Cool as Ice Up In Vermont

I was headed home from Maine when I decided to detour by way of northern Vermont. This trip certainly had some cool surprises…you might even say it was Cool as Ice!

My journey led me to pay a visit to Smugglers’ Notch Family Resort in Jeffersonville, VT.

They have a tremendous amount of activities and this looks like a place where you could really enjoy a getaway, but I was there specifically to check out Smugglers’ Fun Zone 2.0 where they feature a nicely designed laser tag arena operating with Zone Helios gear.

What was especially cool before I even got into a game was running into my friend Lynn’s soon-to-be brother-in-law completely unexpectedly. It turns out he had just taken a job here a few months ago, but I had no idea.

I had arrived during a quiet time and while I was waiting for a family group to finish their game, I sat out front knowing I would be doing a 1v1 with a staff member. That’s when Nate introduced himself and asked “do you know Lynn?” Lol, doesn’t everybody? :) He told me that when he heard there was “a lady with a blog” outside he just knew it must be me. It is astounding to me how many times random encounters like this happen when I am off on my tag trips. The laser tag community really is a small world. So Nate and I snapped a selfie to send to Lynn because she did not believe that we would actually end up playing tag together in Vermont simply by chance! So that was a cool surprise!

We may be only seven degrees from Kevin Bacon, but more often than not I’m only two degrees from someone who knows Lynn! 

The other part that was cool and this site was the arena itself, a CW creation designed to look like you are tagging out on the ski slopes.

Nate told me this arena was added in 2017. At around 2700 square feet it was a nice space for the game I got to play against Nate and Julian. I count myself lucky that this timed out like it did because this was a much better opportunity to really enjoy playing the game the way I like to.

There are two raised platform “towers” to give a bit of height to parts of the arena. 

Although we played a free-for-all game with bases turned off, I really liked seeing what they did with these ice cube themed base housings.

I also love that they tied the arena theme right back to the ski slopes at this mountain resort. It was clear that some creative thought went into the aesthetic and freshened up the look of some of the more familiar mainstay pieces. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Smugglers’ Notch and the combination of a great game and surprise encounter are what made this a very cool experience!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

The Maine Event (aka Playing G-Force Laser Tag)

For quite some time I have been aware of a unique kind of laser tag being used at a particular location in Maine, so I took advantage of having a free weekend to hit the road and drive about eight hours up to pay a visit to G-Force Entertainment in Bangor, ME to get a first-hand look at G-Force Laser Tag.

At first glance you might say “hey, isn’t that Q-Zar?”, but as owner Brian Plavnick explained to me, what he did was repurpose the Q-Zar plastics as shells to hold a completely different laser tag system that he calls G-Force, which is a custom-mod design only in use at his mobile events or at his arena located inside the Bangor Mall. 

The uniqueness of this laser tag situation is what made me decide the trip was worth making a drive deep into Maine and I was delighted to get to experience something a little different. Check it out…

https://youtu.be/WB5J_iyHJLg

Now, from what he shared with me this all started well over 15 years ago when he was trying to get backers for a laser tag arena/entertainment venue, but instead took his idea and went mobile to start. In 2006 he designed his own system. At that time he was doing equipment repairs for Q-Zar operators by making battery packs, laser tubes and curly cords which he would trade for pre-owned Q-Zar shells and plastics to use as housings for his own laser tag system. While he describes Q-Zar as being a short distance laser tag, the PVC additions with his sensors allow players to tag with G-Force up to 1800 feet, making it ideal for outdoor use. He told me that he would take groups to play outdoor tag at a ski resort mountain area and would get customers at camps. In the beginning they were using a simple set-up with cardboard boxes and later evolved into a more involved set-up, going from barrels to barricades to the inflatable barriers currently in use at their Bangor location. 

G-Force has taken their mobile tag and entertainment service all through New England, traveling as far west as Missouri. However their first brick and mortar location was in Augusta, ME, which made sense based on where their travel business was. Eventually they moved to Brewer, ME where they operated until COVID and for the last year and a half they have had their current location, G-Force Entertainment in Bangor, ME. 

I got to tour the space, which has arcade and laser tag available during the day, but transitions into a nightclub in the later evening hours where they often bring in notable names for entertainment. Currently the arena is sized around 3000 square feet, but there are plans to expand and make the space multi-purpose for other entertainment as well. That’s manageable with the main maze made up of inflatables that Brian Plavnick designed himself.

