When we last left off on the heels of visiting New Orleans I hinted that New England was up next on my “Oops, I Did It Again” second time around laser tag tour of all 50 states. Conveniently enough, I took off for Rhode Island for the weekend and got to check off this state again, this time with a visit to Launch Trampoline Park’s laser tag arena in Warwick while I was in the area.
The arena itself was a single level, but it was located on the third floor of this FEC. I walked up the flights of stairs that led to the arena tucked away on the upper level. A game was in progress, so I asked the teenage marshal if there was a party going in next or whether I might get into a game right away. He said I could do a game right away, but it would just be me. I asked if a staff member could play against me and he said “sure…if you want to lose!”
A smile must have spread across my face, because there is nothing more fun than showing a cocky teenager what kind of game I have in the arena. I said “I like your confidence…I want to play against YOU!”
To my chagrin, three young teen boys showed up right then, so I didn’t get the chance to play a 1v1 with the brash young marshal, who I am sure never would have seen it coming. :)
However, I had a decent game with those players and I got to appreciate a rather unique arena with some interesting structures right in the center.
I loved getting to play some Zone (Helios) and it was a good way to kick off my Rhode Island weekend.
I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with some of my favorite people on planet earth and also reconnecting with an amazing woman who my friends and I are so happy to have joining us as part of our “crazy, extended family reunion.” However, most people would recognize her best because her voice first became iconic in the 80s, right around the same time as laser tag was first emerging.
So in case you didn’t know it, laser tag rocks… and this weekend, so did Rhode Island!
There have been three facets of my life that led me to have friends literally all over the country and laser tag is both the most recent and perhaps the best example of this. I am fortunate to have flexible travel opportunities available, but part of that means I do not always end up where I think I will. At the beginning of my last trip I knew I was headed towards Alaska and thought there was a good chance I would immediately follow that up with a flight to Hawaii, aiming to tag in both states during the course of the same vacation. Well, with the fires breaking out on Maui,I decided to rethink that plan and my next thought was that I could try to do some tagging in the northwest. I took a moment to think about who do I know in that part of the country and moments later was texting Old Man Than to say, “hey, there is a possibility I will be in your neck of the woods…soon”. Then, almost as quickly as that thought was a plan, the plan changed and I unexpectedly found myself headed to the southeastern part of the country instead. I looked at where I could get a flight in short order I thought to myself, “I guess it’s time to pay a visit to Scuba instead”. Along with all the remarkable adventures along the journey, friendships and connections, like this are probably the greatest thing that I have gotten out of my time playing laser tag. So, with literally only a moment’s notice before I boarded the plane, I dropped a message in our team chat to Scuba and said “guess what, I’m headed towards New Orleans…um, right now!” I know it sounds ridiculous on paper, but sometimes this is how Tivageddon rolls, and I was so pleased to get a chance to visit with friends and play a couple of games at one of my very favorite arenas, Game On Social Hub in Kenner, LA.
Since I showed up unannounced to GOSH, I figured I’d just inconspicuously take a seat at a table and wait for Scuba to arrive, when suddenly I hear a booming voice shout out “Hey, Tivia is here!” It was Ricky Dillard, who had been busy checking in a large school group when he first noticed me sitting there. Sometimes going to laser tag (any laser tag) is like going to Cheers where everybody knows your name…or in my case at least they know my codename, lol. :)
A short time later Scuba and Davor came over to greet me as I was formulating a plan to visit a few more southern states and then return for some games and socializing the following day. So, after closing out my Mississippi, Alabama, Florida adventures I returned to Louisiana. I enjoyed spending time with Scuba and Nathallie and their two beautiful daughters, and we had some additional adventures (Hammer Time!) along the way, and of course, stopped for a snowball, which is a must-try snow-cone-like Louisiana treat.
Then we returned to the home of the newest (and currently the only) modified Photon-themed arena, which my regular blog readers will recall also became my 500th arena when I played here back in March.
It was such a delight to return to this arena, which simply takes my breath away.
It makes my heart happy to see these towers every time I walk in.
I love how it pays homage to the original with this Photon theme, however it is also fresh and modern with stunning lights around the archways and of course the iconic towers that will resonate with any old-school laser tag player.
There is something so special about standing here in the middle of something that represents past, present and future all at once.
I enjoyed sitting down for lunch with Davor and Scuba before playing some laser tag games and then heading back to the airport.
This was the best way I could imagine ending my trip.
So, after resting up from a pretty amazing cross-country excursion, where will I be tagging next? You’ll have to wait and see, but odds are good it will be in a completely different part of the country. New England, I’m looking at you! ;)
If you are looking for somewhere to play a game of Plazma Force laser tag, as best I can tell, there is only one place to go. That’s what led me to seek out Emerald Coast Mirror Maze and Laser Craze in Panama City Beach, FL and have a one of a kind laser tag experience.
My thanks to owners Chad and Kim for coordinating this opportunity for my first time trying out this phaser-only laser tag system.
Now, there is a vested version (which apparently they used up until only about two months ago), but I was thrilled to try Plazma Force with or without a vest and I was told they started using the phasers-only option to make it easier for kids to get in and out of the game more quickly. This makes perfect sense for their set-up, which caters to walk-in players enjoying the amusement atmosphere of Panama City Beach.
Chad and I compared some differences in the phaser that was originally used with a vest (less visible sensors, dark plastic vs clear design).
Both of these vary slightly from the clearer, milky-white version I had seen at trade shows (trade show model pictured here for comparison).
So this was very cool to be able to check out the differences as I took note of the unique characteristics of this phaser as I held it for the first time.
But how does this system play? I couldn’t wait to find out!
