Chillin' and Taggin'

I just had one of the most laid back laser tag nights ever. I didn't take anything too seriously and instead enjoyed sharing the game with my friend Tracee who came out to see what it was all about.

I wanted to get my last couple of standard games out of the way to complete last week's goal, so I started on that before she arrived. I met my objective and decided to retire that card. Interestingly enough, the rounds where I had to play with purpose and effort I felt were some of the best of the night as far as the game itself went. However, I didn't want to have to be "on" all night. Instead I opted for a new (and final) sign in option that I could keep at a level one for those times I just want to have fun and not care so much about playing hard. That was how I enjoyed most of the night (though I must say that would get boring very quickly if I did that all the time). Next time around I will be going at it hard for some real practice. But last night wasn't about playing aggressively...in fact I walked a lot of it. I just enjoyed getting to catch up with Tracee before she heads off to her big competition next week...wishing her all the best and I can't wait to see her show them what the Valley girls do!

That's not to say the evening didn't have some interesting moments. There was an interesting result in what (I think) was the final game of the night...sadly not enough people stayed to do an Ironman, so I'm fuzzy on if this was the end of the evening or not.

A couple of the serious level six players jumped into this round. It kind of felt like they were in their own little game, separate, but in the same space, because I was barely aware of them at times. However, I have great respect for their playing abilities. I also respect what I think I saw happening which was at least one guy playing as...I'm not sure, but I think possibly a level 7? Maybe? It showed on the scoreboard as 6, but when I became aware of him there I watched...and shot...and was taken by surprise by what I perceived as a really long burst of invincibility. And it's possible I just wasn't expecting anything serious at that point since the whole rest of the night had been so light, but I found myself perplexed by what appeared to be a whole other game within a game. When we came out of the arena I commented and asked Mike what just happened. His answer was "we just tied". And I clarified I meant what was happening with the levels, but apparently it was just my skewed perception having been taking it so easy tonight. In a way I wish there had been more (any) level six players there throughout the night to keep me on my toes. I might say I got lazy...I prefer to say I was just chilling.

But back to "what just happened". He said "we just tied" which is technically correct, and yet very unfulfilling for me because I was signed in as a level one. So, yes, our end score was the same, but he achieved it while playing way harder with more challenges (and a few more assets too), so I don't consider that a real tie. He wins simply for playing it harder and better. Props to him as the player who played it out right. As I explained last week, I wholeheartedly recognize that a success as a level one really means absolutely nothing in the scheme of making me a better player. I've enjoyed a couple of nights of just going back to have fun and that has been great. However, I am less than a month away from taking on something incredibly challenging. The Armageddon tournament is fast approaching and from here on in I think I need to take everything more seriously again to make sure I am as prepared as I can possibly be to go up against what I expect to be some very impressive players. I recognize that in that scenario I will be the newbie and so it's important to me to do everything I can to do my best in that situation. So, last night was great to have a laid back night showing Tracee the ropes and just playing to play. But the fun is over...time to get serious...this is LASER TAG! (ironic wink)

If you have comments or questions please visit my websites at www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com (new version is almost ready to launch...very soon!) and www.photonforever.com or email me at tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com.