Tri-Tag Tournament: Laser Quest Potomac Mills

It was sort of a last minute decision for me to enter the Tri-Tag Weekend laser tag tournament. Although there were events for Tron and tactical competition I decided that I would only choose to participate in the Quest portion of the weekend which was to run from 11:00 PM on Saturday night through about 3 AM on Sunday morning and then I would head back home. Eight hours of driving each way was still totally worth it to have the experience playing against some actual Quest players! However, my team had a slightly different make-up. I played with a free agent team (that I affectionately refer to as the "Free Agents" of SHIELD) with Logan (a Storm player), Andrew (a Tron player), me (a Zone player) and JJ who actually is a Quest player from Hawaii. He does have 18 years of experience, so it was good to have a Quest veteran with us.

There was a great deal that I learned from this experience and I am glad that I opted to go. However, we were a far cry from being top performers here. I think the fact that most of our team had our primary experience with other systems was a big part of it. As I related after the fact, it was like if you took state titleholders from MAOT, DYW, an interview queen or even the Dairy Princess program and put them into a glitz Pro-Am competition and then wonder why the results were different. Different strengths, yet so much to gain from the process of doing. My small personal victories were that I was generally the highest placing of the non-Quest players on my team (which is a little like saying I was the second to last person off the Titanic), and in certain rounds I was pleasantly surprised by some of the company I kept on the scoreboard, but I can honestly say the learning experience came mostly from just accepting my place here and trying to pick up tips from the experienced Quest players. I was sort of heartened to see that the only other woman in this arm of the tournament ended up being the overall winner (as well as being on the top team). And I appreciated the effort that went into pulling this event off. Although it ended up going a little longer than expected (we were there until 4AM) I want to thank Dice for putting it all together and commend him on a fun and worthwhile event. And a shout out to my teammates...

Had a great time making a weekend journey to Virginia. The Tri-Tag Tournament was definitely worth the trip!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

My Fifth Shadowland

As I was headed towards my hotel in Alexandria, VA I realized that I was just a short ways away from the fifth Shadowland facility, the last one I had yet to visit. I have already played in Frederick, Columbia, Gaithersburg and Chantilly. Even though I really wanted to take a nap before the tournament that was to get underway at 11:00 that evening I knew that if I played this one (Springfield/Alexandria) I'd have the chance to say I've played them all.

It was a decent game in an arena with a familiar feel. I like Darklight...I don't LOVE it, but I enjoy it as a novelty because I don't have opportunities to play close to home.

And I hoped when I saw their display that maybe I could take home a t-shirt this time since I came back empty handed from my visit to Chantilly the week before.

Alas, once again I was left pressing my face against the glass (figuratively!) as they had t-shirts on display, but again there were none for sale. Sigh...my only big complaint is that I keep being denied a souvenir when I'm at these centers. I suppose if I want the shirt that badly I can get it online. Otherwise it was a nice experience and a good warm up for the remainder of the evening.

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

Dickson City Laser Tag

Dickson City Laser Tag in Pennsylvania was an excellent experience and a surprisingly cool arena. It was the perfect point just off the highway for me to take a break to enjoy some Helios on my way down to the Tri-Tag Tournament in Virginia. I showed up at just the right time to play with a group of college students from Clarks Summit University.

I was glad to see that this center attracted a wide age spectrum. Honestly, when I see a center with a pirate ship theme I am pre-disposed to think it may be small or geared towards kids. Sometimes I've seen other arenas take it to a place where it gets corny or over the top...however this place did it REALLY well! There is a giant pirate ship with a maze incorporated right through it in the middle of the arena. However, the space still had really good playability and the theme did not overpower the arena, but it augmented it nicely.

I loved that there was an appropriate group to play against. And the staff was really great to accommodate my request for photos in the arena.

What a great place to visit while passing through Pennsylvania!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

Playing at my 70th Laser Tag Arena

The Mill in Bethlehem, PA is officially the 70th arena where I have had the pleasure to play laser tag!

I was really excited to reach this milestone (my goal is to eventually play at least 100 arenas, but hey, 70 is A LOT!) and all the more so because I got to play my 70th with Helios.

I love that this arena runs Zone.

There was a game in progress when I walked in, so I was glad to discover there was a group of players already there. I was led down a hallway to the vesting room where I took a moment to snap a few pics before going in for an enjoyable, casual game with time to check out this arena that is only about a year old. This is a small space, but definitely lots of fun. There were two structures where you could get a better view of the space. Everyone was having a blast which is always great to see. I played just hard enough to hold my position in the game, but I have to say I was pretty exhausted by this point in my journey. But I had a fantastic time and left feeling like I had achieved a pretty unique accomplishment. As I look back on the last two years I have had some amazing experiences traveling, competing in tournament events and exploring lots of arenas along the way. Because the 30th anniversary of Photon two years ago was such a benchmark in my laser tag journey it was especially wonderful to be able to end this weekend by hitting this milestone on this particular trip. Thanks to everyone at The Mill for letting me celebrate the big 70 playing in your arena. Here's to the next 70!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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An Unusual Game of Laser Quest

When I walked into the Laser Quest in Wyomissing, PA my first thought was that if I could play a one on one with an employee here it might be good practice for the tri-tag tournament next week. I approached the counter and the manager Mike commented that I looked like I really wanted to play some laser tag. LOL...if he only knew! At this point I was only one location away from my 70th arena so it was true that I wanted to play, but probably not for reasons he would have guessed. :)

Game master Gabriel and I went into the briefing room. I was the only one there at that moment. He started the instructional speech. I interrupted to let him know that I was familiar with Laser Quest and all the rules. He said he had to go through it anyway, but we could just skip ahead to the pledge. yep...recited it with gusto this time around!

We went into the arena. Now, here's the thing about Quest arenas. Most of them are all pretty much the same...and they are usually decent sized. This was no exception. In tournament play the competition is often pretty much isolated to one tower area if you want to be in close proximity to the other players. That would have been a good thing to address before our one on one, but I figured it would naturally happen. Instead, Gabriel headed off in one direction and I spent the first several minutes of the game just walking around trying to figure out where he went! When we found each other I thought that would be the point where we'd start dogfighting the game. However, instead  he left again, so this was the most unusual game of Quest I have ever played because the majority of the game was spent searching instead of shooting! :) Still a great time, even though we both ended up with really silly scores as a result.

After the game I chatted with them about the competitive scene and enjoyed the conversation. I also really enjoyed the time to explore their arena. It's a great center that has plenty to offer and I hope if I pass by Wyomissing that I can stop by and play again sometime.

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com

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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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!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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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!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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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.

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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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. :)

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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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!

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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!

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Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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Blog: tiviachickloveslasertag.blogspot.com