Some thoughts on laser tag

I played laser tag last Saturday for my birthday with 13 of my closest friends. I enjoyed the hell out of it, despite some last minute discouragement of “have fun killing 12 year olds.”

…Of course, it turned it that is what we were doing, as we were combined with a birthday party. It takes 42 people to fill up a game. Despite that, I really, really enjoyed it, and would go again as soon as someone else suggested it.

Laser tag seems to engender two discussions:

1. The type of game play and course 

The course where we went was excellent, with all kinds of multileveled parts, places to hide, bases, choke points, etc. Game play was fairly standard, with some power-ups at random times to spice things up even more. It was “free roaming” which means you weren’t constrained to one side, which I prefer. It was also automatic recharge after getting “killed”, which has some issues. It’s fairly standard for laser tag, but I think I prefer the ones where you have to retreat to recharge. I would also enjoy “halo-style” where you have to actively not be taking fire (behind cover) for a while to recharge.

2. Paint Ball

“Adult Laser Tag” is apparently Paint Ball. I’ve never played it. However, I know I enjoy being able to be “killed” and jump back into the game, which isn’t the case with paint ball as I understand it. The pain-factor of being shot isn’t as big a turn-off as it previously was, though this is a dealbreaker for some friends of mine. And there are people who take it waaay too seriously. There are some of those in laser tag too, but they’re easier to ignore.

I would certainly like to try paint ball (provided no one playing took it too seriously), but it’s much harder to get together than laser tag. 

Of course, I’m also an adult now with an income who could just buy his own laser tag set and stage games wherever he wants. Hmmmm…

The final list

Not in order of when I drank them.

• Blueberry Lemonade
• Chocolate Cake Shot (I was so wasted by that point, I didn’t quite do it right to achieve the optimum effect)
• Dewer’s
• Hurricane
• Irish Car Bomb
• Jager shot
• Knob Creek
• Lemon drop
• Mango Margarita
• Nutty Bananas (without cream)
• Orange Cream Soda (my first and probably tastiest drink)
• Pussy Shot (that’s what the bartender called it)
• Whiskey (Bushmill)
• Zombie (provided for free by our awesome waitress at the Red Star who believed in the idea)

Plus… one “Whiskey Wild Card.”

Honestly, I hadn’t inteded to mix in heavy things like Knob Creek and Dewer’s, but I also wasn’t going to turn them down. I’m confidant I could have made it farther, and been less sick, if I had stuck to sugary mixed drink cocktails (of lower proof.)