Ultrazone Portland Inaugural Tournament

With Ultrazone Portland now owned by a member and player of the competitive Zone laser tag scene, it is no surprise that their inaugural tournament took place within the first six months of Noah Kim taking over the reigns of this legacy laser tag facility. I was looking forward to my next chance to visit this site again, so the first tournament was a perfect opportunity.

Players from across five states came out for two nights of competition. There was representation of players from Oregon, California, Texas, Ohio and me from New York.

Now, for context, the Zone Nationals were originally scheduled for this same weekend, but when it became apparent that the event would not be taking place this year, the Ultrazone Portland team announced and planned their first tournament in a fairly short window of time. So, while this was a smaller competition in size, it came together to fill a bigger gap and be a starting point for whatever they may build on in the competitive scene going forward. It required some flexibility among the staff and the players to pull this off with some unique circumstances and player counts, but in the end it is all about having fun and playing laser tag and both those boxes were definitely checked! So big kudos on pulling off a first time event!

I ended up playing on the Portland Team along with Noah (Nemesis), Finley (Big Red) and Joseph (Lingster) during team comp.

However, for night one of the tournament there were several events planned to get things rolling. You can call practice on Thursday “night zero”, but the competition really began on Friday with Lord of the Rings (LOR), solos and doubles.

Anyone who knows me knows I typically opt out of LOR, which gave me extra time for a few local tag visits on route. While I was still traveling, the LOR competition played out with placements as follows:

1st - Nawala

2nd - Nemesis

3rd - BlueFlame

I got to the arena just in time for solos and was greeted outside by BlueFlame. It’s always nice to arrive to find friendly, familiar faces and there are plenty in the laser tag community!

Solos were a fun way for me to get started, as it was my first time back in this arena since my initial visit in March. I must say, after about 48 hours of continuous travel and tag to get me to Portland, I was moving a bit slower than a well-rested person might…but as Josef said “you’ll sleep when you’re dead.” Overnight tournaments force you to challenge yourself to play through the “tired”. Tonight was about playing tag and staying upright!

Solos results were as follows:

1st -Nawala

2nd - Nemesis

3rd - Lingster

Nakodah was my partner for doubles, so time to go back in for some partners tag.

Doubles played out accordingly:

1st - Nemesis and Skeletor

2nd - Nawala and Count Chocula

3rd - Blue Flame and Wolverine

Props to the winners of each of these events!

And when the first night of competition was complete I actually did get to go to my hotel and sleep!

Tag 4 A Cause helped kick off the second night with a pre-tourney fundraiser in support of the Alzheimer’s Association. I am delighted to say that with the support of tournament players we were able to exceed our goal and the cumulative fundraising (between Portland and the event held two weeks ago in Syracuse) represents over $1000 raised by laser tag players to benefit this incredibly worthy cause. Thank you, everyone!

We also shared a Laser Tag Museum Collection virtual exhibit via video presentation of the history of the system these players came to play.

Then once the arena had officially closed to public for the night we proceeded with night two and 4 Man Team Comp (aka the main event). 

With the numbers at this event, what made sense to everyone was to play two rounds of prelims (six games total) and those scores determined seeding for three games of finals.

In between games we compared notes and socialized, as community is really what these events are about.

Then we began finals. What I am proudest of in the finals was how close our team kept the numbers. Yes, we lost the first round, but with less than 300 points separating us from second, so it still could have gone any number of ways at that point. However, we found ourselves down a player by the start of the second finals game and had no options but to play through while being a player short. And yet, even being a man down, in the last game of finals we were still holding our own. Our team was playing on red (I was playing as Inferno that game) and while we still came in third, the margin of less than 300 points separating us from second place that game for the second time is again something I will hold as a positive from this tournament, even when the chips were down.

4 Man Team Comp placements are as follows:

1st - Team Chino

2nd - Team CaliQuest

3rd - Team Portland

We accepted our medals to commemorate the event.

And I want to commend Noah and the team at Ultrazone Portland for pulling together what was a fun competition for all. I consider this to have been a very worthwhile trip to the west coast and I was delighted to be part of the Ultrazone Portland Inaugural Tournament. Here’s to many more!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com

and https://tiviachick.wixsite.com/photonforever

and https://lasertagmuseum.com

Tag 4 A Cause from Coast to Coast!

The second of my two Tag 4 A Cause events in support of the Alzheimer’s Association was hosted prior to night two of the inaugural tournament at Ultrazone Portland in Milwaukie, OR and was a cumulative success from coast to coast!

On the heels of the success we had at the first event in Syracuse, NY I was excited to hold my first west coast fundraiser and appreciate Noah for hosting me and all the players who can out to support a great cause, helping us to once again EXCEED our  fundraising goal!

