Sunday, May 21, 2023

Tag 4 A Cause Heads for the World’s Largest Laser Tag Arena

Join us and Tag 4 A Cause at the world’s largest laser tag arena at The Edge in Belleville, IL on Saturday, June 10th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. for an incredible evening of fun and support for the Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation. It's Tag 4 A Cause night, where you can make a donation, take on the laser tag 5K challenge, and earn a well-deserved resin medal as a token of appreciation. With your donation, you'll be helping the foundation in their important work of advocating, educating, and providing resources for individuals living with lymphedema. Additionally, participants with a medal will have their laser tag scores count towards the chance to win the coveted golden phaser high score trophy! Visit https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/tag-4-nflf


*The purchase of laser tag games is completely separate from any voluntary donation made to the cause.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Friday, May 19, 2023

Bringing It Back

Anyone who has seen their home laser tag arena close down knows the feeling of wanting to do something to bring it back. On this week’s episode of Laser Unfocused Tag Talk players-turned-operators Aaron Ellis and Brett Roemmich discuss reopening Laser Assault Laser Tag as their own arena in Utah.


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/RiqvtC5usoE



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Saturday, May 13, 2023

An Ultra (Zone) Cool Ring!

I am absolutely over the moon about this super cool piece of jewelry! It is a ring crafted from an actual Ultrazone token by an Etsy artisan, Robin of CoinRingAndForgeCo, and I absolutely LOVE IT!!!



I think crafting using tokens is such a clever way to preserve a small and often forgotten piece of the laser tag experience. For my post-millennial readers, a token is what we used to drop into the arcade games in between laser tag rounds back before swipe cards, lol!


Seriously, when I saw this, I couldn’t believe my eyes and I knew I needed this to be part of my collection. I will be wearing it when I play in the Zone Nats in a couple of weeks at Ultrazone Bensalem. Hmmm.…wouldn’t it be cool if that was the UZ site where the token came from in the first place? :)



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Friday, May 5, 2023

Talking Laser Tag with Lucian

This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk I’m chatting with longtime laser tag player and tournament coordinator Lucian Montagna. Hear his stories and point of view on the systems he has played over the years!


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/Wr6ViQxtIxs


Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Interesting Reading

It’s definitely nice to read about the success of our last Tag 4 A Cause in this month’s RePlay Magazine. 


Can we make our current challenge just as successful? Donate, tag and earn the medal in support of Ninjas Fighting Lymphedema Foundation to help them with advocacy, education and resources for individuals living with lymphedema. 





Full details at Full details at https://www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com/tag-4-nflf.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Final Stop in Nebraska

Sun Valley Lanes and Games in Lincoln, NE was my final stop this trip. It was getting late by the time I arrived and apparently I had just missed the chance to play with a large group by about half an hour. When I walked up to the counter and said I’d like to play a game of laser tag the manager chuckled and noted my shirt (I really need to market this merch!) and said nobody was available to play, but he’d try to round up someone to play against me. Alex stepped up for the challenge and joined me in what I would have to say was the best looking arena I played during this trip.


Alex led me over to the Combat Zone entrance.



We headed into the vesting room and put on our CyberBlast packs.



Then I had one of the best 1v1 games I’ve played in awhile, as he really got into it and gave me a good challenge!


The game was a great time and I spent the first half of it exploring the double-level arena space. There was a lot going on here! Of course there were the typical Blast bases and bonus targets scattered throughout, but seeing not one, but two projection targets (one by each ramp in opposite corners) impressed me. 



I took note of a trivia station, but did not actually utilize it during the game. Regardless of the system, my opinion has always been that trivia is an unnecessary interruption to the actual game of laser tag. However, its presence in the arena tells me they were going for all the bells and whistles, which I do appreciate.



And the space itself looks good and plays well. I love to play in a sharp dressed arena and this one definitely had some impressive aesthetics.






