New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Laser tag returns to Newington
Other fun centers around CT add new attractions
NEWINGTON — Duck, cover and prepare for the zap: Laser tag is coming back to Newington.
Canada-based LaserMaxx announced it would be opening a new laser tag attraction at 3005 Berlin Turnpike later this year.
“LaserMaxx promises to deliver an exceptional laser tag experience featuring state of the art equipment and A HUGE multi-level maze,” the company said on Facebook. There will also be fog inside the maze, according to the announcement.
LaserMaxx also began hiring for the location last week and said it expects to open the attraction by early February.
The Newington LaserMaxx is set to take shape in a storefront space formerly occupied by LaserQuest, a competing laser tag franchise that closed the location in 2021. The closed location still sports LaserQuest’s “Indiana Jones”-style interior, with a faux-stone floor and signage for games including “Ironman” and “Key Quest.”
“Our business model is to take over as many of the old LaserQuest sites as we can and bring them up to a new generation of laser tag with brand-new, state-ofthe-art laser tag equipment,” said Philip Aldis, CEO of LaserMaxx and a longterm veteran of LaserQuest. So far six of the former company’s locations in the U.S. and Canada have been converted to the new brand.
What’s unique about Newington is that LaserMaxx has convinced eight former LaserQuest employees from Connecticut to work at the new attraction so far, some with histories at the location dating back as far as 2005.
“They come back and say they want to join the team because they’ve seen the expansion of LaserMaxx and the fact that we’re keeping that really fun culture of LaserQuest alive,” Aldis said. “Work is a place where people can come and feel respected and have fun together. And of course, that’s contagious towards the customers as well.”
The location seems suited to a family attraction: Nearby in Newington’s Turnpike Plaza are a GameStop and Taro Taro Boba Shop, with a Chuck E. Cheese franchise across the road.
LaserMaxx Lasergames, a manufacturer based in the Netherlands, announced in November of 2021 it would relaunch and rebrand LaserQuest locations in Canada and the U.S. with updated designs and equipment. LaserMaxx North America is based in Ontario, Canada.
Game popularity shifts with trends
A game drawn from military training, laser tag has sustained some level of popularity for decades since it was first introduced to the public in the 1980s. A “phaser” inspired by the “Star Trek” TV series was the first toy released with a sensor that could detect laser strikes, followed by updated gear made by Photon and then Lazer Tag.
The first arena opened in 1984 in Texas, with the peak of laser tag hitting in the 1990s with the rise of electronic arcades, according to the website Main Event, a chain of entertainment centers that features the game. The military is phasing out laser tag, announcing last year that it would substitute optical and GPS-paired devices for laser equipment in “simulated engagement training,” according to National Defense magazine.
But although its peak popularity has passed, laser tag still draws customers to modern “family entertainment centers” like SportsCenter of Connecticut in Shelton, which currently boast the state’s only laser tag arena.
Laser tag’s more concussive cousin, paintball, also lives on at venues like Middlefield’s Power Ridge Resort and standalone facilities like Matt’s Outback Paintball in Coventry and the one planned for Ansonia.
Although the number of paintball businesses increased slightly in 2021, equipment sales and participation has steadily declined since that activity’s peak in 2018, according to data site Statista.
Ninjas sneak into fun zones
Instead of focusing on one activity, many family entertainment centers are now offering a range of activities including laser tag, ninja courses and trampolines, according to IAAPA, a trade group representing the attractions industry. Ninja courses test physical skills on obstacle courses based on shows like “American Ninja Warrior.”
Adding new obstacles and equipment to an attraction like a ninja course can draw visitors even as the larger activity wanes in popularity, park managers said in an IAAPA post entitled “Jumping on a Trend.”
In addition to laser tag, Shelton’s SportsCenter of Connecticut offers target paintball, virtual reality and a video arcade among its indoor attractions, along with a golf range, bowling and an ice rink.
Flight Adventure Park Manchester features dodgeball, climbing walls, an arcade and a Ninja Warrior course in addition to its trampolines.
Trampoline parks are a growing sector of the attraction industry, with a new Sky Zone park planned for the city of Hartford later this year. Sky Zones currently operate in Trumbull and Norwalk; a Bethel location closed in 2019 after five years in business.
“We can’t wait to bring the Sky Zone experience to the vibrant city of Hartford alongside a set of wonderful franchisees,” said Chief Business Officer Mike Revak in announcing the new location last month.
The Utah-based company, which currently operates 250 Sky Zone locations across the U.S. and Canada, is currently “looking for real estate” for the Hartford location, according to a spokesperson.
Sky Zone said it plans to open the new Hartford location in the first half of 2024, offering its full suite of trampoline attractions along with a ninja course, zip lines within the park and “interactive iWalls that immerse players in a full-body play experience.”
Aldis of LaserMaxx said that laser tag remains popular with adults and families looking for an interactive and engaging in-person activity that adds in the thrill of the chase and whiff of danger. The Newington location will add to the sense of danger by adding virtual-reality thrill rides and a live-action element which will enable the arena itself to zap players with lasers.
Aldis traces his own love of the game to the fun he had chasing and being chased by his siblings as a child. “That thrill of sort of the unknown as to what is waiting around the corner is really what makes it truly exhilarating,” he said. “Every time you play, you’ll hear someone sort of yelp in excitement. It’s that element of fear that just makes it thrilling.”