Brand New Day, Brand New Arena

I am happy. I was in New Hartford last weekend for the opening day of the Family Fun Factory in their new location at the mall and I returned again last night. And the reason I'm so excited is the latest addition to their business...a new laser tag arena running Gen 7 Laserforce! Now, it is a little smaller than some of the other places I frequent, but that's easy to get past once you actually play the space. And there's also a lot about this place that makes a big impact. Even the aesthetic before you walk in tells you they are conscious about making the right impression.

This place is right in my own backyard, so if they can develop a player base I'm prepared to spend a lot more time tagging here and a lot less time driving out of town to play. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my favorite tag places (still gotta stay sharp on Zone!), but I may make more deliberate choices about where to go for practice vs where to go for fun. But let me say, I love the enthusiasm here and after chatting with the owners about some cool potential activities that may develop here I have a lot of optimism...ok, just start forwarding my mail here now. :)

The arena uses their space well. I'd recognize the hallmarks of a Creative Works design even without being told of it's origins, but YAY to it not being "those walls" that I've written about before. :) This place has a cool vibe, decked out in neon orange.

And I really enjoy the people I've met here so far. Joe, Nicole and Tim are all very forward thinking about what could be done with this arm of the business. And on day one I enjoyed some light games and the chance to share some knowledge with a couple of the young employees...for example, they now understand what "cycling" is all about.