Although I’ve seen many of these design elements before, I really liked the configuration of the whole space. It works and was fun. 



I thank Alex for giving me a run for my money! I never mind playing a 1v1 if my sparring partner gives me some good competition, which was certainly the case here. It definitely was worth detouring out of my way to get to experience laser tag at Sun Valley Lanes and Games. What a nice way to round out my trip to Nebraska!




Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Yeah, It’s Amazing!

A few weeks ago I was chatting with Shane from Delta Strike about arenas that I might want to visit. He suggested that when I next find myself in Nebraska I should check out The Amazing Pizza Machine in Omaha, noting that they are operating with Genesis. What’s “amazing” about that is I didn’t even have a Nebraska trip on my radar at that moment, but fast forward just a few weeks and this is exactly where I found myself, ready for pizza and laser tag!


I joined a group of players and waited outside the arena for our game to be called. I was taking note of the cool signage at the entryway.



Meanwhile, the other players were taking note of my “Just A Girl Who Loves Laser Tag” shirt and speculating about how serious I might be about laser tag. Fair question, lol!


We entered the vesting room and put on our Genesis packs. My pack was named Maha.



Then the group decided to play a team game. However, there was an uneven number of players, so one overly confident guy announced that he wanted to play solo against the entire group. Every so often I find myself in a game situation where someone tries to do this. Let it be understood, this is absolutely not the way to structure a balanced game, but among this group of friends nobody seemed to have an issue with it. Most people don’t think about the mathematical imbalance favoring the solo player. However, I knew what was about to happen, so I spoke up and volunteered to join him. Now, this was not going to change the uneven teams, but what it was going to do was put me on a level playing field with the solo guy and give him a run for his money for top score. We both switched our packs to green. This could be interesting! :)


We walked into the arena, a single level Creative Works design.




And when the game began I played for real, which made this the most fun I’d had so far in Nebraska! The other players were really into the game as well and it was an absolute blast to play with this group, especially since the other guy (playing as Betta) was really putting up some effort. 


I chatted with game marshal Theo while I was tagging the other players. I appreciated his complimentary comments, most memorable being “you are like a living cheat code!” I texted that one back to my Armageddon teammates before I left the building. :)


We finished the game and I knew instinctively that I had achieved my goal.



This was confirmed by the scoreboard.



This was fun all the way around. The other teams were happy with the game, as got the team win, but I was equally happy with my personal performance because I took the top score and proved myself in a system I don’t get to play often against my worthy teammate/primary opponent. So, it was a great time for everyone.


The shirt I was wearing might have gotten some attention going into the arena, but the one I took home as a souvenir tells the story of this laser tag experience.



Yeah, it was amazing and the Amazing Pizza Machine lived up to its name!



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Can’t Judge An Arena By It’s (Vinyl) Cover

When I arrived at Papio Fun Park in Papillon, NE I had no idea what I’d find, but I was not expecting this!


You see, looks can be deceiving. After purchasing my game pass I was directed to a roped off area with a row of Lazer Runner vests with a vinyl-covered entrance, which led me to believe I was about to enter a makeshift or mobile style vinyl arena. I had seen this kind of thing before.



So you can imagine how delighted I was to find a far more impressive arena design when I passed through the entryway!


I can tell you that photos really don’t do it justice. There were ramps on both sides of a balcony-style second level and the entire place was splattered in neon paint glowing brightly under the black lights that made my teeth glow as brightly as Ross’s in that one episode of Friends, lol.



The upper level was the most intriguing part of the arena, as it included a center alcove with some creative cutouts and fishbowl windows overlooking the whole arena.



Now, upon closer examination, these colorful panels probably were vinyl coverings, but they looked much more impressive incorporated into the overall design of a well-built arena structure.




And when the game was over I walked out feeling that this experience really exceeded my expectations, proving you can’t judge an arena by its cover…especially if it’s a vinyl cover! 



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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