An All Star Experience

When I’m on the road I particularly enjoy finding laser tag located inside a mall. It’s sad to see so many shopping malls disappearing and I always enjoy a little shopping before and after a game. So when I stopped in to All Star Bowling and Entertainment of West Valley City, UT and was told I could join a game in 20 minutes I used that as an opportunity to explore the Valley Fair Mall. Pro shopping tip…have your items set aside until after your laser tag game is done. 

When I finally got into my game it was a three way battle against Stephanie and Lindsey.   

Lindsey was ready to play…Stephanie was ready to WIN so it was great to have a challenge. However, I figured out something about this Laserforce arena that the other two seemed not to know. In addition to bases, there were additional target with points up for grabs. However, what I would normally expect to act like a generator or living arena challenge did something unusual here. These targets were just perpetually responding point targets here!

What was up with the endlessly respawning generator? It looks like a living arena, but no sounds and it never did more than be recyclable easy points. So with a quick quadruple shot sequence every time I passed I had this game easily sewn up because of this one feature. It was similar to the unlimited base deacs I experienced elsewhere early on in my trip.

As a result my score was quite high (though we all know that can sometimes happen artificially like it did here) and I leisurely took my tags while meandering through this CW arena. It had a pretty common theme (in fact, not even the first time seeing it this trip).

The notable feature was the raised platform in the center which makes for almost a “stage” in the middle of the action. Basically, its a 1 1/2 level arena. There was a clear view of everything on the main level from this structure.

What’s going on here with this gate with nothing in it?

It does not matter, it was still lots of fun. I thank the ladies for a well-fought game (I loved Stephanie’s over the top reactions to being tagged!) and I was glad to have a chance to visit this All Star Bowling and Entertainment location.

And now…more shopping!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

All the Comforts of Home

Nickel City in Orem, UT was a special, almost nostalgic experience for me because they had all the comforts of home…at least the ones that are specific to me and to my home laser tag arenas. Look at the arena and one thing should stand out right away…

Those walls!!! Anyone still keeping count of how many arenas I’ve played with these walls can still drop me an email with the number and I’ll send you a Tiviachick wristband. Yes, these walls are one of my top two creature comforts in any arena, second only to…

…getting to play some Rift! Now it may not be as flashy or fancy as other tag, but it is still what I played for countless nights at FJ, so on the handful of occasions where I’ve found these elements occupying the same space you can bet I am one happy camper! :)

Steve gave me a tour of the arena and I chatted with the manager, Dan, to acknowledge what this system is as well as what it isn’t and to voice some opinions about upgrades they might consider down the road. But for this one experience I was smiling and so energized as I played the version of Zone that is my personal equivalent of mom’s home cooking.

Ok, as for the arena itself, it was a single level with two raised platforms.

And in the middle there’s the baby version of the structure I see quite often (I forget, we’re we counting these too? Wristband contest is open for how many of these I’ve seen also, in any size).

The bases also bear the familiar housing of this specific CW theme. 

While I love to see something different, this is the one design that gets a pass because I love to see how the elements are incorporated.

And if I look hard enough I’m bound to stumble across this guy as well.

I was amazed to find the pricing at only $4.00 per game, which is a deal anywhere. So for a great value and an experience that definitely struck a chord with me, make sure to drop into Nickel City of you’re looking for some laser tag in Orem, UT.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Somehow I Found the Beach Boardwalk in the Middle of Utah!

OK, this is not a real beach. In fact it is like an indoor boardwalk located right in the middle of an outdoor mall. But walking into Provo Beach in Provo, Utah was impressive right off the bat and somehow feels a little like walking into one of the Beach Club episodes of Saved by the Bell. At least like you are walking into a completely different time and space. There are so many attractions built into this unique FEC that I barely knew where to begin…but seriously, you know I’m headed for the laser tag first!

I headed up the stairs and down the hall, stopping to acquaint myself with how to score points. :)

Then I joined up with this formidable group of guys, all gunning for me after about the first 60 seconds.

We began with a video briefing that was incredibly well done. Theming is obviously what this place does best and they had the laser tag experience done up as a space adventure from the moment it began with an original briefing video…

…to a VERY well executed theme in the two level arena.

This was absolutely the best game of laser tag so far this trip! Those guys all played hard and gave me a serious game, so I hope them all up with Tiviachick wristbands. Before I left I got the vintage ice cream shop experience over at Ike’s on the lower level.

