Laser Tag Inception

The next morning I was up at 4:30 am (my body was still on New York time) so I took advantage of the early start and drove down to La Jolla cove. More on that later. This put me on route to San Diego where I visited an arena I had heard about down in Belmont Park. This was a unique experience akin to Laser Tag Inception. Here’s why…

I played using Laserforce equipment in a Lasertron arena inside an arcade called LazerBlast…layer after layer of peeling the onion!

I arrived and smiled at the exterior of the building.

Then I appreciated being able to get into an early morning game just after they opened with thanks to Louisa joining me.

We went through a familiar briefing…here’s Dewey!

And then I found it very interesting to play this unique mash-up within the arena.

Most of the arena was typically Tron.

However, I loved seeing how and where the Force elements were incorporated.

This is such an unusual combination that will be memorable for reasons far beyond the game itself! :)

It was a great follow-up to my time at La Jolla cove, which was another very memorable experience. This was such a gorgeous day for visiting a stretch of boardwalk overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

What I did not expect was to be blown away by all the seals that gathered in the cove. These animals are absolutely majestic!

I could not have asked for a more perfect start to my day, waking up on the west coast.

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and p

An Infuzion of Fun

I ended my first night in California tagging with my teammates from the Zone Nats. Josef and Noah and I were joined by James for some Helios Pro at Infuzion Zone in Chino Hills.

Ironically, it appears that outside of tournaments the majority of my Zone games since the pandemic have been played in California, so when asked about my home site (as a New York player with no site nearby), lately I have been saying that I am a Chino Hills player. I guess this is home!

I have enjoyed games here on several trips to California. I love the big statement structure in the middle of the arena.

But what I enjoy the most is having players on both coasts that are willing to join me for tag even when I show up with hardly any notice. I also like that I can capture these tag memories here without getting a tick for having my phone in the arena (this is a reference to what - as a blogger - I feel is a really stupid tournament rule).

Towards the end of the night we got some arena time to ourselves and played some Swede format games. Even though I was exhausted by this point in the day (I had crossed the country with very little sleep, running purely on adrenaline) I had a great time with these guys and a wonderful night at Infuzion Zone.

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Double the Arenas = Double the Fun

When I have occasion to pass through California, LaserLand is one of my go-to locations. The primary reason is there are only two places in the entire country where EXO laser tag equipment is in use and both are in California. One is LaserLand in West Covina where I have played several times and the other is LaserLand in Mission Viejo, which I had played when it was an LQ site, but had yet to experience using EXO. So this trip I was going to double up the experience.

I met up with Noah and on my first day in town we paid a visit to LaserLand in West Covina.

Because the equipment is the novelty for me, I took particular note of the EXO gear as it was being explained during the briefing.

The first game we played was a small group free for all.

What made this experience different from games I had played here in the past was that they doubled the space by opening the hidden doors between the two arenas to make one double-sized arena. I really preferred having a chance to play in this larger space!

On one side of the arena we tagged around the volcano with realistic scenery on the walls and the lava flowing right through the custom carpet design.

But just a few steps over we were tagging through the zombie ravaged grocery themed side…and making new friends!

The second game was a round of Domination where we circled through both sides of the arena trying to tag the bases and hold them with our individual pack color.

So much fun with six bases to target!

When we exited into the lobby, I walked up to LaserLand’s owner Alexander saying “surprise!” I did not have much advance notice, so I had not let him know ahead of time that I would be paying a visit today. However, I did let him know of my intentions to double up the fun by playing at his second LaserLand location in Mission Viejo the following day.

I expected the EXO equipment to once again be my main reason for visiting.

However, when I walked in and remembered my last time here when it was an LQ location  the nostalgia flooded over me because it still feels like walking into that environment, right down to finding Og!

Inside the arena I enjoyed the game with the group, but couldn’t help but marvel at being back in an arena that brought back memories that feel like they were so long ago. Do these arena pics give you the same vibe?

Playing EXO in these two arenas brought back a lot of memories, but also lent itself to being a fresh new experience at the same time.

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Taking It to the Extreme

Only 12 hours after being in Connecticut I had found my way to the opposite side of the country and got off the plane in sunny Los Angeles. There’s an arena I have had on my radar the last couple of times I was in California and I immediately headed out to experience Lazertag Extreme (formerly known as Lazertag Axtreme) in Simi Valley, CA.

This arena was very cool and had a really distinctive build. If you check out their map it appears to have two levels, which is essentially correct, but it has the feel of a three level arena because of the varied elevation. 

You have your bases on ground level (two in the far back corners and one under the center structure) and you have what I call the mid-level just above center with a higher level balcony overlooking from the far back wall. This change in elevation makes a huge difference to the feel of the space!

A joined with a group of players who were very enthusiastic about the game. 

One player on my team had staked out a corner and was tagging players left and right and doing very well. However, when I entered that area he was completely unaware he was camping inside the opposing team’s base! That’s because these bases are suspended from above and not immediately obvious if you aren’t looking for them.

I took the bases and returned to the top, where I essentially played laser tag whac-a-mole with the gallery targets.

And we finished out an exciting game with lots of cheers and enthusiasm as I took my final pics while leaving the arena.

This was a really nice visit (topped off with being very close to a sushi restaurant, so I had the perfect lunch right nearby). The staff were great and very helpful and the experience was well worth the drive a little ways out of my path. If you are anywhere near Simi Valley this arena is worth the stop!

And even though my T-shirt says Axtreme, I’ll certainly remember this trip to Lazertag Extreme.

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Where To Begin?

It has been a few months since I’ve had a major tag trip to share, but this past week certainly qualifies. I visited arenas in California, Las Vegas and Dallas, moderated a panel at Amusement Expo, held a hugely successful Tag 4 A Cause and met with a couple of laser tag living legends over the course of the last week. With so much to share it will take a few days to write it all up, but get ready for lots of posts and pics to be on the way.

After a week away, I had to get home. I know some people would have boarded a plane, but instead I opted for a vortex through a washing machine!

What a way to go (and it makes as much sense as the crazy way I usually travel). Bottom line is I’m back home and happily remembering the highlights of an awesome adventure!

Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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