When I asked Jared, the general manager at BattlegroundZ in Lincoln, RI if I could get into a 1v1 game (as I arrived at a quiet moment), I mentioned sometimes the centers that I visit are kind enough to free up a staff member to play a game when I stop in. He asked me how many laser tag arenas I had been to and took a very reasonable double take when I said “this will be 649.” Well, before I had even finished watching the briefing video he had rounded up eight players (staff and a few airsoft customers) to join me in playing what turned out to be one of the best games of Lazer Runner I have ever enjoyed, no exaggeration!
There are a few reasons I am calling this the best Runner experience I have ever had (and I am talking apples to apples about sites using this specific equipment). I’ll walk you through it from beginning to end.
First, I was asked to watch the briefing video, which Jared noted is a safety precaution and I admire that because so many places do not give a proper briefing. Now, I have no idea what percentage of my 649 arenas have been Lazer Runner vs some other laser tag system, but I can tell you exactly how many times I have seen this particular briefing video…twice. And that includes this visit. That should give you an idea of how many places are NOT doing something as basic as providing a complete briefing before the game, so kudos to Jared for making sure all his bases were covered…pun intended! ;)
Now, let’s talk bases…they have them! They had four bases plus a center sentry pod and I cannot recall playing in another Runner arena that had that many.
This meant proper team games (or even special format games) were options on the table and we could have divided into up to four teams if we wanted. With nine players we instead opted for a standard game with three teams of three.
The arena itself was a surprise, as it is a Tron-tube build with the bases in all four corners. Theming is one of the first things I notice and I especially love the rope lights that make a “permanent beam” effect emanating outward from the center and adding a lighting pattern along the upper walls.
Because of the particular arena build, I asked if they had previously operated with different equipment and Jared told me all of this came from another arena location.
I didn’t ask if the Runner gear itself came from elsewhere, but one thing I did notice was that the equipment appeared (from just looking at the exterior) to be brand new. Barely a scratch, which is unusual! Kids are usually very hard on this gear.
This is obviously not the new gen 4 style phaser and I am unsure if it is a current production model or not, but it looked to me like very new equipment, or at the least, very well cared for equipment. That might not sound like it should be notable, but I assure you it is! It also illustrates that BattlegroundZ takes care of their laser tag and has presented itself very well before we even stepped foot into the arena for the game.
As for the game itself…so much fun because this group was taking it seriously! Several of these guys had just left an airsoft game to come play laser tag with me and they wanted to WIN! Love it, as this was also a big part of making this a better quality game experience.
We started at bases and then traversed the arena with half bridges on the side to add a bit of elevation to the single level space.
My go-to move is to rotate through the bases repeatedly, but these guys didn’t give it up those points easily! I noticed one base was inactive, I expect because we only had three teams. As I was on the red team (base in back right corner) I spent most of the game bouncing between the two left side bases across one of those half bridges.
And at one point the yellow team was putting up an actual defense! While I chased the base one guy accused me of spawn camping. I laughed out loud and said “there’s no ‘spawn camping’ in Runner!”
However, if ever there was a game where I might acknowledge that, this was it. Very well played by all!
My thanks to BattlegroundZ for making this a high quality experience and rounding up this amazing group!
The laser tag I experienced was well done, but only a small piece of what this facility has to offer. Paintball, airport, archery tag and even Gel Blasters (not Nexus) are among the cool activities that can be enjoyed before getting a drink in the Battle Bar or a bite to eat in the Mess Hall.
But as I was on a mission to take my arena count from 649 to 650 on this night, I thanked them and left with a T-shirt for my tag swag collection and a memory of one of the best games of Lazer Runner I have ever experienced thanks to BattlegroundZ.
Comments or Questions?
Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
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