Tagging Into The New Year with Reflections From 2021

For me New Year’s Eve is both a time to plan ahead and reflect on the past year. As I’m looking towards what is to come in 2022 I am preparing to launch the next Tag 4 A Cause quarterly 5K challenge by completing the new medal design.

I am also baking after-Christmas cookies to ring in the new year!

I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of the good things that have happened during this past year by once again bringing you my annual list of my personal top ten laser tag highlights from 2021.

1. The Tivia avatar

The moment I saw the Tivia avatar (aka Valkyrie) was a BIG one! Getting a response from Laserforce assuring me it was no coincidence, but a specially included “Easter egg” told me everything I needed to know!

2. Speaking at the Laser Tag Convention

This was a privilege to be able to speak about some of the unique laser tag arenas I have visited during my travels. I am delighted to share that I will be presenting an Operator Session at next year’s Laser Tag Convention as well. 

3. Playing EXO with the system’s inventor 

On my last visit to California I was joined by Laser Tag Museum curator Erik Guthrie for a tour and game experience at LaserLand, (at that time) the only EXO location in the USA with EXO creator Petr Putkoff from Russia.

4. Tournament for Children’s Miracle Network

Coaching some young female players and taking a first round victory against the big, burly CrossFit trainer and his team from the local CrossFit gym was like a David vs Goliath moment. We didn’t win the tourney, but in that one moment it sure felt like it!

5. Growing Tag 4 A Cause across the country (and internationally)

At the end of last year I was skeptical as to whether Tag 4 A Cause would gain enough support to be successful. However, in the last year we were able to raise several thousand dollars (total) for the causes we worked with. I am appreciative of all the arenas that have allowed me to host events from New York to Colorado and several states in between. My appearance on the Resupply podcast even resulted in Tag 4 A Cause receiving international support from some players in the Czech Republic!

6. Victory with a Barracuda

One of the more unique events I participated in this year was a tournament at a county fair in Kentucky where I won a paintball trophy for my victory tagging with an iCOMBAT Barracuda. 

7. Returning to Mission Control to play some LQ

After LQ Versent closed down all their arenas in North America I figured it would be a long time before I had a chance to play this system again. However, I had my chance on more than one occasion this year at Laser Zone Canton.

8. Acquiring Infusion…and a few others

Adding a few working Zone Infusion packs to my collection was a cool thing that happened even before I acquired a full set of Nexus packs and even a couple Laser Quest packs to round out my “mini-museum” collection. I even got to add a LaserTrooper phaser (shell) in the form of a custom trophy that was sent to me.

9. Having a pack named after me

There is a Tivia pack on the rack at one of my local arenas, right alongside the default pack names you see everywhere. Naming a pack for me was proposed by the Apex Albany staff members after I played against their entire staff and won. It makes my heart happy every time I walk in and see it!

10. Playing my 350th arena

My current arena count sits at 397 and I would actually be at 400 laser tag arenas by now, except that I really want my next milestone number to happen when my friend Aztec opens his own arena, Kynytyx. So for now I’ll celebrate my last milestone of 2021 at 350 and I will look forward to playing some tag at number 400 in the new year!

So there are my top ten laser tag highlights of 2021. I wish everyone a safe and happy new year and look forward to many more laser tag adventures in 2022!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

The Marathon Ends in the Laser Tag Arena

When I say a marathon ended in the laser tag arena I am not exaggerating. I mean I completed a literal 26.2 mile marathon while at my local laser tag arena this past weekend.

Ok, I’ll take a moment to explain. I had signed up for a one day step challenge in support of the Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation. I was determined to get the most steps by the end of the day, so I started early and I walked…and walked…and walked some more. Mostly I was mall walking because it is the week before Christmas, shopping needed to get done too and a ninja princess does have to multi-task!

It’s amazing how far you can go once you start moving. I was over a half-marathon (13.1 miles) before I left the mall and was ready for a change of venue, so of course I headed off for some Saturday night laser tag, wondering how much I had left in me at that point. Yes, I was already tired, but my motivation outweighed my exhaustion (kind of like at Armageddon) so I pushed onward.

I played all night and walked laps around the arcade area in between games. I watched the count increase on my step tracking app as each game went by. We played a variety of formats (SM4 got me the most in-game steps) and I was reminded what great exercise laser tag can be and for the first time ever I completed a full marathon of steps in a single day! I walked over 26.2 miles, the equivalent of an actual marathon, completing this milestone inside the laser tag arena. Not gonna lie, that achievement felt amazing!

