My visit to KingPins in Beaverton, OR was full of interesting little custom touches designed to set up the mood, the theme and the experience built around their Pandora-themed arena.
I arrived at a time where I could wait for the next group game or, by my request, I was instead able to get into the arena faster doing a 1v1 with staff member Sophia. She handed me a lanyard with my game time and some scoring info for the Helios Pro targets and I returned a short time later to play the game.
Then she played a cool custom briefing video (I love custom videos!) that explained the mission in the world of Pandora. In the video it explained that the bases were “trees” and the pick-up pads were “portals” to be used as we battle to protect the Navi (the jungle?). Prepared with this info we donned our purple and green (color designated) vests.
Then we entered the world of Pandora inside the arena.
Now, to be real, this is a nice double level arena, but it is really not that unusual, save for a couple of specific touches. On the whole it’s a good, but rather typical CW build with the forest aesthetic.
The things that gave it that extra Pandora connection would be this customization of the giant head prop with the lit-up eyes…
And a few of these cool creatures painted on the wall.
This is one instance where I admire the ingenuity in the theming attempt, but it really made absolutely no difference to my perception of this arena. I did really enjoy the game. I liked that there were two active pick-up pads. It adds some symmetry that there is one in each side.
If you want to call them a “portal” that’s a choice, but I really don’t think I can call this a tree…although this particular base is green!
But that is in no way a criticism of the game which was enjoyable, played well and was a great experience. I just don’t think a standard forest theme in and of itself can become Pandora with just the change in nomenclature.
I did like the purple and green pack color variation though. This day it felt appropriate to be tagging purple! :)
So it was a nice experience for me to play at KingPins and equally as nice to enjoy some unique treats in the open air shopping district where the arena is located.
I was feeling a little bit “extra” today as I visited a local shop called Salt and Straw that makes handmade ice cream in unique flavors like Honey Lavender, strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper and Arbequina Olive Oil. I opted for a scoop of pear and blue cheese ice cream with a culinary floral perfume spritz! Well done Beaverton!
Then I purchased a chocolate cheesecake cookie from the nearby dessert shop to save as a post-tournament treat for the plane. :)
So, you can tell that my second day exploring the northwest was one where I did get to enjoy some tag, but also took the opportunity to stop and smell the roses and just experience some of the local flavors…and that made the totality of this stop pretty awesome!
Comments or Questions?
Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
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