International Laser Tag Day 2022

This year International Laser Tag Day was special for me for many reasons, most importantly because it was one final chance to Tag 4 A Cause in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities before the end of March.

 

(photo with Tag 4 A Cause banner)

 

My day began early with several radio appearances on three of Central New York’s top radio stations. It was great to talk tag with Talk of the Town, Listen It’s Liz and Laci Ray to promote International Laser Tag Day and the evening Tag 4 A Cause special event we had planned for that night at The Family Fun Factory in the New Hartford Shopping Center. It was great media exposure and I thank them for welcoming me to talk!

 

Tivia Talks Tag on the Radio on International Laser Tag Day 3 28 22 - YouTube

Tivia Talks Laser Tag with Liz on the Radio for International Laser Tag Day - 3 28 22 - YouTube

 

 

The Family Fun Factory offered a Laser Tag Day special of a free game of laser tag with any donation made that night to Ronald McDonald House Charities and that certainly got people into the spirit!

 

When I arrived at The Family Fun Factory that evening I smiled to see my own face smiling back from the poster on the door.

 

(photo at door)

 

It was a tremendous honor to be asked to model the V1 Pulsar pack on this year’s official International Laser Tag Day poster.

 

(photo of poster)

 

The poster is available as a free download courtesy of the Laser Tag Museum at 2022 International Laser Tag Day (lasertagconvention.com)

 

We gave out mini Laser Tag Day posters and I really enjoyed signing a few for the kids who stopped in!

 

It was a great opportunity to share a bit about the Tag 4 A Cause fundraiser and I want to thank everyone who donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

 

 

Everyone who played laser tag had a great time in the arena.

 

 

By the time the evening was done we added the total fundraising efforts from the last three months and I am delighted to say that the donations to Ronald McDonald House Charities from Tag 4 A Cause participants total $1429!

 

This Tag 4 A Cause challenge will remain open through tomorrow (3/31/22). If you would like to support with a donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities you can find all the info here:

https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/rmhc

 

Again, my sincere thanks to everyone who has been part of Tag 4 A Cause in helping to make a difference. Big thanks to Joe and Nicole Belmonte and the entire team at The Family Fun Factory for their generosity and hosting of this special Tag 4 A Cause night on International Laser Tag Day!

 

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

What’s New in Laser Tag for 2022

On my recent trip to Nevada I spent a day attending the Amusement Expo International trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which was alive with activity as many of the top companies in laser tag and the amusement industry showcased their latest innovations. 

The opening ceremony and ribbon cutting kicked things off with an air of optimism as show organizers announced that this year’s event represented the largest participation in the last 12 years.

I took the opportunity to speak with all the laser tag manufacturers in attendance to find out “What’s New In Laser Tag” for 2022.

https://youtu.be/Y0l07aUqnlI

I also visited the Laser Tag Museum booth where both my Laser Tag Day poster and the V1 Pulsar pack I modeled were on display with some other pieces of laser tag history.

While at the booth Bob Cooney (who himself played a big part in the history of Laser Storm) stopped by to chat. 

Bob self-describes as “a former laser tag guy, now the VR guy”, so we discussed our differing opinions about the future of VR and laser tag. Keeping an open mind, I told him I would sample more of the VR-laser tag products on the show floor, so I went off to expand my VR education.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vngA7rgLoA

I’ll be honest, VR has its place as a cool attraction, but I cannot see it displacing laser tag. When wearing the headset I think the key element of social interaction is severely reduced (if not eliminated altogether). However, I played a VR game with these Laser Tag Convention attendees and did enjoy it for what it was.

I also looked at a few other interesting attractions and tried my hand at Bazooka Ball for the first time, a target gamje that is played with soft, spongy yellow balls that can be aimed at another player or (as I tried) against this screen that registers the hit.

With so much to see, it was a very full day at the trade show and I am heartened to see the amusement industry bouncing back. It was quite an informative day at the show before we heading out for a sushi buffet and (here’s a shocker) some more laser tag in Vegas!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Success in St. George at Laser Mania

The most recent Tag 4 A Cause night was held at Laser Mania Family Fun Center in St. George, UT in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities. It was convenient to add this event on the heels of my Las Vegas travels because St. George is a relatively short distance away and the drive leads you through some absolutely gorgeous scenery. My sincere thanks to Jarett Waite and his family and team. The night was quite a success and we exceeded our fundraising goal!