By the end of the night I had crossed over 51,000 steps for the challenge and completed a challenge that pushed me farther than I thought I could go!

Yes, the majority of these steps were done mall walking or in the arcade area, but the steps I achieve inside the arena mean even more when they coincide with the completion of a goal, whether it is specifically related to laser tag or not. I am so glad I have found so many opportunities to reach new achievements while incorporating laser tag into fitness, fundraising and (of course) fun!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Giving Laser Tag For Christmas

One of the things I am always heartened by during the holidays is the generosity of my local community, which is particularly evident when you see the results of this toy drive organized by the media company  for which I work. This has turned into the largest holiday toy drive in Central New York! 

I personally like to make sure laser tag is represented in this toy mountain by contributing a laser tag set with hopes that it will find its way to a child who may not otherwise be able to have a laser tag experience. 

My co-workers and I spent yesterday bagging up all these toys for 27 local charities to distribute to area children and families. Thousands of kids will have a happier holiday because of the generosity of everyone who contributed to this toy drive and I extend my thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

I am very proud to be part of a team that can facilitate a toy drive on this scale. And to the child out there who ultimately ends up receiving the laser tag set, I hope you have a blast! Happy Holidays!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Tag 4 A Cause Goes International

I launched my first Tag 4 A Cause Laser Tag 5K Challenge just over a year ago and it started out small with an event in Albany, NY. This was planned even before most laser tag centers in my state had re-opened amidst the pandemic and I was looking for a way to do some good and encourage people to get back to playing laser tag (safely and with proper precautions) wherever and whenever it was possible for them to do so. That’s why I initially focused on this as a virtual challenge for players to complete individually in any arena, anywhere.

That part of the challenge remains consistent, but now I am expanding upon that original idea by hosting Tag 4 A Cause challenges quarterly, so every three months we support a new cause and make available a new medal. And as laser tag arenas have re-opened I am learning every step of the way that the social element which makes laser tag so much fun is exactly the same ingredient that makes Tag 4 A Cause events an even better way to reach players. After all, it is all about interacting with people!

So in the last six months I have started going out to multiple arenas each quarter and hosting Tag 4 A Cause events with scheduled visits during public game nights as well as pop-up events with side challenges and trophy contests at tournaments where I can get in front of the more dedicated laser tag players who are really my prime audience for this challenge.

I’m delighted to say that as of this writing Tag 4 A Cause has supported four very worthy charitable groups including the Lustgarten Foundation Cancer Research, Feeding America, the Doreen Katz Memorial Cancer Foundation and currently the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. So far this initiative has directed several thousand dollars in total support donations to help these groups using direct donation links to them that were promoted on my website. This fundraising happened through both the online challenge and in-person events held at laser tag arenas across the country, starting in New York, but also getting to several other states, even as far west as Colorado. One of my goals is to host Tag 4 A Cause events at arenas in different parts of the country and to have multiple laser tag systems represented among those locations. My thanks to the laser tag sites that have hosted Tag 4 A Cause events so far including (in chronological order) Apex Entertainment Albany, Q-Zar Toledo, The Fun Warehouse, Loveland Laser Tag, Ultrazone Fort Wayne, Laser Zone Canton and Skyway Laser Storm. 

This is a homegrown, one-woman effort that is literally a kitchen table operation (as that is where I craft the medals) so I initially thought I would keep this contained to the United States simply to keep shipping reasonable and to not get in over my head. However, laser tag is a global community and after I appeared on an episode of the Resupply podcast, talking with the hosts scattered between New Zealand, California and Texas I was pleased to discover that there was interest in this idea beyond my original scope.

One such example that came out of that appearance was getting connected with laser tag players internationally when a podcast listener, Lucie (aka Lucidun) reached out to me to participate with a group of her laser tag friends in the Czech Republic. She and I coordinated the logistics of making this work and six players from the Czech Republic made donations to support the Doreen Katz Memorial Cancer Foundation. I sent a package of medals and wristbands to Lucie to distribute on my behalf. International shipping takes some time, so this is a slightly delayed finale, but this past week the medals finally arrived in the Czech Republic and Lucie was kind enough to send a photo from her home laser tag center on the other side of the globe.

