Carving out a piece of laser tag history, Matthew Hogan (aka Taipan) from Brisbane, Australia has earned first place wins with his teams in both the Laserforce and the recent Zone Australia national tournaments. He discusses his cross-system success and perspectives on this week’s episode of Laser Unfocused Tag Talk. ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0xzXT3aqGa2edIlXpcaJBS ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/laser-unfocused-tag-talk-with-tivia/id1

It has been a LONG time since I’ve played an Ironman game at any arena, so I was really pleased to hear it would be making a return to my home arena with an hour long continuous game scheduled prior to AYCP last weekend in Syracuse. Umm…I forgot how long an hour can feel when you are accustomed to tagging in ten minute bursts. Sixty consecutive minutes of tag didn’t slow me down, but getting up the next morning isn’t as easy as it used to be! Just kidding (sort of)! I’m obvio

When I decided to make a road trip to Connecticut I had a few locations in mind to stop, but it all began with a recommendation I received in March that I ought to check out the new Gel Blaster Nexus Laser Tag arena at RPM Raceway in Stamford, CT. So, off I went! As soon as I arrived I asked to get into a game, specifying that I was interested in playing the laser tag version. My timing was perfect, as there was a group suiting up for laser tag right then, so I joined them an

It was interesting finding my way into a game at Thrillz/Jumpz in Danbury, CT because they have a somewhat unique double-business structure. It’s two amusement businesses, separate, but located in the same building. When I arrived I filled out a waiver and went to the front of the line at Jumpz Trampoline Sports, where ai was told that the laser tag was in this building, but is technically a Thrillz attraction, so I went over to the other side of the building and learned a bi

One of the best experiences of my trip was getting to tag inside a really creative, city themed arena at Xtreme Play Adventure Park in Danbury, CT. A couple of games of Helios 2 with these awesome competitors made for some of the best tag of the day! When I arrived I was directed to an arena with a “Final Assault” sign pointing the way. The first thing I noticed was the Zone scoreboard, indicating what system I was about to play. The second thing I noticed was…an actual pay p

I visited The Cave in Bethel, CT looking for traces of any leftover “monsters” (as I know this had formerly been a Monster Mini Golf location), but what I found was a really fun two-level arena loaded with black lights and Helios Pro targets. I got a glimpse of the arena before I went in with this site taking a page out of the discussion we had recently at the Laser Tag Summit. We talked about how laser tag is the only attraction that typically gets hidden behind four walls,

I made a last minute decision to take a road trip to Connecticut and explore a few arenas along the western part of the state, which is what led me to visit R&B Sports World in Winsted, CT. This is a family owned amusement center that has been part of the local community for years, but it only just landed on my radar because of the recent addition of laser tag about eight months ago. Rachel and Amy showed me the way to the upstairs briefing and vesting room where I found Delt

Happy June! This month let’s Tag 4 A Cause to benefit The Longest Day in support of the Alzheimer’s Association! How does it work? Come out to laser tag at one of the three fundraiser events and make a donation directly to the cause in any amount you like. As thanks, I want to give you a resin medal. Laser tag purchases are completely separate from your donation, BUT if you play in a designated game during the event and are wearing the Tag 4 A Cause high score challenge with

I am genuinely saddened to learn about the passing yesterday (May 24, 2025) of Peter David, the author who wrote the Photon adventure novels under the pseudonym name of David Peters. This man had an influence on me through these books in a larger way than what many may know. Even though my first awareness of laser tag (as a child) was through the Photon television series and I didn’t play until many years later, I distinctly remember reading one of his novels and thinking to

I didn’t even have to leave the state for this tag trip! A day that started with a giant pancake in the Adirondacks (more on that later) ended with an awesome time playing some Elite tactical laser tag at the Battleground Outdoor Laser Tag field at Big Don’s Wild River Mini Golf in Cicero, NY. As I arrived, I found this bear who looks like he has enjoyed a few of those same base-size pancakes that started my adventure earlier in the day. But it was after I made my way past t