HBO Max didn’t just bring one great offsite to San Diego Comic-Con this year, they brought two. Alongside Lanterns Training Headquarters, the studio also delivered Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, an interactive adventure that dropped fans inside one of the most recognizable locations from The Big Bang Theory universe: Stuart Bloom’s comic shop, The Comic Center of Pasadena.

From the moment you stepped inside, it felt like you’d walked onto the set. Two employees welcomed guests into the shop, handed over membership cards, and explained that Stuart had stepped out for a bit. Unfortunately, he’d also misplaced a mysterious device built by Sheldon and Leonard.

Naturally, that meant it was up to us to find it.

A pre-recorded video message from Stuart himself kicked off the adventure before guests were sent into the main room, where a variety of interactive stations awaited, with lots of fun easter eggs for fans of the series throughout.

Rather than forcing everyone through the exact same sequence, the experience was built around several choose-your-own-adventure style challenges unlocked with your membership card, which meant everyone had a unique experience, and kept attendees from waiting long for their turn.

The running joke, of course, was that every challenge ended the same way: you had failed to save the universe.

Once your three missions were complete, you advanced into the final story room, where the missing device awaited. After one final video message from Stuart congratulating you on your efforts, guests could snap a photo with the device before moving into the reward area.

Like Lanterns, this was an offsite that understood the value of interactivity. The video messages immediately brought to mind last year’s incredible Peacemaker activation, where John Cena appeared on screens in character, while the mission-based gameplay kept everyone engaged from beginning to end. Nothing overstayed its welcome, and every room served the larger story.

Then came some of the best swag hauls of the convention.

Guests received a huge haul of swag, including a “Comic Books Are My Superpower” t-shirt, a comic tied to the new series, a pack of Red Vines, and one final surprise. Scanning the membership card one last time revealed which character you had been assigned, rewarding you with a collectible character trading card that appeared “graded” and sealed inside a rigid protective plastic case, otherwise known as a card slab. It was an inspired little touch that perfectly matched both the comic shop setting and Comic-Con itself. As a convention full of nerds, we appreciate the details.

The line remained consistently packed throughout the weekend, but unlike several activations this week, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe absolutely delivered on what attendees were waiting in those long lines for. It provided fun, immersive storytelling, great interactions, and some of the best swag of the con. Truly, this was an activation that understood what Comic-Con attendees love about offsites, and delivered.

HBO Max truly gets it, and it’s really pretty simple: Just put fans inside the worlds they love so they become part of the story too, and you’ve already won.