Having just recently visited Launch Lansing in Michigan I
wondered how similar the two locations might be. I was pleasantly surprised to
find that each had a really distinctive uniqueness and although they had
similar activities each was original in their look and vibe. Each is built
around trampolines as the main attraction, but this place also included a nice
concession area with seating and of course, laser tag!
This site is owned by former NFL player Jason Avant so I
figured it was worth asking whether he’d indulge an interview about the new
business. Although he wasn’t there the day I visited, I talked with general manager
Daniel who made sure I could get into a game right away.
He paired me up with staff member Karina to do a 1v1 in
the arena. As soon as I walked in I was intrigued. I had expected a CW design
(probably because that’s what I saw in Lansing), but I’m genuinely not sure that
this was their work or if I could even identify it just by the design aesthetic.
This is actually a good thing because if I can identify it then I’ve seen it
too many times before and that was not the case here. It was very nicely put
together to be a bit softer and kind of reminded me of stage design for a play.
The theme was going for a fantasy backyard kind of feel with trees and fencing
as well as the bus (homage to the entryway) being carried by hot air balloon painted
on one of the back walls.
It was a single level arena, but utilized two ramps to
give the feel of an additional level.
Bases located underneath the clock towers were no
surprise.
But what I did find interesting was the amount of targets
in this arena. Now I am guesstimating at both these numbers, but I would be
surprised if this arena was much larger than 2500 sq feet at most, so it’s on
the smaller side. However, there were no less (and I wouldn’t be surprised if
there were more) than a dozen targets, mostly lined up on the upper edge of the
arena, predominantly on one side. This is more targets than I think I’ve ever
seen in an arena of this size!
Each of the red targets made an explosion sound when it
was hit, which made it a bit more fun to tag the sequentially…boom, boom, boom,
cycle and repeat. And you can see from the scoreboard that I spent more time
zeroing in on those targets than player tags.
At one point I figured I’d better pay more attention to
my opponent so the game master would know that I actually knew what I was doing
and wasn’t just distracted by the “pretty red lights” in there, lol! We
finished out the round and I thanked them for getting me in to try the system
again. I really like everything I’ve experienced with Helios 2. It plays
smoothly and accurately and I think is a good match for a location like this
where undoubtedly they will have a lot of kids trying this out for the first
time. The atmosphere really works for that and I wish them lots of success. I
stopped by the snack bar for some mozzarella sticks for the road before saying
goodbye to Launch Delran. I’m very glad this site gave me a reason to make the
trip!
Comments or Questions?
Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
and www.photonforever.com
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