When I heard that Planet Trog in Whitehall, PA was opening for a rare night of public, walk-in laser tag, I knew I could not miss what might possibly be one of my final opportunities to play Actual Reality. You see, this location is the last remaining commercial laser tag arena in the world to still be operating the Actual Reality laser tag system, which was also true eight years ago when I first played here back in May of 2017. So, for them to still have this system be operational and open up the arena for public play again after all these years is really remarkable.
I called ahead to inquire about this event and I was told that they had not opened for public tag like this since before the pandemic, so I viewed this as a rare opportunity for a vintage laser tag experience and I jumped at the chance to road trip to Planet Trog!
I was not the only one to have this idea. I met up with a couple of my ‘geddon tournament friends and RNT, Travis, Tobi and a couple of their friends all arrived to enjoy this unique night of laser tag.
For me, this was only my second time ever playing Actual Reality. My thanks to game marshal Matt for taking a couple of photos of our group to commemorate our experience!
I particularly love that we were able to gather at the base at the end of our first game, because this was such a cool structure inside a very unique arena.
I had only a few vague memories from playing here eight years ago. The one thing I remembered was the iconic cactus prop, so during the first game I deliberately looked around the entire arena searching for it again. I did manage to locate a trace of the nostalgia! ;)
But are we here to gawk at a cool arena (yes!) or play some Actual Reality? (also yes!) Greg and Travis knew what they were doing with this system, but I definitely needed the briefing session, so I listened carefully to the instructions Matt gave to the group.
Firing is dependent on using the metal touch tabs on the front of the phaser as you aim for sensors on the shoulders, front and back of the pack and directly down the barrel of the phaser. So, let’s start by taking a closer look at the gear (these next photos of Actual Reality equipment are from the Laser Tag Museum Collection, circa 1998, just for a clearer look at the kind of equipment we were using).
While holding those touch tabs you can pull trigger and strategically do a few things. It is advisable to pull the trigger as fast as you can, quickly and repeatedly. There is a “machine gun” feature that takes your shields or you can use the “bomb” feature if you pull and hold the trigger first, then hold the sensors to be temporarily invincible. Do not let go during the use of the bomb feature or you will lose it. However, you do get one every minute, so just try to use them judiciously.
I would NOT call my own playing “judicious” by any means, lol! We played three sessions of team games and there was no friendly fire, so I just used the “spray and pray” method and tagged everything that moved or lit up, so much so that at one point Travis had to remind me mid-game that we were on the same team! Yes, well…
Another key element in this game is the team base, which involved a rather unique hit or heal approach. The bases were positioned above the players’ heads on the inside of each three-legged base structure with “siren lights” (as Matt described it). To tag the base you must stand directly underneath it and shoot upwards into the glowing green box in the center.
If you tag an opponent’s base you hear a “gun shot” sound. However, you can also heal your own base by tagging it as well and then you hear…a turkey call?! You get 2000 points for a base, so the effort is worthwhile.
Those sound are very distinctive! As were the audio cues as you tag (or get tagged by) other players. When you first enter the arena, the first thing you must do is tag the download box by pointing your phaser at it and pulling the trigger. Incidentally, this box is normally black, but they had it painted green here. Once the game starts your pack will tell you when you can “go”, which is the cue when you come up out of a deactivation. You will also hear “destroyed” when you tag a player (+500 points) or “you are hit” when…well, when you are hit (-500 points). I also heard “activation denied” and inquired about it. Matt said there were a variety of other things that could present during a game, but that was above my pay grade for this game, lol!
For every five seconds you stay active you get 200 points and when you are hit there is a five second down time. When the game is over you must return to the download station and tag it again for it to process your game data.
Got all that? Ok, after the instructions were given Matt passed out green and red packs to players on the respective teams sitting on color coded riser-style benches in the briefing room. He had individual button starters coded with our specific player names and he proceeded to activate the packs by touching that button to the activation point on the top of the front panel.
Once activated, I took note of the red beam and tried to focus on the cues from the lights as I saw them on the packs. Green and red LEDs were team indicators with a solid circle of lights meaning a player was using up a shield while what I called the “rolling criss-cross lights on pack simply indicated it was in play.
Our first game had 13 players, but as the night progressed we got up to 24 and then 28 players by our third game, which I thought was an excellent turnout for this event, especially knowing how hit-or-miss summer months can sometimes be for tag. And, while far from a natural at this system, I did think I improved a bit between games.
A few of the older players who had loved coming to this arena in the past showed up again to relive some nostalgia. One guy last played here about 15 years ago. I chatted with another woman who had us all beat with her history going back 20 years. And there were even some players who brought their kids out to play a game. I love that they all came back to celebrate their home site, especially as Planet Trog has been around for 30 years, which is quite an achievement in itself!
By the third game we were also joined by Jonas, another online laser tag enthusiast. I had to smile when he introduced me by saying “Do you know Tivia? She’s a semi-famous laser tag blogger.” Hey, I’ll take it! ;) And perhaps that’s a semi-apt description since my blog posts have found their way to a few unexpected audiences.
In November of 2017 I received an email message from Martin Shoebridge, the designer of the Actual Reality laser tag system, after he had discovered a blog post that I had written about my first visit to Planet Trog earlier that year. Mr. Shoebridge is a true industry innovator (literally!) and was kind enough to answer some questions for me about Actual Reality via an e-mail interview, which you can read here…
https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/single-post/2017/12/10/Interview-with-an-Industry-Innovator-Martin-Shoebridge
This trip to Pennsylvania was absolutely worthwhile! I had a wonderful time getting to experience a system that in 2025 is a true rarity to get to play. My thanks to Planet Trog for hosting this event. Also, props to them for 30 years in business and for being able to keep the legacy of Actual Reality alive. If another opportunity presents to play this system, I would say (just like the audio on the pack)…”go!” :)
Comments or Questions?
Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
and https://tiviachick.wixsite.com/photonforever
and https://lasertagmuseum.com
