Why It’s Healthy to Shoot Your Spouse

Posted on March 16, 2015 by admin

In honor of Mike’s birthday this week, today’s Post is by guest author, Molly Peterson.

I like to tell my friends that there’s nothing like going out and shooting your husband to support a healthy marriage. Of course, the people I’m talking to know that I mean with a laser tag gun. (What did you think I meant?). Today I am going to try to unpack why it is that I say that, because it really is true for me. Being on the battlefield with Mike whether I’m playing on the same team or against him, I finish the day feeling happier with a stronger bond in our relationship.

It’s not unusual for my joke about shooting Mike to be interpreted as a need to get out my frustrations with him. However, I think this is actually the smallest aspect of why I like playing with him. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting the best of Mike on the battlefield, but it’s not what really helps our marriage grow through playing laser tag.

Perhaps it’s the heat of battle. It is well known that military folks have a kind of bond that is hard to find among other coworkers. Heck, soldiers would balk at the very term coworkers. They are family. They have worked together in an intense physical environment where they relied on their base instincts, physical training, and their buddies. These characteristics are similar on the sport battlefield. The greater you become immersed in the game, the more intensely these effects are felt. As someone who has the deepest respect for those who put their lives on the line for our country, I marvel that laser tag could inject a small fraction of that kind of bonding into my marriage. But I do think it makes some sense. There is a lot of adrenaline flowing as you become totally absorbed in the battle.

Perhaps it’s just getting to play. I mean, what did you do with your best friend when you were a kid? You played! And you played games that you both thought were AWESOME. You thought each other’s ideas were AWESOME. You built each other up just by how much fun you had. How often do you play with your spouse? You probably work pretty well together. You’re able to divide responsibilities and keep a household running smoothly. While that can be rewarding, it doesn’t make you feel like your spouse is AWESOME. Having fun with someone creates a lot of positive atmosphere. Those positive memories hang around. You tend to like people more if you have had fun with them. I love my memories of having fun playing laser tag with Mike and our friends. The friends who play laser tag with me are definitely the most AWESOME.

And that is why you should absolutely seize the opportunity to play laser tag with your spouse and also with your kids.

Violence, Laser Tag, and Combat Sports

Posted on October 27, 2014 by admin

While this is coming a bit late, we do want to take a moment to respond to concerns that might arise in the wake of recent shootings, primarily those at schools.

It is not uncommon for us to receive questions about violence and school shootings in connection with our sport. Could a school shooter learn how to do what he wants from playing with us? Do we encourage a violent perspective? These questions are valid and welcome; we love to have the chance to discuss this topic! Continue reading →

What’s the difference between “strategy” and “tactics?”

Posted on September 29, 2014 by admin

Strategy and tactics are often used interchangeably, which is actually an error. Although they are related, they do refer to different things.

Strategy is the approach taken overall in a battle. Strategies include rushing, turtling and camping, multi-prong attacks, etc. A strategy is the general approach to a conflict and while it may dictate what individuals on the battlefield will do it doesn’t, as a rule, tell them how to do it.

Tactics, on the other hand, are the specific actions you take on the field as an individual or as a small group to achieve the goals of the overall strategy. Will you use a pin and flank maneuver or two separate attacks? What pieces of cover will you choose to hide behind? How do you use that cover and, if necessary, leave it? What roles will the people on your team fill? When five opponents come barreling down the trail how will you ambush them? These are all tactical considerations and are generally solved on the fly, usually with the training or skills that the individuals involved have learned.

So in general, strategies are how you win the battle and tactics are how you solve the problems that you run into while executing the strategy. Which is more important? Well, both, really. I’m fond of saying, “a bad strategy executed perfectly will usually beat a perfect strategy executed badly.” In general a good strategy will help you win but tactics will keep you alive on the path to victory. They both rely on each other quite a bit.

FAQ: What will my laser tag party look like?

Posted on May 27, 2013 by admin

In general, almost every laser tag party or event ends up with almost the same structure. Obviously we customize this for each customer, for each circumstance, and for each location, but in general we’d like to give you an overview of what you can expect from us when you hire us for your event. As you’ll see, the goal is to make everything as easy and effortless for you as possible. After you hire us it’s our job to make the event run smoothly, not yours. You can sit back and relax, play, take pictures, whatever. Continue reading →

FAQ: How to Play Laser Tag

Posted on May 13, 2013 by admin

We wanted to give you a quick overview of how to play laser tag so you could see, before you arrive, how simple it really is. So here’s how to use the gaming guns we use on the field. (Alternately, are you looking for what your laser tag party will look like?) Continue reading →

FAQ: Will it make a mess? Will it hurt? (Laser tag safety)

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin

These seem like different questions about laser tag safety but they’ve actually got the same answer: No! Our gaming guns don’t use physical projectiles of any sort: no pellets, no paint, nothing. They only shoot light beams at each other. It’s the same light, in fact, that comes out of your TV remote. It’s completely safe for your eyes and isn’t an actual laser, which would be dangerous. Continue reading →