Back From Extinction

I remember a few years ago the guys I know in Syracuse were talking about the recent installation of Laserforce at a site in Las Vegas called the Rex Center with a larger than life dinosaur theme. It sounded like a really cool site, so I looked it up the last time I was in Vegas, which was prior to the pandemic, but at that point I learned that the business had closed down. But when I returned to Vegas this week leading into the Laser Tag Convention and Amusement Expo I did a search for laser tag sites and was delighted to find this center was open once again, now under new management, and back from extinction!

Apparently the new owner bought the site last March (what timing) and was eventually able to reopen it. There are huge dinosaur props all throughout the center, which also includes go karts, mini golf and climbing.

When you enter the single level laser tag arena you run across new friends at every turn.

And you also find some other unique touches. I really liked the way the three bases were positioned above archways like this.

This allows the bases to be tagged from clear across the arena rather than from right underneath as is the more common placement.

There were several beacons and a generator scattered around the maze as well.

I played two games using the “Raptor” pack. I didn’t look to see if all the packs were named after dinosaurs or if I just picked one with a really fitting name. The speakers on my pack seemed to have a loose connection, but otherwise it played well and my first game was a lot of fun!

Ok, so there’s the positive takeaway, and I kind of wish I could just leave it there, but in my second game something happened that I can’t ignore. I can’t believe I even have to write these words, but I guess it needs to be said… 

There should NEVER be a case where a small dog (or really any dog) should be permitted to roam free in a dark laser tag arena while a game is in progress. Yes, that actually happened while I was there. Mid-game I noticed this little dog (only a tiny bit bigger than Bruiser Woods for size reference) as it ran across my path during the game. I was shocked and honestly scared for the animal because it would have been VERY easy for it to accidentally have gotten stepped on. Or it could have tripped someone. I followed it around a few walls in an effort to both calm it down and keep it in my sight so I could help keep him safe, but he was too excited and of course wary of me as a stranger. At one point a woman in the game told me “he’s fine” and I assumed it was her dog, but then I asked the staffer out front if it was the “property’s dog” and was told it belongs to the owner who had friends there that night. Well, I don’t know if this was a common occurrence or a one time isolated incident and I can’t tell you what to do in your own business, but I can repeat my very strong opinion that I feel there should NEVER be a DOG in the laser tag arena! Drop mic.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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