“Remembering Photon” as told by the players is the latest addition to the Oral History of Laser Tag video series for the Laser Tag Museum and it was particularly special to film this with other players in attendance at last year’s Phocon 2019 in Laurel, MD. I’d like to thank those players who took some time out between games to share their memories with me for this project. http://www.lasertagmuseum.com/oral-history/tiviachick-collective-interviews/465-remembering-photon-as-told-by-the-players I’d also like to thank Marc Mueller and XP Lasersport of Laurel, MD for hosting Phocon and for all he has done over the past several years to keep the light of the original laser tag alive for so many.

As our world is in the middle of an incredibly difficult time and we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by encouraging people to stay at home and socially distance from others, one facet of that response is that many laser tag arenas have temporarily shut their doors. As a result, today is International Laser Tag Day…only without laser tag for most of us. Even if we are unable to play laser tag to celebrate today, I’d like to suggest that an alternative for now is to read about laser tag instead. I have found a few fictional book choices for you that (at last I checked) were easy to find on either Amazon or eBay, so getting them delivered could be an opportunity for you to stay at home

By the end of a busy day in and around Las Vegas I was ready to settle in for an all you can play night and Battle Blast in Las Vegas looked like it would be the perfect site. I called ahead and Jack told me about their AYCP from 8:00-midnight, but I got there a little early so I took some time to take a tour of a really cool 5800 square foot arena where I would get to play Zone Nexus for the remainder of the evening. This arena features a battle-ravaged apocalyptic look that extends through multiple themed rooms on two levels making for space where you can really get caught up in the game. On the lower level you can shoot around the bookshelves in the library (just like an experience I actu

When you are the Mother of Dragons (ok, a little leopard gecko, but he still counts) the idea of walking into a castle guarded by a dragon holds even more appeal…especially when there’s laser tag inside! At Lost Worlds Myth and Magic Family Fun Center in Henderson, NV you really get that castle experience from the moment you walk in the door all the way through the site, right up to the entrance to the Wizard’s Dungeon. This site is affiliated with the Lost Worlds centers in Livermore (with a dinosaur theme, which I have been to) and San Jose, but I must say this site was really distinctive and set itself apart. They really play up their theme so I looked forward to seeing whether this exten

Back to tales from my trip… When I walked into Flip N Out Xtreme of Summerlin, NV and was told that they have an arena seven levels high I really didn’t believe it. Seven levels? Well, that in fact was the case with this really unique arena that you really have to see to believe. So here’s a short tour of the arena with a design that I am told can be credited to Bryan Severence. It’s unlike almost anything else out there. The theme is Warehouse Wars. You can even play out on a balcony extension that overlooks the other attractions they offer. This site plays Delta Strike so I put on my pack and joined a game that was packed with teen players. I am told this site caters more towards the teens

Taking a break from sharing the tales of my trip, here’s something tag related for fans of one of my favorite television shows. I won’t be going in to my office for the time being (doing fine, just working from home), so instead I’ll reminisce and celebrate today being the 15th anniversary of another Office. Sounds like Bob Vance has got a place to host some laser tag when this is all over. :) Comments or Questions? Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Sometimes laser tag can be more than just a great game for players of all ages to enjoy. It can also be a means to make a difference and benefit a really worthwhile cause. Kids Chance of Arkansas recently hosted a bowling/laser tag tournament fundraiser at Fast Lane Entertainment in Lowell, AR where supporters gathered for a night of food, fun and competition and utilized the appeal of both laser tag and bowling to raise a nice sum to benefit their educational scholarships. Since 2001 Kids Chance of Arkansas has had the mission of providing scholarships to the dependents of deceased and permanently totally disabled workers from compensable Arkansas workers compensation claims. I recognize th

My next stop in Arkansas was to the Lokomotion Family Fun Park in Fayetteville. This was another stop in the middle of a random weekday, so I was happy just to be able to get in a 1v1 with Baxter playing a classic game of Blast in their neon space themed arena. This arena feels deceptively larger than I imagine it probably is and we had a bit of a cat and mouse game going. There are two raised platform areas accessible by ramps on either side. The walls are high enough on those platforms that you can’t see over them, so it felt like those areas added more hiding places within the maze than any heightened advantage to see across the space. There were several nice places to tuck behind, but fo

Following the convention, I was off to Arkansas and my first stop upon arrival was to Hogwild Family Fun Center in Fort Smith, AR. Now, this happened to be mid-morning on a Thursday at which time the kids were still in school, so I was just glad to find any laser tag site open for business at the odd hour when I walked through the door. I found Buddy Grimes, the owner of this site (and their sister site in Conway, AR) training a new employee, Steven. I think they probably found it just as unusual to have me show up in the middle of a weekday wanting to play, but they were happy to accommodate. As it turned out I think this worked out quite well because I got to check out their 4000 square fo

When you’re in New Orleans area, Laser Tag and Games of Metairie is unquestionably THE place to play laser tag. And following a busy day at the Amusement Expo a few of the biggest laser tag enthusiasts I know came out for a game…and an interview. It was pretty historic to get these three men in the same room together for an interview to discuss the history of the International Laser Tag Association (ILTA). Pictured here are Jack Turner (former ILTA original board member), Erik Guthrie (founder and former Executive Director of the ILTA) and Davor Franicevich (former President of the ILTA). Prior to their arrival a few of us had arrived early to play a few games after dinner and time in the sa