My thanks to them all! Here is a photo of the three players from the Pilsen site including Martin Šašek (Triman), Kristýna Strouhalová (Kristý) and Lucie Dunovská (lucidun). There were also three other supporters from another laser tag center in Prague, but due to restrictions we could not get a group photo with them at this time. My sincere thanks to Hana P, Hana K and Michaela from the Prague Laserforce site. I will post an update with their photos once that is possible. However, I am appreciative of all the laser tag players who have supported Tag 4 A Cause in fundraising for worthy organizations and I am glad to welcome new friends in the Czech Republic as the first to help make Tag 4 A Cause an international initiative!

For more info about Tag 4 A Cause please visit www.TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

New Laserforce Avatar = A VERY Happy Tivia!

IAAPA recently took place in Orlando and provided an opportunity for laser tag manufacturers to showcase their newest gear, updates and features. Although I was not attending the expo this time around, I was still fortunate to get a peek at some of what Laserforce had to debut in their latest SUP release. I have to say, when I stumbled upon this little easter egg included with their new avatars in the update I almost cried from happiness!!!

This new avatar makes me SO happy! If only you could have seen my reaction when I first discovered it and realized that they have included an avatar with a design inspired by the Tivia character from Photon!!! 

For those not familiar, my first exposure to laser tag came before I ever actually played the game. When I was around six years old I saw it portrayed on the Photon tv show during the one season that the series was made in Japan to promote the first commercial laser tag game system. To this day Photon holds a very nostalgic place in my heart, even though I did not have a chance to experience playing it firsthand until many years later. Photon is the granddaddy of them all and the place where you can trace back the roots and inspiration for so much of the laser tag that we enjoy today. Laserforce even features a Photon emulation game mode, which is one of my favorites that I request to play every week when I am at my home Laserforce site in Syracuse.

Why am I so enamored with this avatar? The character that inspired it is a symbol to me and represents a significant part of my laser tag journey. Who can fathom why the idea of Tivia, the laser tag ninja princess, kicking Arr (not a typo) and taking names would resonate so strongly with me, lol?! That’s why years later she became the namesake for both my website and my own codename.

Every now and again someone hears the name and occasionally picks up on the reference. However, this is not what I would call a highly recognizable image by any stretch of the imagination, so for this design so clearly “resembling” Tivia (although officially called “Valkyrie”) to be included as a new Laserforce avatar is really a very special hidden gem that pays a bit of homage to the OG.

I was very curious about how this image was considered and chosen so I asked Laserforce Global Operations Officer Rohan Kelly about the “who, how and why” behind this design. Here is what he had to say…

“We at Laserforce appreciate the work you do and the enthusiasm you show for the laser tag community, so I can say for sure that the release of this avatar was not a coincidence. My head of development and also an avid league player, Chris, ran the idea past me and I was on board with it - he wanted to release it as a surprise, or easter egg.”

Wow…that says everything I needed to hear! So, yes, this debut complete with all the semiotics of it was particularly exciting for me and this avatar has already become my permanent Laserforce membership icon. 

This seems like a good time to throw some respect to the woman who brought this character to life on the small screen back in the 80s. I want to take a moment to spotlight the original Tivia, portrayed by singer/songwriter Loretta Heywood (Bomb The Bass, Five Shades, Winter In July) so you can appreciate how spot-on they got this resemblance right!

There are lots more behind the scenes photos from the show (thank you David Stay) on my sister website at PhotonForever.com. You can also check out this interview I did with Loretta back in 2015 (aka Tivia and Tivia Have a Chat).

https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/single-post/2015/02/25/tivia-and-tivia-have-a-chat-an-interview-with-loretta-heywood

I just can’t get over this awesome avatar! It obviously resonates with me on a very personal level. There are a number of other new avatars available in the newest Laserforce update as well that I’m sure others will be excited to see also.

I am also really enthused about some of the new Laserforce game modes and feature capabilities that operators are able to offer with this update. I had a chance to play several new games with the members at my site and everyone really enjoyed them. Plus, my thanks to those who simultaneously took this opportunity to support Tag 4 A Cause and make a donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief while earning their laser tag 5K medal.

Here is an overview of some new game modes we played.

LaserBall Classic: It’s played almost like soccer or basketball, only you carry and pass a “virtual ball”. When you get the ball your pack starts to flash. You can pass it by tagging a teammate or tag an opponent to steal it from the opposite team. The objective is for your team to run the ball from your own base and tag the opposing team’s base in order to score the goal. Goals can be scored multiple times throughout the course of a game. This mode really requires teamwork! Laser Ball let’s you shoot and score in a whole different way and I really liked this game immediately.

