Lasertron at Laserdome

What a great time I had at Laserdome! They have a really personable staff and I'm so glad I had a chance to stop and play.

When you drive up to the building you can certainly understand how it got its name...

But on the inside there is more than you would expect. The arena itself is not actually located in the dome. That's where they host their dance parties. I got a chance to check out the light show and stage area and it seems like a really cool spot to hold a party. :)

Once our game was called I went in with several guys (a couple appeared to be regulars) who made for very good competition. This facility runs Lasertron LT11 equipment.

Although I'm not really that big a fan of Tron, I did enjoy a free for all game in a Tron arena that definitely didn't look like a typical Tron arena. This place had bright colorful walls and designs everywhere you look!

During the game I felt...well, like I had been traveling all weekend. I won the first game...

...but conceded that placement in the following rounds. I'd played a lot of tag in one weekend, but if Tron was on my agenda this was a great place to enjoy it. Thanks to the staff for a great time...and the tag swag! :)

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

The Lazer Factory

I had a really great time playing at The Lazer Factory, a family owned business in Annville, PA. The son, Riley, agreed to play a one on one and I had a feeling this would be good. After all, we were playing Zone. I asked him if he was any good and he told me that he used to play a lot, but there was never anyone competitive around to play against...enter Tiv. :)

I had a feeling this would be a good opportunity for another competitive game...and I was right!

The arena has two levels. The upstairs is accessible by one ramp.

The rest of the arena was decorated in an apocolyptic theme with a good balance of neon and structure with barrels, "brick wall" barriers creating a maze space with both flow and some decent playability.

Riley was fun to play against because he really was quite competitive. I'm not sure he expected that from me as I had not mentioned my background at that point, however he shared a bit about the business. Apparently they had previously been in another location and when they moved here and reassembled the walls the arena changed a bit. And I appreciated that he gave me suggestions for other places to visit and he went out of his way to find me some tag swag.

Thanks to the Lazer Factory for a great experience!

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

Awesome Time at Laser Alleys

After my experience the night before I decided to rework my plans for Sunday and re-route my trip home so that I could still have a milestone arena visit. I decided first thing that morning that I was going to get to my 70th arena before the day was done. So, to accomplish this I plotted a course and found a location that was open early in the day. That is what led me to play at Laser Alleys in York, PA.

I have to say this experience was WAY better than I expected at 11:00 AM in a bowling alley! I went in for what turned out to be a really competitive one on one with game master Alex and had a blast playing with Rift.

The arena was small, but made really good use of the space with a couple of raised platforms and ramps balanced on both sides. Alex gave me a really competitive game and we were both a bit amazed at the quality game we played to start out the day. It was a pretty even match and I appreciated his not holding back as we got into the game. Sometimes a one on one like this can be even more fun than playing with a big group!

And even though I can't honestly claim to be a fan of bowling, I took home some tag swag from this stop to kick off the start of a great day!

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

No Photos, No Dice

I was excited to visit a laser tag center in not-even-gonna-name-the-town, Virginia because it would be my 65th laser tag arena and also my final stop of this night. I thought that would be a great place to both celebrate a big number like 65 and also enjoy playing some Zone, my favorite system. However, this stop did not turn out to be the experience I hoped for. In the vesting room I asked an employee to snap a quick pic for me to mark the milestone and I was told that they do not allow photos...spit take...WHAT?! Yeah, I was told I couldn't take photos in the vesting room or the arena. I have only been told this once before in a Tron center that cited "copyright issues" (and it irritated me then too) and frankly I found it especially frustrating after I explained my blog and my simple, benign request was just dismissed as "eh... against policy".

This bugged me so much that I only played the game half-heartedly....so much so that a couple of regulars decided to "help me". I will say thanks to those good-hearted souls, but I didn't actually need any help with the game itself. Believe me, I've played it plenty. What I needed help with was getting past the funk that this "no photo" policy had put me in. Instead of focusing my attention on the game I walked around mulling how many Zone arenas I had already played. In case you are curious, as of today I have played in 26 other arenas that specifically run Zone equipment (just like this place) and they have all allowed me the joy of taking photos to remember good times playing in their arenas. Well, there was nothing special about this vesting room (and my bias will show, but nothing particularly special about the arena either) so let me say I don't really "need" a photo wearing their pack. I have plenty. In fact I will now overcompensate by posting a collage of myself wearing these same kind of packs from every other Zone arena I have gone to...and enjoyed more.

