This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk we check in with the players from the 2025 East Coast Tournament to learn what they love most about the game, why they came out to this particular tournament and what tips they would give to people wanting to play competitive laser tag.
This week the annual East Coast Tournament is taking over the laser tag arena at The Fun Warehouse in Syracuse, NY with players from five states coming out to compete for four days of fun while facing off in matches of Laserforce’s Space Marines 5. The kickoff to the event included a random draw to draft the players onto six teams. It was also an opportunity for me to share another traveling museum collection mobile exhibit, this time spotlighting the History of Laserforce.
This seemed like an ideal place to display some vintage Laserforce packs for players of that system to enjoy some nostalgia from games past and, for many players, to see some of these items in person for the very first time! This is the latest video exhibit to be added to the Traveling Museum Collection page at LaserTagMuseum.com.
My sincere thanks to Rohan Kelly, Director of Laserforce Australia, for being tremendously helpful with providing information and details to include as part of this display.
Taking curated displays of selected items from the museum collection to exhibit at laser tag events is a new way I am actively trying to share the vast history of laser tag directly with the players who love the game, while also documenting the collection in photos and videos. I am currently planning more upcoming events to share other laser tag systems as well, so keep watching for more of your favorite systems to be spotlighted soon!
At this event I was delighted to visit with many players who I have met over the years as well as some new faces. I even caught up with Razz and Ace, a couple of guys I used to tag with every week when I started playing regularly over a decade ago!
We chatted in between the practice games. I also took this opportunity to interview players about their love of laser tag, which will be included in my next podcast episode being released later this week.
One of the things I really love about these events is the enthusiasm that the entire community demonstrates when they get together. I could see that reflected in the creativity of this player-created merch designed by Autumn Helmuth to celebrate the game and the event. I personally love my new T-shirt and sweatpants!
I am looking forward to seeing how this week plays out and which team will come out on top. The East Coast tournament is always such an exciting event and I am delighted that I was able to share some laser tag history right at the start of it all for the kickoff of ECT 2025!
It has been an exciting week for adding Photon memorabilia to my collection! This vintage jacket is an amazing find, but I was curious to learn about its origins.
Fortunately, whenever I have a question about Photon history, it is easy to find lots of former Photon warriors in the online groups that are always so kind to share what they remember. Sometimes my inquiries spark spirited discussion of Photon nostalgia and in this case there has been a lot of reminiscing about the various centers that made these jackets available, whether for sale to players or as gifts to their staff. I have heard some great stories and seen vintage photos of players who had similar jackets and I love that I can now be among them. This fits like a glove as if it were made for me! :)
My thanks to everyone who is so generous in sharing memories and knowledge of their time playing the granddaddy of all laser tag, Photon.
I remember the moment when I first learned that these two pieces of original artwork by Neal McPheeters were going up on the auction block, I was in Florida, browsing on my phone while sitting on the outdoor observation deck at Heroes Paradise prior to my game of laser tag. My heart jumped to see the listing and I kept my eye on it every day between then and the auction (which was not eBay, but my first actual art house auction) and I went into the bidding with phasers blazing!
These are the original mixed media pieces used as the highly recognizable cover art for Photon adventure novels #4 “This Is Your Life, Bhodi Li” and #5 “Exile”. They are also two of only three covers which include an image of Tivia. :)
Here is the “unboxing” video of my first look.
These are a very cool addition to my personal collection, but also such a special piece of the Photon history as well. I have been able to identify three other pieces of the McPheeters Photon artwork that have been sold at auction in the past year, but one appears unaccounted for, so I am curious to see when and where the remaining pieces of this collection may turn up. This is part of what makes collecting items from the laser tag history both a challenge and an exhilarating hobby!
It will be pretty obvious from the sign that this week Museum Collection Monday spotlights Laser Quest. Any guesses which location this sign came from?
This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk I’m doing something a little different and sharing some of my own laser tag stories.
For the first episode of the new year, I hope you enjoy hearing my stream of consciousness storytelling about a few of the adventures I have had along the way!
This week Museum Collection Monday spotlights an AMAZING Worlds of Wonder Lazer Tag store demo display. This is a very rare example of an electronic, motion-activated shadowbox that provided an automatic demonstration in sync with an audio track.