A variation on this game format is LaserBall Mayhem and the key difference there are three teams and three “virtual balls” are in play, not just one. We experimented with opposing beacons being the goal instead of bases. I think I’m partial to the first way, but it’s nice to know there are some variables to mix it up a bit.

Chain Lightning: This game uses Laserforce’s newly added proximity detection, a feature which I think is very smart to incorporate. This is essentially like standard laser tag except for one crucial difference…you can deactivate a player along with any of their teammates near them within proximity because of those sensors.

Deflection: This was one of my favorite new games. You cannot deactivate an opponent with a tag by yourself and trying to tag an opponent directly will not do anything. Instead you must zap a teammate who is near your opponent to “amp it up” and have your signal “reflect” onto an opponent. When we played I tucked into a little nook under the beacon, taking on more of a support role and I just made sure I fed tags to my teammates. I’m going to call this the “Gretzky Game” because in this game (just like with hockey’s great one) it is all about the assist. :)

Swarm: All I remember about this game is that the number of hit points is determined by the number of teammates around you and there is strength in numbers. Why is my memory so fuzzy about this one? Because I discovered the avatar only moments before we went into this game so I was just running around the arena in a happy fog!

This is always an exciting time of year when it is cool to get an early look at what is on the way to our laser tag centers and I am certain that players will enjoy the latest that Laserforce has to showcase. Although I did not attend IAAPA myself this year, I am glad that with safety precautions in mind that the event was able to go on and that there is plenty to be excited about in the laser tag industry going forward. And I am equally delighted to see what Laserforce has done with this new take on a little piece of nostalgia that harkens back with a nod to where it all began. :)

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Tag 4 A Cause at My First Laser Storm Tournament

A regional Laser Storm tournament taking place at Skyway Laser Storm in Warren, OH seemed like a perfect opportunity for a Tag 4 A Cause pop-up event to involve the Laser Storm community in the laser tag 5K challenge. After all, when you play in a tournament it is a forgone conclusion that you will have played at least 5K of laser tag during the course of the event. It was so great to have all these players donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief while earning their 5K medals at the tournament!

When I arrived it was great to see George Raptis (aka Icarus) setting up and he pointed me towards a nice spot in the lobby to set up as “home base”.

And we displayed the custom high score golden phaser trophy I had designed myself, specifically for this event.

At this point in time I did not expect to be playing in the tournament, but I had let it be known I would happily sub or fill in on a team if needed. To be clear, I love to play all systems of laser tag, but in the company of REAL Laser Storm players I recognize that my handful of games on the system do not land me in this category, so I was just delighted to be adopted into Team Chupacabras for a chance to play in the tournament and have some fun.

This was actually my very first Laser Storm tournament and I had a wonderful time! Although this is not an easy system for other laser tag skills to carry over, everyone was wonderful and I had a very positive impression of the Laser Storm scene.

I felt like I started out as the weak link, but things definitely improved for me as I went along. It has simply been too long since I had last had any game experience with this equipment.

If you have never played Laser Storm, the divided arena is, well… a little different!

I was appreciative for a piece of advice I was given. I was told the red beam is not what actually hits the sensor, so it is better to aim the beam at a face in order to line the side phaser sensor with the opponent’s headset. I’m not sure how well I executed that, but where I saw improvement in my own game was when I defaulted to my more comfortable “sniper” mode and watched for opponents to come into my path. 

We enjoyed some success, specifically in game 9 against Brandon’s Portable Wilson (love that team name!), but the bottom line is after the round robin we were out of single eliminations pretty quickly. That’s ok, because I had another important cause to focus on here. :)

All throughout the tournament players were participating in Tag 4 A Cause and making donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which you can still support through December 31st using the link on this page: https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/to-benefit-red-cross-disaster-relief.

My thanks to the players who got behind this great cause!

With all this support we exceeded my weekend goal, bringing the current tally to just over $1000 raised for the Red Cross!

Everyone who donated qualified for our high score trophy competition, for which I randomly separated players into two groups for a qualifying game and then pulled the top eight for a bonus chance to pull the high score. The trophy would go to the best score out of all three games. Congratulation Ins you the top players who made the elite eight!

When all was said and done it was my former Armageddon teammate David Hatt Jr. (aka Professor Shaggy) who pulled the highest score of 37,481 and took home the golden phaser trophy. Congratulations!

I thoroughly enjoyed my first Laser Storm tournament at Skyway Laser Storm. Thank you George for running an enjoyable tournament and for hosting Tag 4 A Cause!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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