When the round was done I voiced my feedback to the staff in hopes that management will reconsider this ridiculous policy. And although part of me didn't want to, I did buy the t-shirt for my collection. So they allowed me a photo in the lobby. Score (sarcasm).

The moral of this story...if you're cool and let people take pics (because in this day of cell phones how can you really stop them anyway) you get good social media play and might be featured positively on a blog like this. If you don't...I won't even mention your name.

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

Shadowland III...is actually my fourth Shadowland

I paid a visit to Shadowland in Chantilly, VA having previously played at the Shadowland facilities in Frederick, Columbia and Gaithersburg, MD.

I was ready to enjoy some Darklight...and so was a huge crowd of other players who had come out to play this night. I feel kind of crabby to complain, but I was surprised that they didn't have more help there on a Saturday night. I waited for a ridiculous amount of time while one frazzled attendant entered the individual code names for this group manually. I'm sure he was not deliberately ignoring me (and he did apologize a couple of times), but after playing as many places as I have I guess my expectation was higher and I was surprised to see that this was how a big group was handled. Sigh...but at least this place has a scoreboard (if you read a few posts back this was the thing I felt was missing from Frederick). After the attendant came back to take care of me I asked to purchase a couple of the t-shirts that they had on display for sale. They had none. Sigh again... By this time I was tired, hungry and starting to feel a bit like the guy on the shirts that I could not buy.

However, in the lobby while waiting to enter the game I overheard a gentleman commenting about my Photon shirt and telling his friend he used to play when he was young. Always cool to meet a Photon player. I introduced myself and told him I was in town for Phocon. Nice encounter while waiting (and perusing the other goodies on display).

And then it was time to go into the arena and play some Darklight. I hoped this would turn things around further.

Yeah, things are always good again when I get to play a competitive game. I held a solid hold on the top score for the first half of the game, but ultimately I ended up dropping to fifth out of 34 players. Sigh again...but this time I was cool with it. Still a respectable placement and a really good game. So alls well that ends well in love and laser tag. :)

And a note about my previous stop...

Prior to Shadowland I also made a stop by Ultrazone in Falls Church. They were out of t-shirts too. But I had a great time playing there. :)

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

Tagging at the Castle

When I pulled into the parking lot of Castle Laser Tag in Bowie, MD there was a group hanging outside and I hoped they would be joining in the game...this guy wasn't one of them!

At first there were seven of us who entered the briefing room before vesting up with Helios Pro packs and deciding that free for all was the way to go.

However moments later another group double this size joined us and teams formed, which set the scene for a really enjoyable tag experience. Kim called me over and said "you're on our team" and I was happy to join them. The teams were a little unbalanced in numbers, but I definitely wasn't sweating that.

The arena was a pretty good size space with double level stations on each side. I found a sweet spot for sniping right away. I got to play hard against a good sized group and the whole game felt great. At the end of the game we went out front and checked out the scores. One of the guys on my team "you legit held it for our team" and I smiled when I saw the margin by which I took the top score.

I had a great time at the Castle. Excellent equipment to play in an impressive arena. I'd be up for this again for sure!

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

PHOCON 2016

The main reason for my trip to Maryland was to attend this year's PHOCON, a celebration of all things Photon held at XP Lasersport in Laurel, MD.

I wish I had longer to stay, but I enjoyed walking in to a fun atmosphere when I was greeted by Photon Chris saying "I wondered when you were going to show up!" :)

You know I wouldn't miss the chance to suit up in the vintage Photon gear straight out of 1984 (with some restoration to get the system back on line thanks to Marc Mueller and all the volunteers who work so hard for this event) and getting into a game.

And I always love taking home new tag swag from Phocon!

But what really makes this event special is watching all the old school players bring Photon back to life for a weekend out in one of the last arenas where it is really possible. I love the view from the observation deck as you hear the iconic female computer voice starting the game.

And while I was up there I also enjoyed meeting the gentleman who launched the Broken Arrow facility in Oklahoma some years back. When Jim walked in I greeted him by introducing myself and saying "I've sent you a lot of money over the years" as he is the person who I order all my Photon hats and shirts from. And before I left he was kind enough to send me off with one more souvenir that he had made.

Although I couldn't stay for more than a short time on Saturday it was still absolutely worth making the trip around this fantastic event. I can't wait to go back next year. The light still shines!

Comments or questions?

Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com