International Laser Tag Day: Overview of an Adventure
March 28th is celebrated annually as International Laser Tag Day in honor of the anniversary of the grand opening of the first commercial laser tag attraction, Photon in Dallas, TX on that date in 1984. Over the last 41 years the laser tag industry has grown exponentially and continues to thrive more than four decades later as a significant part of the amusement sector worldwide. Laser Tag Day is a reminder of where it all began and what we have to enjoy now.
I selected four arenas in the midwest to be part of my Laser Tag Day adventure and will be spotlighting my visits to each one individually in the next few days. However, the general overview of my Laser Tag Celebration begin with flying into St. Louis the night before and driving about two hours north to be in position to start Laser Tag Day bright and early in northwestern Illinois and work my way south all the way to western Tennessee.
The arenas I planned to visit included Scottie’s Fun Spot in Quincy, IL, The EDGE 618 in Belleville, IL, Atomic City Family Entertainment Center in Paducah, KY and WarZone Ax N Tag in McKenzie, TN. Each one had something unique that put them on my radar.
Before setting out for my first stop I did two things. First, I stopped for breakfast at an AMAZING cafe in Quincy called Thyme Square Cafe where everything was fresh, local and made there on the premises right down to the fresh homemade tomato ketchup! Seriously, amazing (and on the rare occasions when I note a restaurant in this blog it is so I can remember it and return, because it was just THAT impressive).
Then I went out to my rental car and made a phone call to say thank you to the man whose innovative idea started it all. George Carter III is the innovator who hit the ground running first after conceiving the idea of laser tag while watching Star Wars. He and engineer James Dooley are the ones who made laser tag games in commercial arena attractions a reality before anyone else (although I also want to note that Lazer Zone and Star Laser Force were hot on the heels of this idea, debuting some of the very first laser tag products in the months that followed). However, the story begins with Photon and the concept art that George used to bring this idea to reality when seeking investors is the first artifact of this industry that has been evolving ever since.
So thanking George was a priority before anything else because I have such appreciation for the fact that everything that came thereafter is a result of this first innovation that we now celebrate every March 28th. And when I say this is an “overview of an adventure”, I mean that in the broader sense as well.
I took to social media, sharing the video recorded last week with “Happy International Laser Tag Day” messages from all the manufacturers in attendance at this year’s AEI. I am so heartened to see the industry come together like this!
I was also delighted to share this year’s commemorative Laser Tag Day poster featuring my Armageddon teammates Kassidy and Chris. This poster is made available as a free downloadable image courtesy of LaserTagMuseum.com.
My thanks to our friends at The Fun Warehouse for allowing us to do the poster photography at their site.
We brought in vintage Laser Strike packs to be the historical system featured on this year’s poster. A great deal of laser tag history can be traced back to these packs as well.
The poster release is one way we help laser tag operators to mark the occasion each year. I looked for what everyone else was doing to celebrate this day. I was delighted to find that many of my friends were spreading the word by sharing their own Laser Tag Day messages and I took note of how many laser tag businesses were promoting specials in honor of the day. I say everything from free T-shirt giveaways to half-price or $5 deals and special competition nights or events being planned by laser tag operators from all over the world. This is amazing!
My own personal Laser Tag Day adventure was unfolding for the entire day and even extended into the next morning (because there was too much for me to fit into only 24 hours!) so in the next few days I will post reflections about my own experiences this year. I would love to hear what you all did to celebrate Laser Tag Day too, so please feel free to share your stories with me. Wherever you are on the globe, I hope you had a chance to do something special too as we collectively celebrate the laser tag industry on the anniversary of the game that started it all. Happy International Laser Tag Day!
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Contact: Tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com
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