This week Museum Collection Monday celebrates the Christmas shopping season of 1986, which is when both Entertech’s Photon home game and Worlds of Wonder’s Lazer Tag (with a Z) first hit the store shelves.
Enjoy the memories that you will find in this video with a look back at the merchandising of both brands. Merry Christmas!
For more memories and laser tag history please visit lasertagmuseum.com and check out all the video exhibits and more!
This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk I chat with Clint Novak, a fellow amusement industry enthusiast who has also visited hundreds of FEC locations, as we compare notes on several of the sites we have both checked out along our respective travels.
FYI, he was 100% corrected about the flying DeLorean in one arena! When you hear it, you will understand. ;)
Today is the ten-year anniversary of TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com.
When I began writing this blog, I never dreamed it would lead to all the adventures, places and people who have been part of this remarkable decade-long journey. In fact, it really never occurred to me that anyone would actually read what was essentially an online journal of “what happened last night at laser tag.” It evolved over time (and so did I), but at the beginning I knew so little about laser tag that it amazes me to think back on where the blog began and realize how much it has completely changed my entire life! Now ten years later I am humbled by it all and appreciative of all the people who shared memories and congratulations for this look back.
I have loved being able to share my adventures playing and promoting my love of laser tag across the country. Typically, as the calendar year nears its end, I reflect on and share my top ten highlights of the past year. However, this time around I am going to share my top memory from each of the past ten years instead, going back to the very beginning.
2014: PHOCON
I doubt any of this would have happened if I hadn’t stumbled upon the indiegogo campaign for the first Phocon to celebrate the 30th birthday of Photon.
Here is the video from that campaign page that convinced me that I must be part of this event.
This is where I first met so many people who loved Photon so much with an enthusiasm that was so powerful it made me want to be part of this world and that is truly where it all began.
2015: Ascendance/All About That Base
I was invited to join my first laser tag team, “All About That Base” (later renamed “Ascendance”) to play in the Philly Invites at Ultrazone in Bensalem, PA.
I was not athletic in my youth and had never been part of a team before. As much as I have a competitive nature, I had always channeled it into solo competitions, so being part of a team was a significant shift for me that showed me why “finding my people” is the biggest reason to love laser tag.
2016: Tournaments and Travels
This is the year my travels really started to kick into high gear, and I began making road trips to tournaments.
Before too long I didn’t need a tournament as an excuse. I just loved finding new experiences and started on the path to visiting as many states and arenas as I could.
2017: Tag with the National Guard
This is the year I first crossed the country and visited the west coast. While in Seattle I decided I may never again be close enough to get to Alaska (who knew?) and when I arrived, I was actually met at the arena by members of the Alaska National Guard who joined me for a game of Lasertron!
A newspaper reporter was there to interview me and this trip to Alaska remains one of my most memorable experiences ever.
2018: My First IAAPA
Not only was this my first time experiencing IAAPA, but it was also my first time meeting many of the industry professionals who I would come to know well in the years that followed.
This really marked a shift in my mindset, going from not just being a player, but an advocate for the entire laser tag industry.
2019: Completing 50 States by Tagging with George Carter III
Nothing tops completing my journey to laser tag in all 50 states with a game of laser tag with George Carter III, inventor of Photon, in Texas on International Laser Tag Day!
This experience is a pinnacle moment in my laser tag adventure.
2020: Tag 4 A Cause
In a year marked by social distancing, by the end of the year I was looking for a way to encourage a safe return to laser tag. During this time, I had participated in many virtual, solo 5K run/walk challenges, which improved my health and mindset and also inspired the idea for the very first Tag 4 A Cause.
This first event was held at Apex Entertainment in Albany, NY to fundraise for pancreatic cancer research, a cause I chose in memory of my brother, Guy.
2021: The Tivia Avatar
I returned to tag travels this year, but my favorite memory hit closer to home. At a beta testing members tag night in Syracuse, I first discovered the hidden Easter egg that Laserforce had put into their newest Gen 8 update.
My biggest highlight of the year was the release of the Tivia avatar (aka Valkyrie).
2022: Laser Tag Day Poster and Laser Unfocused Tag Talk
I can’t pick just one for this year. In 2022 I really loved being the poster model for the Pulsar system being featured on the annual International Laser Tag Day poster (and presenting for the first time at the Laser Tag Convention).
However, this was also the year when I launched my laser tag podcast called Laser Unfocused Tag Talk.
These were both significant memories for me.
2023: Second Time Tagging All 50 States
At the beginning of 2023 I realized I had played in over half the states for a second time since travel had resumed post-pandemic. I decided to complete the journey to all 50 states for a second time, leading to my most intense year of tag travels ever!
I actually played in 35 states in total during this calendar year, ending my “Oops, I Did It Again” tag tour in Owensboro, KY.
2024: The Laser Tag Museum Collection
The majority of this year has been spent figuring out how best to manage the Laser Tag Museum Collection.
I began taking mobile exhibits to display at laser tag tournaments and events while rebuilding the website to better showcase the history of laser tag through online video exhibits with a focus on preserving and documenting the collection that unexpectedly came into my care.
Documenting all these events and more and sharing them on my blog has been so rewarding. As I reflect on all these experiences, above all I am thankful for the friends I have made throughout the journey.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of the last ten years of TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com!
There is no way I could have celebrated the ten year anniversary of TiviachickLovesLaserTag.com without playing some laser tag in the place where it all began, at The Fun Warehouse in Camillus, NY.
Ok, yes, technically Fun Junction was my very first laser tag home, but ever since 2014 I have really considered both of these arenas to be my “home sites”, as they were both the places where I regularly spent every weekend when I began writing my blog ten years ago. However, FWH is the one that is still going strong and where I am still able to enjoy laser tag a decade later, so it was awesome to be able to celebrate this milestone “back at home” with friends who are both my teammates and active members here as well.
The actual blog anniversary is officially on December 16th, so I will definitely have something cool to share then to commemorate the date, which everyone helped me with at the start of the night. We gathered in the party room to film a fun video intro with congratulations being expressed (watch for it soon) and then…cake!
In case you couldn’t tell, this is my favorite was to celebrate…
But this is a VERY close second!
One of my earliest blog posts (back when I knew almost nothing about laser tag and I was simply journaling online) was called “Faking Photon”. This was all about my first time playing Laserforce’s Photon emulation at FWH, which is my favorite game format, so of course we had to play it again tonight! As has become the tradition here, whenever we play Photon, I give the briefing, complete with a short history of the game to make sure the light still shines!
We went into the vesting room and got ready to play. I was on the red team.
Fun fact: George Carter always played Photon on the red team too. Maybe that’s good luck! :)
Returning this night felt a bit nostalgic. And if we really want to take a deep dive down memory lane, here are a few of my favorite memories playing at The Fun Warehouse over the last ten years.
Big thanks to all my friends who came out to celebrate with me! Slayer, Axman, Mama Bear, Nobody, Fenrir, AlexBoxes, DogeBuster and RazorWires made this night so much fun!
Thank you to Tim, Beanz, Fox, Brenden, Alex, Jackal, Ethan, Jared, Zac, Ruth, Lenny, Cody, Brian, Cass and anyone else who has been part of the staff over the years who have made this place such an awesome place for laser tag. An arena is simply a building, but it is the people there who make it a place to call home. You all rock!
