You may have heard about the new LaaerMaxx locations that are being opened in former Laser Quest buildings in the U.S. and Canada. I have played and discussed a few of them myself. Well, this past weekend during my travels to Boston, I detoured over to Danvers where a new LaserMaxx location has just opened within the last two weeks!
Walking into LaserMaxx Danvers felt very nostalgic. This had been one of my favorite LQ sites, so it was really special to get to play here again. I was greeted at “Mission Control” (do they still call it that?) by Anna aka Megatron who remembered when I used to show up for the Ironman games back in the day. So nice to see a friendly face from the LQ days! She got me into a game right away and I joined a group headed into the briefing room.
As familiar as it felt, there are a lot of new things happening here as well. First of all, the vesting room is full of colorful LaaerMaxx Evo 6 packs (the newest version).
They kind of remind me of Christmas tree lights! And the familiar space themed background art still makes me smile.
I pulled pack number three from the rack and got ready to play.
As the other players made their way into the arena, I could tell from their comments that they were already in awe of the space. After all, these arenas are huge game spaces!
I have only had a few opportunities to play LaserMaxx, so I began by re-familiarizing myself with the gear as I tagged with my opponents, which refers to everyone because this was a free for all game.
The phasers have flashlights (a feature I have mixed feelings about) and you must press down the button on the front that activates the flashlight in order to fire the phaser.
If you are tagged you will hear a sound repeating three times from the pack speakers. In my opinion this sounds like a cat’s meow, but I’m sure that will not be the popular consensus. :)
When your pack comes back up you have a brief moment of protection before you can be tagged again, so you definitely need to be aware of the timing as your opponent returns from a deactivation. Another important thing to know is that your points can both increase and decrease throughout the game. In the final 60 seconds of the game everyone gets rapid fire at the same time. This is a fun minute of frenzy!
This arena looks better than I remember! Anna pointed out that the airbrushed art is new, but where I see brush strokes the art was there before.
There are also some changes to the arena build including this area that used to be a closet!
And there are now vibrant accents on the floor to help guide players out of the arena.
Anna told me they took over this building in May and had been preparing the arena to open ever since, with LaserMaxx Danvers officially opening on November 15th.
I had so much fun with my first game! Even though I had a schedule to keep, as I was getting ready to leave I saw a group of guys show up talking about how this place brings back memories. LQ players? Real competitors? I had to stay and play a second game!
It was even more fun the second time around.
I hope that more players with fond memories discover that the arena they loved has been resurrected with a new owner, new name and new gear. I am so glad I had a chance to play a couple of games at LaserMaxx Danvers. I’ll be back!
Comments or Questions?
Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
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