In a recent Laserforce update for Gen 8 a new audio sound was introduced to the SM5 game. It’s a chime (or what I call “the Ding”) to indicate when a player has tagged the medic in this particular game format. I got immediate messages about this as soon as it was known about, which made me wonder what kind of impact it might actually have on the SM5 game. At a recent tag night in Syracuse, players got their first chance to experience the impact of this new update. I took thi

This third piece of Neal McPheeters Photon cover art surfaced recently and features my favorite bad guy. I think David Stay would have been pleased that I ended up with the only cover artwork that included his image. I’m pretty sure he would have called it MandARRT! (Terrible pun, absolutely intended!) This is the original acrylic artwork, which became the cover of Photon adventure novel number three, “In Search of Mom”. It unexpectedly arrived with a couple of flat, unfolded

Well, this is an honor! Thank you to The Fun Warehouse for making me their member of the week! I actually learned a bit about myself from this profile. I had no idea what my combined number of Laserforce games was until Beanz tallied my combined membership numbers. Also, this was an opportunity to extrapolate an estimated number of games I have played across all systems. Although there is no way to know the exact number, it seems likely that my overall lifetime laser tag game

When you are on route to the airport and realize you are going to pass right by a laser tag arena…well, the plane will wait for me, right? ;) That was my thought process when I made an impromptu stop to play a game at Thunder Alley Family Entertainment Center in Dickson, TN. I took a moment to “Take it Easy” and take a break with a game of Laserforce using Gen 7 packs. I joined a small group and entered a bright neon, blacklight arena with a lot of green theming to give it a

When I first heard about the laser tag arena at WarZone Ax N Tag in McKenzie, TN I was immediately interested in making a trip. After all, I had never actually played using the Laserwar laser tag system and this location was promising to be something a little different. I must say, this was a completely unique experience! Laser Tag Day was a perfect opportunity (or more accurately, the very next morning, which I think we can reasonably call Laser Tag Weekend) and on the heels

This week on Laser Unfocused Tag Talk we hear from the laser tag manufacturers in attendance at Amusement Expo International about what they are excited to share, their best tip for operators, their most unique game formats and why laser tag continues to thrive. 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/aRWsU-YcZ3g?si=Vg

By the evening of Laser Tag Day (which I suppose makes it Laser Tag Night) I was bound for Paducah, KY with plans to round out the occasion with some Delta Strike at Atomic City Family Entertainment Center. Carson, Erik and Brock from the management team all greeted me and we smiled for a photo to commemorate Laser Tag Day. I had called ahead and when I arrived one of the managers on duty said matter-of-factly “you’re the laser tag lady”, which would have been more uncanny if

I played the world’s largest laser tag arena on Laser Tag Day! Being able to have this experience was the main reason I anchored my trip in the Midwest. I have been to the EDGE 618 on Belleville, IL a couple of times before, but playing a unique arena like this, which is completely unlike any other, was well worth making a visit on this day meant to celebrate the industry. It was a delight to visit with owners Keith and Mary Schell who have been so hospitable to me whenever I

My first stop on Laser Tag Day was to pay a visit to Scottie’s Fun Spot in Quincy, IL. This is a third-generation legacy family entertainment center in their 89th year of operation, which made it a particularly cool place to start the day! I met owner Jeff Scott who grew up in this family business following a virtual introduction by Clint Novak the night before. Jeff gave me a tour of the facility, which includes a 2400 square foot laser tag arena where they are running Helio

March 28th is celebrated annually as International Laser Tag Day in honor of the anniversary of the grand opening of the first commercial laser tag attraction, Photon in Dallas, TX on that date in 1984. Over the last 41 years the laser tag industry has grown exponentially and continues to thrive more than four decades later as a significant part of the amusement sector worldwide. Laser Tag Day is a reminder of where it all began and what we have to enjoy now. I selected four