Particularly when going mobile, flexibility is the key. Scoring is recorded on each tagger individually, so there is no scoreboard or need for WiFi or radio frequency for the system. Scoring is only done by comparing at the end. G-Force has built 140 taggers, but never tried to manufacture for the market, so their arena and events are the only place to get this game experience.

I enjoyed getting to play the standard free-for-all game format, though I understand that the system has the capability to play a much wider variety of game formats including Capture The Flag, Zombies, games with weapon and ammo depot, games to take over strategic location points or have a medic restore health and even Hunger Games where the goal is first to eliminate teams all the way down to two players who then have to eliminate each other. 

It was interesting to experience something different while feeling the familiarity of the Q-Zar plastics. I asked Brian if he ever thought of doing anything with a softer style of vest/pack, but he told me that they like the plastic, both for durability and easy sanitization. Can’t argue with that!

Because Maine is as far northeast as you can get from the rest of the country, this is not a system I will be able to experience often, but I was definitely glad to find something different here and enjoy the novelty of playing it first-hand so I can share what I learned about G-Force with the laser tag community who might not be able to venture that far. However, you really never know when you might find yourself in Maine! It turns out one of the Resupply guys happened to be right in Bangor at the same time I was there. What coincidental timing! As far across the country as I often travel, that’s still a good reminder that it really is a small world where laser tag is concerned, so if you find yourself in Maine, go have yourself a G-Force experience too!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Tag 4 A Cause to Support Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation

Tag 4 A Cause is back and this time it is to benefit the Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation! Be part of the Tag 4 A Cause Laser Tag 5K Challenge and help their efforts to support advocacy, education and resources for individuals living with lymphedema. It’s easy! Donate to the cause, pledge to 5K of laser tag and earn your medal anytime now through June 30th! Full details can be found at https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/tag-4-nflf. 

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

What Am I Hearing?

I started out on a weekend tag trip with intentions of visiting arenas in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Because of timing and location, my first stop was to Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield, NH where I got to enjoy some some Lazer Runner with a couple of local players who were out for some fun early in the day.

I love the background wall behind the entrance gate!

And when we entered there was a Runner arena set up that went further back, opening up a nice sized game space.

I was delighted to find the v4 phaser style in use. The look of the game was familiar, but the sounds…hmmm. I thought I heard something a little different this time.

I’ll admit that I don’t play Runner enough to be absolutely positive, but I feel like I was hearing something new during this game that I could not recall hearing before, which makes me wonder if there is a different version or update that I should attribute it to. What am I hearing that made my ears perk up this time? It was like a marble dropping and bouncing every time I landed a tag. Listen and tell me if this is always the sound or not…

Hear that? I took note because I had not picked up on that in previous games at other locations. So that makes me second guess what I think I know. Is this sound different? Or is it always there and I am just noticing now? Oh, the questions that keep me up at night, lol!

Regardless, it was a lot of fun to play with this group and now I will pay much closer attention to what I am hearing next time I get a chance to experience. Lazer Runner.

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Tagging to the Top of the Top Ten List

What a nice surprise to learn that I have topped the leaderboard for the highest average among active members at our local site. 

I knew that Axman and I were neck and neck for this for a while, and at one point there was only a six point difference between our averages. However, the leaderboard does not get updated every week and averages do tend to fluctuate, so while I knew I was very close the last time I played in Syracuse, I have been away for a couple of weeks, so this came as a pleasant surprise, right when I needed some good news.

I actually did not make it out to play last weekend because an emergency came up. My little gecko, Heli, had an accident which resulted in a fracture and I had to get her to an emergency vet on a weekend (no easy task when you have an exotic animal), where she was bandaged up in this “lizard cast.” 

It is only after having a very optimistic follow up appointment yesterday that I can be at ease enough with her situation now to say (with love and humor) that this is the most expensive pair of Bermuda shorts I have ever had to buy! But my absolute priority is getting her back to full health, and I welcome you to send some good thoughts her way for a speedy recovery. I am so grateful that she is on the mend while being alert, active and in good spirits.

Meanwhile, I am also glad to learn my average held its own without my even being there to defend it. As things are starting to get back to normal, this weekend I hope to be back to my regularly scheduled laser tagging adventures!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Pro Tips from the Industry Pros

I talked with the laser tag manufacturers and industry pros at Amusement Expo International to get their top pro tips for both laser tag operators and players. Hear what they had to say on this week’s podcast episode of Laser Unfocused Tag Talk.

ON SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0xzXT3aqGa2edIlXpcaJBS

ON APPLE PODCASTS:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-unfocused-tag-talk-with-tivia/id1632442213

ON YOUTUBE:

https://youtu.be/oeLw6ANL3L8

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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