend by starting on opposite ends of the maze and racing to the middle.

Team: Way Better | Booth Name: FIFA MANIA
Facebook Event
You have watched your favorite soccer players dominate the field and embrace the FIFA experience. NOW, it’s your turn to hold the trophy and take home the grand prize! Instead of watching goals scored on TV, here is your chance to score the golden goal at FIFA MANIA! If you have what it takes, check out our game, topple tin cans and show off your ultimate kick!
Located at Booth F2 (Look out for the giant green & yellow banner diagonally across from Air Canada picture booth)

Team: Team Forcefully United | Booth Name: On the SPOT
Facebook Event | Video | Who?
What? On the Spot! Is an amazingly easy and fun game where you throw poker chips and try to land them on a tile! Do so, and win a prize! Sounds simple? WELL THEN COME OUT AND TRY !
Where? Booth E2 @ NIGHT IT UP! 2010!
Why? Play for your chance to win movie tickets, stuffed animals, and SO much more that we have as surprises for you guys! Guys (& girls!), use this opportunity to show off your skills and impress your significant other All proceeds will be going to charity!
How? Just look for our giant green Poker Chip Mascot!

Team: Team Arsenal | Booth Name: Oh My Ballz!
Facebook Event
There will be a cardboard spinning wheel where we will stick shapes of bubble tea cups and skewer sticks made from felt. There will also be fake golf balls that are light weight and covered in Velcro strips. The objective of the game is to have the player throw three or eight balls at the bubble tea cups or three or eight along the felt skewer, while the wheel is spinning slowly. If the player has thrown all the balls at the target in a way that lands in the bubble tea cups or lined up on a skewer stick, he/she will win a big prize. If the player did not get all the balls at their target, but has at least one ball on their target he/she can win a small prize.

You may or may not know this—and you should know this: Night It Up! is powered by Power Unit, a youth-driven, non-profit organization. Night It Up! is completely volunteer-based (no, we totally do not get paid. Therefore, consider feeding a purple-shirt Friday and Saturday night if you see one holding his or her stomach staring longingly at your stinky tofu…)! Every summer, Power Unit also runs a business competition—The Apprentice-style—called The E3 Challenge. For two months, four teams are pitted against each other in three challenges.

The first challenge is always Power Unit’s very own night market, where participants are judged on how well they can put create and manage a game booth. There will be four game booths by E3 Challenge participants, so be on the lookout for them! Challenge your friends and win great prizes! Here are two teams you will find at Night It Up! this weekend:

Team Vertigo presents Kill The Lights – booth located at G3
Are you up for a challenge? Or do you just want something to get your excitement going? If so, then you do NOT want to miss out on Kill the Lights – a fun-filled game of ball toss that will surely make your visit to Night It Up! a memorable one. During your visit, you will surely appreciate the artistic beauty of our game booth with the theme centered on Toronto’s extravagant skyline. Still not convinced? Then you must not forget about our fabulous prizes that are in store for you. So make sure you come visit our booth, located at G3.

Team Rock-It presents Hit Me – booth located at F6.5
Night It Up won’t be a perfect night of summer celebration without the perfect game to win the perfect prizes. Power Unit’s Team Rock-It presents Hit Me – a game that requires feats of strength and dexterity. Not only will participants enjoy tossing balls into our exquisitely made Domo-Kun and Robot-San, they will also have a chance at winning their very own Guitar Hero III, foosball table, and plushies of various sorts. You can find our booth illuminating near the festivities, may the lights guide your way.
HIT ME @ NIGHT IT UP

Friday, July 10: 7-1

Saturday, July 11: 5-1

And remember, these are just two of four The E3 Challenge teams hosting a booth at this year’s Night It Up! There is also Team AquaFire at Booth G6.5 and Team Behemoth at Booth E3. What, your GPS won’t translate NIU! booth letters and numbers into map coordinates? Darn, well, maybe you should give our Interactive Map a try! I promise no robotic female voice will tell you it’s “recalculating.”

Why wait for The Ex to open in August when you can try your hand at a game booth at Night It Up!? Besides, it’s not like we charge you for admission. The E3 Challenge is very close to my heart because it is how I got my start as a Night It Up! organizer—it’s how a lot of us got involved. The E3 Challenge also helps fund more Power Unit projects, so you are having fun and giving to a good cause. We thank you in advance! See you at Night It Up! in 18 hours!