When I set out for New Orleans bound for the Laser Tag Convention I realized that this year’s event might be a bit smaller than normal. However, things were still going on and it was still an excellent opportunity to see friends from the industry and meet with some of the key players representing various laser tag manufacturers during the Amusement Expo trade show. Word had gotten back to me that my oral history video series had been a part of the round table discussion at the convention the night before and I was ready to build on that by seeking out some additional interviews to add about the history of the International Laser Tag Association (ILTA). I was definitely appreciative to have a

Well, the world has changed a lot since I set out on my last laser tag adventure only about two weeks ago and it appears that it may be a little while before my next one. I am writing this almost a week after returning home from a seven day journey that started before all the newly heightened concerns about COVID-19 resulted in many businesses being temporarily closed and in my state of New York all non-essential workforce now being sent home indefinitely. In hindsight I can’t believe I was out traveling the week before all this really started to unfold and I am feeling blessed and fortunate to be safe at home and feeling healthy. What I am going to share with you in my upcoming posts needs

The latest addition to the Laser Tag Museum Oral History of Laser Tag is an interview with Tim Ewald, founder and Vice President of Engineering for Laser Blast and Mike Ewald, Sales Director for Laser Blast. Big thanks to them for taking time to talk with me about the history of their company. Check out the full video interview here… http://www.lasertagmuseum.com/oral-history/industry-leader-interviews/464-tiviachick-interviews-tim-and-mike-ewald-with-laser-blast Comments or Questions? Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

Am I just a big kid who enjoyed some laser tag on my birthday? You bet! Add in a sushi dinner before heading out to the arena and I am a very happy camper. I had the best time playing with Paul, Sam and Alexis to celebrate! So this is just a little reminder that laser tag is a great way to celebrate any occasion. It’s definitely great for kids birthdays, but it’s not ONLY for kids parties. Laser tag is a great way to celebrate things like: A family reunion...this one sort of qualifies as this is my great big crazy extended (albeit technically unrelated) family... Or a bachelor/bachelorette party (I’ve done a live broadcast from a paintball stag party, why not laser tag?) Or the before or aft

I'd like to thank Doug Willems, CEO and founder of Delta Strike International, for taking the time for an interview during IAAPA 2019 to discuss the history of Delta Strike and share a bit about his company as they revealed their newest product line, the Delta Strike Genesis. This interview took place on November 22, 2019. Comments or Questions? Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and www.photonforever.com

My final stop on this Massachusetts tag trip was to visit the arena at Apex of Marlborough. This will be a short post. I’m going to wait to write a full review until my next visit because they are right on the verge of refreshing their arena with some big changes and I want to give them the proper spotlight then. However, I did play while I was there and had a great time! Let me just say I am thoroughly impressed with this arena already and I can’t wait to play at this site again after their updates are complete. Big thanks to Michelle and J.J. for the welcome and the tour before my game on this busy Saturday night! Let me instead switch gears and talk about something else I saw while I was

There was one location I tried to play this past weekend, but was unable to after three failed attempts. I will not mention them by name. I’m going to try to be fair to them because there were reasons, but I still found it frustrating. On Friday evening I plugged their address into my GPS and somehow ended up in a completely different place. As I was in an unfamiliar part of the state I needed some local help, so I called them multiple times to try to get some assistance and only got recorded prompts directing me to leave voicemail. I did get a call back, but not until the following day. It’s not their fault that GPS led me somewhere incorrect, but it did throw a whammy into my playing there

I have enjoyed playing at Xtreme Craze sites in the past and this weekend I got to play Xtreme X2. First I played their site in Londonderry, NH and on my way back through I played again at their location in Westborough, MA. Both are impressive two story Lasertron sites. I felt by the third time today that I could probably recite the Lasertron briefing video by heart, but I have to respect the consistency of the experience from site to site when they are running this system correctly. Londonderry appears to be a much newer arena with lots of sectors and archways glowing in bright, hot colors and all you would want it to be. But Westborough’s arena was still pretty impressive. The Londonderry

I had not originally planned to travel to New Hampshire. I was intending to spend the weekend just exploring tag sites in Massachusetts, but when on my first stop Scott mentioned that there was an arena within a couple of hours drive where he had just played on their new Delta Strike equipment I did a double take. I asked if he meant the Genesis system and he said yes. Then I called that night to find out if this was correct and the girl who answered the phone said yes. I was so excited! However, (spoiler alert), this turned out to not actually be the case. It is true that they just got new Delta Strike equipment, but it was not Genesis, it was the Evolution FEC. OK, not the unicorn in the w

It’s a leap year so we get an extra day…that’s 24 more hours for playing laser tag, so after a couple of false starts to the day I headed for New Hampshire and got to check out Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth, NH. This site has recently gone through a MAJOR arena renovation in their 5000 square foot arena that is now fully decked out. They have upgraded to an impressive two-level Lasertron arena with all the bells and whistles. Very nice! I chatted with the owner, Brian, before I went in and let him know that I was excited to play the arena, but didn’t have enough time in my schedule to do all three games that were included in my session. He encouraged me to play them all, letting me know