• I lived in New York City for years but left because we couldn't afford to raise three kids there.
• We live in Maine but recently visited friends in NYC and went to the Instagram-famous Space Club.
• The indoor playground was a blast for all of us, though it felt a bit expensive for three kids.

When I found out I was expecting twins in 2019, I panicked. There were many reasons for my stress, but a big one was that I didn't know how we could afford to raise three young kids in New York City.

We moved to Maine, where our living costs are cheaper, but we still visit the city regularly. We have friends there, and there's always something to do — especially with kids.

In a recent visit, our friends suggested meeting at Space Club, an indoor playground in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, so the kids could get the wiggles out before dinner.

Although I found it to be a bit expensive, my kids loved the experience and have been asking every day since when we're going back.

Space Club is an indoor play area for kids.

Space Club, which opened its Greenpoint location at the end of 2023, is essentially an indoor playground.

It was created by artist and mom of three CJ Hendry, known for — among other things — her installation of a Bargain Bodega.

The Space Club website says it was created by parents with parents in mind and that the goal was for it not to be cramped, loud, or stinky.

I paid $115 for my three kids for a two-hour pass — $35 per kid, which includes one adult per child. Without having explored the place yet, that felt very expensive.

You can also add an adult for $5 or pay $15 an hour for extra time. The club also offers a $300-a-month membership with a $500 joining fee billed once per family.

The space is massive and has so many rooms to explore.

Prior to our move, I spent a lot of time with my oldest child in similar play spaces in New York, but they always felt cramped, dirty, and stinky.

When we first entered Space, it was clear the playground was doing something different.

The lobby is wide and open. There are coat hangers and shoe racks since all visitors must go in wearing socks with grips, which are provided. No shoes are allowed inside, not even for parents.

There are tables for kids to eat snacks at when taking a break from playing and so many rooms to explore.

As soon as they were ready, my kids all ran in different directions.

There's a room with a giant white bounce house that my twins immediately gravitated to.

Other rooms include an area with foam blocks where kids can build structures, an area for younger kids with age-appropriate activities, a huge ball pit with climbing structures and hanging ropes, a bead room, a music room, a glow-in-the-dark room, a sequin wall, a Lego blocks area, and a hamster-wheel wall.

There was truly something for all my kids to enjoy.

My kids have very different interests, so organizing activities they will all enjoy gets trickier as they get older.

My oldest, for example, loves playing with Lego bricks and can do so for hours. At first, he was hesitant about jumping into the ball pit — which seemed to be the main attraction for other kids — and wandered around looking for what to do.

Once he found the Lego area, he was thrilled.

My twins, on the other hand, ran to the bead pool — which I stuck my feet in for a cool sensory experience — and they spent almost their entire time there making creations for the entire family.

Months later, one of them still carries the necklace she made there with her wherever she goes.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it myself.

My kids had an absolute blast during the hours we were there, and it was true that it helped them get their wiggles out. However, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much myself.

Encouraged by my friend, who said I could join kids in playing, I jumped into the ball pit — technically a star pit since the balls are star-shaped — and had so much fun playing with my kids.

I also bounced around in the bouncy house, made a bracelet for myself, and played some music. My inner child was thrilled.

Most importantly, I got to spend time with my friends without our children interrupting us. They were so engaged in their activities that it allowed us to catch up and chat like we did before we had kids.

The space feels more like an art installation that you can play with.

There's no doubt that Space Club is the most attractive kids' play space I have ever been to. Every room has a theme and a color palette. Sometimes, I felt like I was more in an art installation than a play area.

I appreciated seeing employees regularly walk through the rooms to tidy up, putting blocks back into the Lego room, beads back into the beads room, and so on.

After our time was up, two things were true: The price I paid for my kids to play didn't feel that expensive anymore, given how much fun they had, and none of us wanted to leave to go to dinner.

• The Nex Playground is a gaming console similar to the old Nintendo Wii — with active-movement games.
• It's marketed as a kid-friendly system with no violence, ads, in-app purchases, or talking to strangers.
• The CEO says it sold out on Amazon on Black Friday. I can see why it's popular.

The Nex Playground might remind you of the old Nintendo Wii — with games played by body movements, like jumping, flapping your arms, and dancing.

It's apparently flying off the shelves — and with backing from Mark Cuban and other VCs — it's got some buzz behind it. It also has the benefit of being a closed system that doesn't allow kids to talk to strangers like some other systems.

You might call it a video game system for parents who don't want their kids playing video games all day. I talked to the CEO after trying the $199 system myself with my own kids and family. (I'll return the unit to the company, per BI policy.)

"We're not calling it a game console," Nex founder and CEO David Lee told me. "We call it active-play system."

It appears to have the momentum to break through as a hit toy. The console launched in late 2023 and sold all 5,000 units through a pre-sale. This year, by December, Nex had sold 100,000 units, Lee said.

"We sold out on Amazon in the morning of Black Friday," Lee said. The company's new problem is having enough units in stock to last through the holidays. He said Nex could easily sell through 250,000 units, though it doesn't have that much inventory at the moment.

The popularity comes as some parents are increasingly worried about their kids and screen time. Jonathan Haidt's popular book, "The Anxious Generation," illustrates these worries — that Gen Alpha kids will become iPad kids. Parents are looking to get their children away from devices — and, in some cases, are willing to pay for other devices to do so.

Nex Playground fits into this idea. A few games come free with the unit, but an $89-a-year subscription unlocks about 40 more games, with new ones being added regularly. It's raised millions of dollars in funding from Cuban, the NBA, and other VC firms.

Earlier this year, shortly after Nex first launched, my colleague Conz Preti tested it out with her kids and loved it. I tested the Nex out with the help of several young testers (my own kids and some of their friends, a cousin, and even a grandparent) and it was a hit — the games were fun, and they were good enough to keep all ages happy.

Unlike other gaming consoles like an Xbox or Nintendo where games can cost $50 to $60 each, the Nex's games are a subscription model — get all the games for $89 a year.

While this added cost might seem unappealing, especially to families already experiencing subscription fatigue, Dr. Emily Greenwald, Nex's pediatrician advisor, noted something I can relate to: It means no negotiating or pleading to buy individual games.

The subscription model also means the games are ad-free, and there are no in-app purchases — no gems to buy to level up or Robux to accidentally charge to your credit card.

None of the games have any violence or guns (an archery game is the closest thing to a weapon). There are no online chats or games you play with strangers on the internet.

The fact that it requires physical activity is an added benefit. "In the end, it's not addictive because you cannot be jumping around for five hours," Lee contended.

It fits into an interesting trend of products that go viral on Facebook among moms (there's an active Nex Facebook Group with almost all women), like the Nugget play couch, the Yoto Player, and Tonie Box audiobook players, or (screen-free) The Mighty music player. These are all products where the selling point is that they're low- or no-screen — made for parents who are willing to shell out money for products that will engage and occupy their kids.

"Realistically in this world, there are screens. And a some point, to participate, at least in the country we live in, you're going to have to learn how to do things on screens," Greenwald said. "You can limit [screen time], and yes, going to a real playground is still better. But for the days where it's cold, it's rainy, you've already done that — this is great."