This event was lots of fun and in many ways, more chill and relaxing…is that the nature of the west coast or simply because my tag friends were there?

I set up my “table” at the counter to make the resin laser tag medals available for anyone who made a donation. Old Man Than (fellow laser tag podcaster from The Resupply) came out to support with the first donation!

Following suit, we got donations and support from numerous players from the tournament and a couple of players shared stories with me about family members who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s. It’s interesting to me to see how much this cause really does resonate with members of our laser tag community. But the giving was equally part of an event to focus on positivity and everyone had a great time receiving their medals and tagging for a chance to win the golden phaser high score trophy.

Once again we played rounds of Tivia’s Trivia, but this time with a twist…all the answers were in plain sight as part of a Laser Tag Museum Collection virtual exhibit video I brought to showcase the history of the Zone system, which we are playing at this arena.

The virtual video exhibit was in lieu of what would have been an in-person display at Nats and part of my continuing effort to share the laser tag history directly with the community. The Tivia’s Trivia winners received a prize pack with some goodies.

They responded to winning the prize with varying degrees of enthusiasm, lol!

We played three Tag 4 A Cause standard team games to determine the high score of the event. Congratulations to Josef (aka Nawala) for earning the high score trophy!

And thank you to everyone who donated to help make THIS possible!

Our cumulative total from both the Syracuse and Portland Tag 4 A Cause events was in excess of over a thousand dollars raised for the Alzheimer’s Association!

I have never before attempted a true coast to coast fundraising effort like this, although Tag 4 A Cause has taken place in eleven states over the years to support various causes. This meant a lot to me to be able to do this event, especially with the support of my west coast friends and teammates. Again, my big thanks to Noah and Ultrazone Portland for hosting Tag 4 A Cause and thank you to everyone who donated on either side of the country, proving that laser tag is not only our amazing hobby where we are connected with a global community, but also that we can use it as a vehicle to really make a positive difference in the world. THANK YOU!!!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com

and https://tiviachick.wixsite.com/photonforever

and https://lasertagmuseum.com

Logger’s Paradise

My final stop before the evening events was to Langer’s Entertainment in Sherwood, OR, with a really creative Sasquatch’s Revenge laser tag arena fully decked out in a sawmill theme.

It’s been 30 seconds since I’ve brought up that I am a former Lumberjack Princess (I usually mention it in the context of how bad I am at axe throwing!), so you can imagine that how much this theme really speaks to me. :) But even aside from that, I just thought they did a phenomenal job with the execution of a creative, immersive approach from start to finish, beginning with the briefing video.

I absolutely LOVED this video featuring your stereotypical “totally rad”

California surfer dude playing the part of the ranger and setting the storyline up. 

I also loved that the video included a Sasquatch dancing around wearing a laser tag pack…awesome!

We were able to divide into teams based on whether we wanted to be “Team Sasquatch” on red or “Team Logger” on green when we entered the beating room to find our “park ranger vests” before entering the “sawmill” aka the arena. Inside we were told we would find “mill zones” aka bases.

Now, I realize that it may sound hypocritical that in my last post where an arena changed the name of the bases to something theme-related I felt like it fell flat. Here, I liked it (although it is still a distinction without a difference), but I think the reason it works here was the totality of the theme execution was simply done better. In this case it really did feel like we were immersed in the storyline a lot more.

I opted to play for Team Sasquatch.

This was my second of three experiences this day to play Helios Pro in a Portland-area arena. With multiple options in such close proximity, the arena details are going to play a significant role in consumer choice. This one does well from the theming standpoint.

One prop I really liked inside the arena was this suspended bundle of logs. It’s a very unique way to add something to the upper level without the crutch of the standard kind of center prop, as the build of this arena is no it out of the ordinary, but the aesthetic is.

Although the wooden structures that make this theme rustic do vary a bit from the standard CW walls below to the upper level’s more intentional raw build.

The “mill zones” really look like a sawmill, so another one execution of theme where I am seeing something new…live that!

And we can’t forget that this arena is called Sasquatch’s Revenge, so there should be an appearance from Sasquatch!

The overall theme extends throughout the building with lots of log cabin, rustic wooden props to encourage visitors to explore the Oregon FUNtier. :)

And this message is repeated for branding on the selfie step and repeat wall (which I think every center should have).

So if you are looking to tag through and arena with a fresh kind of theme that really works, especially in this part of the country, the sawmill arena at Langer’s is a good choice!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com

and https://tiviachick.wixsite.com/photonforever

and https://lasertagmuseum.com