I arrived in time to set up a table with medals and information about the event. 

Viper Metcalf showed me that they had added my name and Tivia avatar to one of the packs in the briefing room and I was delighted to see that! 

Things got busy very quickly. The staff were all engaged and helped keep things running very smoothly. They even made this awesome Tik Tok video to promote the event! Check it out!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdf4QqWY/?k=1

Right from the start people were making donations, earning their medals and competing in the high score contest to try to win the golden phaser trophy. I thank all of these awesome laser tag players for helping to Tag 4 A Cause!

Even the youngest players were getting into the spirit!

There were some very close games, although one high score pulled ahead of the crowd. It was clear early on that Dallen (aka Snufflez) had brought some serious game in an effort to win the golden phaser trophy. His high score of 35,160 earned him the win on this night!

However, no doubt the biggest win was in seeing the donation amounts rise on our goal thermometer as we exceeded our $1000 goal!

Thanks to the generosity of all involved we ended the night with $1089 as the new total raised for Ronald McDonald House Charities. There were several people in attendance who shared with me how members of their own families had been helped by RMHC, which made it even more meaningful to be able to help this wonderful cause.

Again, my thanks to Laser Mania Family Fun Center for hosting Tag 4 A Cause and helping us to achieve our goal while everyone enjoyed a fantastic night of laser tag!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

Tagging in “Big Screen” Style at Cedar Fun Center

My travels had gotten me as far as Las Vegas by Thursday morning and I was ready to explore a bit further, so I made a road trip up to Cedar City, UT to visit with Brandon Eves and his team at Cedar Fun Center. What a unique location!

This business offers both movie theater attractions and a laser tag arena that was built where a theater space had previously been. I got to take a tour of the theaters before seeing how that “movie magic” is translated over to tag.

I love to see something different when I enter an arena and this place has it! First, the construction of the arena itself is unique, no doubt because of the space. However, what I loved most was seeing all the movie themed accents in homage to films we all know.

The arena is built on two levels with a couple of catwalk areas linking the rooms together. 

You can see where the projector room had previously been when movies were shown in this space.

But now it is completely transformed. We headed to the vesting room to put on out Delta Strike Evolution packs and prepare for a game.

Ready? Game on!

It was fun to get in a game with these guys. They have plenty of laser tag experience and honors to their credit.

Having met Brandon and Caleb during the laser tag reception, it was a real treat to visit this site and see what they have done with it in the last eight months and hear more about the future of laser tag in Cedar City!

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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

“Exceptional Arenas Make a Lasting Impression” at the Laser Tag Convention

I’d like to give my thanks to the Laser Tag Convention for extending an invitation to me to be one of this year’s seminar speakers. 

It was a pleasure to present an operator’s class titled “Exceptional Arenas Make a Lasting Impression” and share my thoughts based on having played in nearly 400 laser tag arenas. It was also quite an honor to be part of this distinguished line-up of fellow presenters.

My objectives for this class were to identify what sets truly exceptional arenas apart, explore opinions from a recent survey of laser tag players and see these concepts illustrated with images of award-winning and specially recognized arenas from across the country. You can view my presentation here:

https://youtu.be/HG2dKorseTM

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the other speakers who presented throughout the day giving some wonderful insights on a variety of topics relevant to the laser tag industry. Lathan Gareiss began his presentation and I smiled to see my image showing up on his title card slide at the beginning, but I also had to wonder…do you think he’s implying that I’m the answer to his title question, lol? 

Following the speakers’ presentations there was a laser tag round table discussion and then a laser tag reception for all the convention attendees. This was a great social and networking opportunity for anyone involved in the laser tag industry.

The Laser Tag Convention website continues to offer information about the recent event as well as access for downloading the free Laser Tag Day poster, courtesy of the Laser Tag Museum, just in time for International Laser Tag Day coming up on March 28th. You can access the free poster download here:

http://www.lasertagconvention.com/2022-international-laser-tag-day

Again, my thanks to Erik Guthrie and the Laser Tag Convention for inviting me to be part of this year’s event.

Comments or Questions?

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com

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