Chad showed me into the arena that was decked out with some stunning custom Blacklight wall art created by Media Vision, the same company that manufactures both Plazma Force and Bazooka Ball.
What I love most about this single-level game space is the personalization to the wall design. Some custom touches including Kim’s Corner Fashion, Ian’s Hock and Loan and Savannah’s Vinyl Record Revival pay homage to some of the people involved with the arena.
Other walls feature laser tag code names.
I prepared for my first game with an awesome group who came in for Bazooka Ball, but were game to try something different and got to play their first game of Plazma Force as well.
We were divided into two teams, blue and green, and instructed that the only targets to tag are tight on the phaser. If you are tagged your phaser will flash red and you are out for a few seconds before reactivating. This is a simple enough game format. We were also told that for this game it is acceptable to try to cover your targets in any way you can, so you can see some creative play-style taking place!
This was a lot of fun and a system where simplicity is a real asset. You don’t always need a complex game to have fun, and I absolutely enjoyed this laser tag experience!
The number on the back of the phaser indicates how many times you were tagged (so lower is better).
However, the scoreboard reflects the opposite and shows how many tags your team collectively scored against the other team and you see this on the Bazooka Ball board.
My team were the Droids…we won! :)
This was a very cool and unique laser tag experience, but not the only one I would have this night. While this arena has Plazma Force available primarily as an option for kids, they have added Delta Strike as their primary laser tag system. That is not unusual at all. However, what I did find interesting was learning that Delta Strike had a phaser-only version of Evolution Pro, which I have never seen before!
This was interesting! Of course I wanted to try this out, so I joined the next game group and we had a mix of equipment. Some players opted for the typical vested version, while I was one of the two players trying out the vestless phaser option.
Another fun game and another unique experience! The vestless option has an advantage in mixed play because there are less sensor targets to hit, so it really isn’t a balanced game without everyone using the same version. However, for kids this once again makes perfect sense and I applaud them for figuring out the best options for their particular customer base in this area.
So making the trip to visit Emerald Coast Mirror Maze and Laser Craze was absolutely worthwhile and I had two very unique laser tag experiences in one stop. My thanks again to Chad, Kim and their staff for their hospitality and the opportunity to try something different. It was awesome!
Since last November I have had one particular arena in Florida on my radar because I had heard rumblings about how they were revamping their space and really stepping things up in some interesting ways. That’s why my first stop upon arriving in Florida was to Thrills Laser Tag and Arcade in Miramar Beach.
I was intrigued to see how they had designed this arena, now using Laserforce Gen 8 gear, and what was inside that would make it so much different from the other places I had visited.
I joined a group and we entered the briefing area where a drum beat set the stage, creating an atmosphere before anything else happened. You know how I love an immersive experience, and the sounds in that first room were already cultivating a mood. This is where we watched the first of two briefing videos that established a storyline for the game to follow.
A wizard-like image filled the screen and told a story about two rival tribes fighting over an ancient artifact, the golden monkey.
This video explained the storyline, then we proceeded to the briefing room where a second video detailed the elements of the game in a clever way, using “hieroglyphic” imagery.
I thought these videos were creative and original, although perhaps a bit lengthy to go through both every time. There was some humor as well… “No foul language…I heard that!” However, they set up the experience well for an introduction to what comes next upon entering the arena.
This two-story arena looks sharp and has a LOT going on! My first impression was that the statement structure in the center is enhanced tremendously by the stunning realistic artwork decorating the walls.
As I maneuvered through the lower level I found beacons acting as base targets, then of course I had to protect the gates with my team.
I proceeded up the ramps to the second level, where there were some interesting things to be found.
The structures on top featuring serpents heads were unusual. At first they just look like towering locations to find the generator targets (which, if you look closely, you can see they are). However, I am quite certain I actually awakened their “warbot” fury because what I observed is that there were multiple layers to this game with multiple objectives that I first experienced on this upper level. You didn’t just have to avoid being tagged by other players, but also by elements of the arena itself.
The layers of the game experience include of course the basic game (tag players and bases and hit some sporadic bonus targets along the way), and then layer on top of that avoiding the warbot who can target you if you get in it’s way, but then there was the added challenge of finding, opening and battling the “artifacts” appearing in the form of animatronic guardians, which would also fire back at you. To make these artifacts appear, players should ideally work together to tag the sub-targets positioned around it multiple times and “awaken” the arena guardian…who of course wakes up cranky and continually tries to tag you back as punishment for interrupting its beauty sleep! See how this played out for me at Thrills as I set off in search of the golden monkey inside the Temple of Doom!
So there are the players, the warbot, the guardians and in my case one more level of challenge. As a level nine player I have to land five tags on an opponent in order to deactivate them. Try doing that with thirty players and all these additional elements firing back at you in the living arena…whew!
It really was quite a challenge because of all these different facets. This strikes me as the kind of arena where a player could enter by themselves and still face enough challenges to have a decent experience. However, there were plenty of players in the games I played at Thrills, so I got the full challenge and it was awesome!
And in case you are wondering, I did in fact find and conquer the golden monkey!
Actually, the serpent was the final artifact I tagged in my last game inside this arena. I had unlocked the sub-targets by myself and then I was tagging and dodging to complete the sequence. I gave a fist-pump to the air as I captured that guardian and deactivated it in the literal last second of the game! Those are the experiences that get the adrenaline pumping and make you say “let’s do that again!” :)
So, my time at Thrills Laser Tag and Arcade was well worth the travel. Plus my unexpected detour to Florida now allows me to say I played laser tag in both Alaska and Florida within roughly 24 hours! It was an awesome experience and I look forward to my next opportunity to challenge the Thrills Temple of Doom. :)