So you can see how well everything is themed at Provo Beach to give you a “real” beach boardwalk feel.

BTW, I also want to give a shout out to Malawi’s Pizza with a Purpose, a separate business located right next door where I enjoyed some delicious veggie pizza for lunch.

I had a great time at Provo Beach. 

Who would ever expect to find a beach experience in the middle of Utah? Most of my journey looked less like a beach and more like this.

Seriously, how BEAUTIFUL a journey I had driving through Utah!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

All Dressed Up!

I love when an arena is all dressed up and decked out with the latest accessories (just like me on a night out!) so I was really impressed with what I experienced at The Summit in Thornton, CO.

I perused the arena map before donning a Helios Pro pack and going in for a game.

They are really stepping it up at The Summit! I played at one of their sister locations my last time through the area and I do not recall them having all that I found in this arena. First, the arena itself is stunning. Creative Works clearly did a REALLY nice job with this one!

Next, I found all the Zone add-ons that I enjoy including lots of bonus targets, gates and pickup pads on each side.

And to my absolute delight…VIDEO BASES!!!

These are the upgrades I like the most on this system. Interestingly, considering all the things they opted for, I did not see the one add-on that quite frankly I’m not a big fan of, which is the game station. Sorry, but in my opinion trivia just does not belong in an arena…but drop the R because Tivia does, lol!

This arena looks brand new to me. Haydon told me it has only been there for about three years. The timeline tells me they have certainly put some new things in over the course of that time period and it has been well worth it because this arena was great to play and I would definitely remember this as one to return to.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Silent Speakers Don’t Slow Me Down

A few last minute changes in my itinerary had me stopping into two Zone arenas back to back before leaving the Denver area for the night. The first was Chipper’s Lanes in Broomfield, CO where Derrick and I battled it out with Nexus gear in a mostly single level arena with just a couple of raised platforms.

An enjoyable game, but there was nothing terribly out of the ordinary with the arena itself, decked out in a classic CW theme I see quite frequently.

However, the game experience itself was a little bit different. Unlimited base deactivations meant that I kept running back-and-forth from the opposing base all throughout the game (did we suddenly start playing Tron, lol?). 

The one thing that really stuck out to me though was that my pack was silent. No sound cues at all when I tagged my opponent. Of course you can attribute this to you a little speaker connection, likely a very simple fix and I assume the other packs were probably fine, but since I was already wearing the pack I thought it would be interesting to see if the total lack of audible feedback made any difference to my game.

Derek gave a good chase, and I could see for the most part when I landed a tag against him. It was a little tougher to discern when he tagged me. I am simply not in the habit of looking down at my vest. I was only aware of tags to my left shoulder because of the vibration the pack, but I presumed he was getting a few tags elsewhere that I was not cognizant about. At least, that is what I thought until the end. 

I had perceived this as being a slightly more balanced game than it was. He seemed to be playing well. However, even though he was the one who had informed me that there were unlimited base deacs, he was certainly not taking advantage of them himself. That became obvious when we checked the scoreboard at the end. 

I am not posting those scores because I did anything extraordinary or vice versa. It is more of an illustration of how different elements (like unlimited bases) can thoroughly change the dynamic of a game. However, as a result I have no idea how the silent pack may or may not have altered the game. Very clearly, that was the least important factor to the end result…but it sure doesn’t look like it slowed me down.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Tag in Socks

I must admit I was a bit surprised when I was told I must wear specific Urban Air socks without sneakers to play laser tag at Urban Air in Westminster, CO. Playing laser tag in socks is unusual to say the least, but was actually kind of fun and made it feel a little more casual, so this is the thing I will remember most about this laser tag experience.

OK, so socks in the arena it is!

 

They were glowing bright under the black lights, as was everything else in this two-story arena. It’s interesting how much lighting really matters. I could tell that the build of this arena had many similar elements as the Urban Air I recently played in Buffalo, however it has a completely different look here due to the lighting in use.

 

This arena is operating with Delta Strike Evolution and I joined a group for a light game. I had called ahead and thought that this might be a Genesis site, but as for now that white whale still continues to elude me! Still, it was a fun time and a nice way to begin my tour of the Denver area arenas on my first night in town.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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