Feeling Like a VIP in SLC (aka Laser Quest Salt Lake City)

As soon as I arrived in Salt Lake City I immediately headed for the Laser Quest. My primary reason for going to Salt Lake City was to play at this site which would bring me a step closer to playing all the LQs left in the US. Although I hoped to circle back to play again later in the evening, you never know what might happen on an impromptu trip so I decided it was best to stop here first. However, my GPS only got me to the general vicinity so I called the LQ for directions and was pleasantly surprised when the manager Dave said he already knew who I was. Turns out he was familiar with my journey, particularly my recent trip to Texas, because he was a Photon player from back in the day. What a great start! Since I was a little early for games I detoured for lunch and had some sushi before heading over to the arena where I was really looking forward to swapping tag stories with Dave. Let me say, I was treated like a real VIP here in SLC!

The Salt Lake City LQ opened in 1995, making it one of the earliest Laser Quests in the US and particularly impressive that it is still operating nearly 25 years later.

Dave gave me a tour of the facility before I went in to play a couple of games with the group that had arrived. This included a spacious lobby and a briefing room that still features the LQ mascot, a giant green spider monster known as OG.

When I commented on Og Dave showed me an even more special painting of the character. In the front entrance area there is an original mural painted by Richard Posa back in 1995. Dave told me that Posa painted all the murals when the LQs first opened and buried somewhere in his artwork he has hidden a tiny image of Og in every one of his murals.

Do you see him? Look closer…

Closer...

Closer...

There he is!

This is a really cool piece of Laser Quest history and I appreciated him pointing this out. Then it was time to get in the game.

I had a great time exploring the castle themed arena. There were some unique features including some lower level raised areas that gave a little bit of height without leading to the top of the towers, although there were plenty of interesting variations on the upper levels as well. This is a cool arena that feels familiar to play, but also very distinctive with its theme and build.

I played two games in Salt Lake City and when we emerged from the second game Dave was kind enough to hook me up with some really cool LQ tag swag. We talked tag for a bit and discussed the impact that the former North Richland Hills site made on my journey, both as the site of my 50th state celebration and then when the site closed it was the impetus for me to complete my LQ checklist. One of the coolest items he sent me off with harkened back to that significant site and he gave me this really cool souvenir…

This ball cap is from the 2003 LQ NAC held at North Richland Hills and is an awesome piece of tournament history. I’ll keep this in my tag swag collection and think back fondly on both my memories from NRH and also this memorable stop to SLC. Thanks so much!