Inaugural Game at Kynytyx, My 400th Laser Tag Arena

The inaugural first game of laser tag at a new arena is like breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow of a ship. So much goes into building a laser tag business and it deserves to have a special moment of fanfare to officially get things underway. In the case of Kynytyx, a new arena soon-to-be open in Bellport, NY on Long Island, I was so happy to be able to be there for this first game experience with owners Nathaniel and Kim and the Kynytyx staff at this location that I had specially chosen to be my 400th laser tag arena!

This is an awesome arena! They have done a really great job with the layout and design so that it flows really well for both competitive and casual play. It’s a unique design that allows for the 5300 square foot total arena space to be opened up for a large game or for doorways to open and close as needed to separate it into two 2650 square foot arenas. There are a few more unique surprises planned for this arena down the road, but for now it was great to get a first look at how much has been done to develop this into what I have no doubt will soon be one of Long Island’s top laser tag venues.

While staff members were signing in with their memberships for the very first time I took a peek at the vesting area, brightly glowing with racks of Laserforce Gen 8 packs.

Kim then took me on a tour of the arena. I was immediately impressed!

These walls have a touch of an underwater vibe. Some include some added texture.

The theme is techno-chic, cool and streamlined, but the wall shape reminds me of an arcade game console, which could be thought of as a subtle nod to the full arcade out front.

That works well in sync with the member kiosk where players can scan their cards underneath a projection scoreboard.

When the arenas are used separately there are two bases in each, however when the space is fully opened you have four base locations in total, each framed by a housing that blends right in with the other walls.

Need a clue where to find the bases? They are located opposite each one of these mock doors.

These are actually easier to find than the actual doors which are simply part of the wall when closed and then open into hallways that seamlessly transform into part of the larger arena design.

There are beacons to look out for as well.

I had arrived just as the staff was completing their training with the equipment, so everyone got to jump into the official first game of Color Conquest. This is the breaking of the metaphorical champagne bottle!

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed! I could tell the staff were having a blast and learning quite a bit by putting their training into actual practice as well.

Following that game, Tim gave a briefing to the group about our second game, Laserball.

We split into two teams and began a game where some players were brave…and others just passed the ball to me as soon as they got it, lol! On the other team Nathan was playing defense and they were passing it to Sanch, who was clearly having a blast playing in a way I don’t think he often does, so it was fun to watch him having a great time with these new players.

We even had a chance to spend some time with the youngest member at Kynytyx, who arrived wearing her baby battlesuit!

I am excited for this new business to open, and I appreciated getting one of the first T-shirts to help promote it!

It was wonderful getting to be part of the very first game experience at a brand new laser tag arena. Interestingly enough, I also had a “pre-first game” here too. Here’s a bit of the backstory. Nathan and I had been coordinating for quite awhile to make sure the first game would coincide with becoming my personal 400th arena played. I was carefully counting the arenas between 397 and 400 so as to not play anywhere that would set me off course for Kynytyx to be the site where I hit that milestone number. However, there have been some delays and with the trip I had planned last week I knew if I didn’t get to Kynytyx a bit sooner it would not sequentially line up.

Since Kynytyx was anticipated to be open prior to the installation of the full maze, Nathan had installed a temporary arena. We decided that if I played the temporary arena that it would qualify as Kynytyx being my 400th arena sequentially even though I would return for the official first game two weeks later. So that is exactly what happened in order to make sure that this genuinely was my 400th laser tag arena.

Unavoidable delays made the temporary arena a moot point because the full maze has now been constructed. However, it made a huge difference in terms of my being able to credit Kynytyx as my 400th arena, so I am incredibly appreciative that I had the opportunity to be the one and only player to ever experience the temporary Kynytyx arena. For posterity, let me show you what it looked like.

It’s remarkable to watch as an arena goes from this…

To this!

I share this part simply because it represents a piece of the whole process that has gone into building Kynytyx. When this site officially opens for business most people will only see the tip of the iceberg, but I feel honored to have learned much more about the journey to get to this point. I assure you the end result has turned out to be pretty amazing and I highly recommend paying a visit to Kynytyx to experience it for yourself. Whether it is your first or your 400th laser tag arena, this one is impressive!