Friday, January 19, 2024

Voices of Experience

This week on the Laser Unfocused Tag Talk podcast we hear from voices of experience in laser tag as I chat with Kevin and Bronwyn Caster, owners of Invasion Laser Tag in San Marcos, CA about their years of operating a thriving laser tag attraction in southern California.


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/IeYo2Sz_SsY?si=fZdDU7BIxsAqrhJS



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Sunday, January 14, 2024

A Literal “Fort” Night

Somehow I didn’t make it to Lake George even once during the summer (which is unusual), so instead I got my fill of lights, lasers, forts and fun all in one winter’s night!

We ventured to Lake George Lanes and Games for some Cyber Blast inside their “Adirondack fort” themed arena. 



I like this space, but I always feel like I am playing backstage at a drama club production because the theming is mostly two-dimensional wooden cutouts, as you can get a sense of here.




The shapes and design of the treetops, cannons and other elements are not exactly realistic, but the space does evoke a different kind of feel when you are playing, so I don’t say that as a criticism, but rather an observation of this being a completely different style choice.





This arena scores points with me for having a unique theme that harkens back to the local area. I always appreciate thought-out customization over “cookie cutter” theming and this fort theming is an execution of it unlike any other arena I have seen. The fort design is apropos, especially considering its proximity to the Fort William Henry Historic Fortress, which was hosting an intriguing interactive light/art/music winter exhibit at the real fort located in town.


So after a couple of laser tag games, it was time to check out a Winter’s Dream, making this a real “fort” night (pun absolutely intended) as the entire thing was showcased inside the actual fort! I enjoyed this exhibit that had multiple installations to explore along a self-guided pathway. Although this attraction had absolutely nothing to do with laser tag, I did appreciate the amazing lights and artistry that would make for some incredible arena theming if used in a different context. Actually, my thought at every turn was “how cool would THIS be in a laser tag arena!” Here are a couple of examples of what impressed me most.


The shower of light beams in the “first snow” exhibit were exceptional. It is almost impossible to go overboard with lighting effects and these were definitely the impressive thing I saw!




These globe lights (intending to represent moons) had subtle color changes and were a way to make the scene a bit more dramatic.



The frozen pond featured dynamic lighting that moved with the sound effects, brightening and dimming in perfect synchronicity.





And the chasing lights along the treetops were engaging and set a mood simply, but very effectively.



If I saw features like this incorporated into a laser tag arena I would be incredibly impressed. All around, this was a really engaging night where I saw things both in and out of the arena setting that really made me really take note. It was inspiring. While my tag travels have been quieter over the last month, I think it is time to get back to some laser tag exploration, so get ready. Lots more is on the way!



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Tiny Pieces of Photon History

I recently put a question to the Photon community regarding the distinctly different Photon tokens (more correctly known as “klinks”) that I have collected over the years. I have five variants and wondered if the former players might remember anything regarding the differences in the designs and at which Photon centers they may have been used. Here’s a look along with some of the feedback that was shared with me about these little pieces of Photon history.






#1 and #3 seem to be the more typical klinks to come across with the same size and markings, but silver and gold color variants. These klinks would have been used with phaser stations. One player thought he recalled that the centers could create their own version in the early days, but eventually they became standardized to the gold version.


#2 was speculated to be from Houston, San Antonio or Baton Rouge. Was this a common theme for centers in the south? Not certain. The pyramid design on the back makes it particularly unique. This also was a klink that would have been used with a phaser station (as opposed to a game token).


#4 is smaller in size than the others, but had no specific information offered about it. Due to the size, I wonder if this was a game token? The print variant on the front that reads “The Sport of the Next Century” followed by the TM intrigued me. It appears there may be some other text after the TM, but it is too small for me to make it out, even under magnification.


#5 was confirmed by a player to be a game token used at the Kenilworth, NJ center. This is the only one that was simple to figure out because that info is imprinted directly onto the token.


It was interesting to me to compare sizes of the variants.



