Let’s Talk Tactical

I was really looking forward to my visit to Tactical Urban Combat in Bloomington, MN for a few reasons. First, because I was eager to see what Minnesota’s largest Nerf and laser tag battlefield would look like and have to offer.

I was also excited to check it out because this arena is located inside the Mall of America, which was on my list of places I wanted to see while I was in town.

Laser tag and shopping? Yes, please! But first, time to check out the arena.

When I arrived, Alejandro was at the front desk and he offered to give me a tour of the arena before any other players arrived. This is a BIG space with the game area sized at about 10,000 square feet. Lots of buildings and obstacles to tag in and around.

There were also stations set up throughout the arena where you could swap out various weaponry on your tagger. While I was paying a visit to Battle Company headquarters earlier in the week, I had expressed an interest in trying out the flame thrower. At Tactical Urban Combat I got my opportunity.

All that was necessary to do was hold my tagger in front of the flame thrower box and press the orange button and I was good to go! Other simulated items that were accessible at various stations included a grenade launcher, rocket launcher, mystery box, light machine gun, ray gun, sniper rifle and body armor. This site definitely gave me a chance to make the most of trying out lots of game features.

I always love when arenas incorporate unique scenery and props.

When my tour was over, I joined a group of five other players headed in for a session that included three games. We were given instruction about the equipment and each game format by the game marshal, Halay, who was sharply dressed like he could be in the CIA or the secret police. He also kept his identity secretive.

I know what you’re thinking…is that Snake Eyes in Minnesota? Lol, I doubt it, but I guess you never know with these men of mystery!

Ok, time to get some games started!

The first game was two team Deathmatch. I would have loved to sign in with my CallSign account and had these games count for Tiviachick, but this time around I would just have to be happy playing as “Charlie”. I scored 11 points, which made me MVP for my team, but we ended up losing this round by two.

That was a good warm-up. Things got a little more serious as we moved on to the four-team mania…although with six players we only had three teams. :)

This was a close match as the blue and green teams tied. I took Top Gun this round and really enjoyed the melee style of the format.

The final game of our session was a free for all. I ended on a high note, taking the game with 25 points and enjoying hearing the other players ask “who was Charlie?”

I had a great time at this arena and wanted to take home a souvenir. Fortunately for me, Amber was on her way in with an assortment of t-shirts they had for sale.

While I waited for her to arrive, I got to chat with the staff about new initiatives they are working on, some of their customization projects and also check out the VR arena.

When Amber (aka Tactical Tilly) arrived we had a great chat where I could see that, like me, she was a very high energy laser tag enthusiast also. Her character drawing fits her perfectly!

You might think from this image that she is carrying a shield, but after getting a sample of her musical talents I can tell you that it is actually depicting a really cool instrument called a hand pan and I am tempted to take it up myself!

After getting a chance to fully experience Tactical Urban Combat I was really impressed. The staff was amazing and I thank them for providing me with a high quality tactical (or as BC says, “modern”) laser tag experience. The games were engaging and fun and the variety of features and game formats kept things interesting. I would definitely love to return to Tactical Urban Combat and play more next time I pass through Minnesota!