I am intrigued to know whether there are other known variants floating around out there and I welcome any Photon historians to share that info with me. These are some of the really cool little nuances that go into the tapestry that is the history of Photon.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Friday, January 5, 2024

California Taggin’ on the Podcast

This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk we hear about California Taggin’ as west coast players Josef Leshen and Noah Kim discuss their laser tag experiences and efforts towards developing a competitive laser tag scene in their local area!


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/d_sSDa9OW2A?si=C-zo5jvfRBXJ2FAP



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Sunday, December 31, 2023

New Year’s Laser Tag Reflections

2023 is going to be one of those years that I will look back on and realize how much my life was both impacted and changed in only 365 short days. 

Each year I typically wrap things up by writing about my top ten laser tag memories of the year, but this year I have put it all together in a video instead. Those memories are all reflected here in some way. 



https://youtu.be/bkvwLzcF6Yg?si=Vsm0VZ-zZ7dtbzHq


I also am thinking about the people who have impacted my life the most this year and feeling so blessed to have them in my life. I have learned so much and grown in ways I never would have fathomed even a year ago. I can’t even begin to tell you how changed I am because of you. As we close out 2023 and look ahead to what is coming up in 2024 I have a completely different outlook. Next year will be full of new challenges that I am starting to plan for now, but as 2023 comes to a close, I just want to say thank you to everyone who made a mark on this past year, particularly to those special people who have really changed my life along this laser tag journey.



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

Monday, December 18, 2023

Secret Santa Knows Me Well

My coworker, Shaun and I have known each other ever since college (don’t ask how many years that is!) and he remembers things about me that not everyone might know… like how back in the day I would compete for just about any pageant title, whether it was to be crowned the queen of milk, maple, lumber or lakes (all real examples, BTW). I do love when someone names me the queen of just about anything, so when Shaun picked my name for Secret Santa he remembered this and knew that he had found the perfect gift for me that works on multiple levels!


During our company Christmas party we exchanged gifts. When I opened this gift my first question to Shaun was “does this title come with a crown, lol?” Thank you Secret Santa for making me smile and giving me an excuse to share this throwback video from 2019 (laser tag adventures kick in at the 4:25 mark)…



https://youtu.be/B8chivL6IbM?si=Z3Qh-9qP0z_jzDRW


I will happily accept this title any day. Thank you Shaun for the awesome t-shirt! And shout out to Mike and Myle for getting into the pic as well!



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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

New Year’s Preparation

So many people decide to make resolutions at the beginning of a new year and improved fitness is one of the most popular. I decided to get a jump on that this past weekend by tracking my fitness in the arena a bit differently than I did a few weeks ago. I used to just rely on my Fitbit or the app on my phone to know how much activity I got during a game of laser tag. However, for the last two weeks I have been enjoying using the new fitness tracking feature on the Laserforce phasers in use at my home arena.

At the end of every game I see an on-screen report of how many steps I took, how many miles I traveled and how many calories I burned. As you can see, within the first three games I played I moved just over a mile in total.



And while I felt the tracker was a bit conservative with the calorie estimates, the distance was pretty close to what I usually expect to cover in a typical game based on my previous tracking methods.


Ok, let me just say that of course I know the “real” count is going to be a little bit different for everyone. I don’t expect the same measurement to apply equally to someone my size vs a little kid or to a big guy. But as a general tool to get people thinking about the fitness benefits of laser tag and estimating with some consistent standard of measurement, I am impressed with this latest addition to the Gen 8 repertoire. 


So two weeks in a row I tracked my progress and what I can tell you is just being aware of my step count is a huge motivator to try to move more. My typical routine has been disrupted over the last couple of months, so I am realizing I have to consciously make an effort to get it back on track. Returning to regular weekend tag nights is definitely a part of that and this new method of fitness tracking just may be exactly what I need to keep my focus on health as I laser tag my way into next year! :)



Comments or Questions? 

Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com 

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