Laser-tag

I slid to my right and strained to hear my opponents over the techno music that boomed through the game field. I stepped from behind my barrier at a glimpse of the blue team's blinking chest plate against the black lights, determined to make the first tag. I aimed through the holes in a few of the barriers and held my breath as the laser beamed through the fog that clouded the room, striking the chest plate of another player. I smiled just before my own rig started vibrating and my phaser shut down. Dang it, I thought, as I turned to see a yellow team member lower his phaser. \nI got tagged! \nThis isn't a description of some 1980s sci-fi movie, but a scenario that occurs every night in the LazerLite facility that opened last November at 4505 E. Third St. LazerLite is an arcade, but it boasts the only laser-tag facility in Bloomington, and those that haven't tried it don't know what they're missing.\nSophomore Kara Argus says laser tag provides a diversion from spending the weekends at the dorms.\n"You can sit around with your friends for so long," Argus says, "or you can go play laser tag."\nYou enter the facility through the arcade portion, which has games but nowhere near the amount a normal arcade should. Not to worry, the adventure's only starting. First you sign in to the computer system with a little help from Adam Abel, the 13-year-old son of the owner and the person who holds every high score in the arcade.\n"I wouldn't come in if you plan on playing against me, because you'll probably lose," says Abel.\nAfter noticing that every game has "AWA" as the high score because of Abel, you receive your ID card and enter the briefing room to receive instructions about the short list of rules and how to properly wear the laser tag harness. \nThen it's time to suit up. The harness fits like a not-so-bulky life jacket with blinking sensors on the chest, back, shoulders and phaser. Twenty-one possible players are split into three teams of blue, red or yellow, though the highest number of players without crowding the floor would be about eight.\nNow everyone is ready to play. The attendant checks one last time to make sure everyone is squared away before the doors open to the foggy, black-lit arena, and everyone has 20 seconds to spread out before the game begins. Each game lasts about 10 minutes, which is more than enough time to break a sweat while dodging laser beams and ducking up and down through the camouflage maze of the playing floor. \n"It gives them something to do," Bloomington resident Brian Hastings says. "The theme is nonviolent. They make sure to call them phasers instead of guns."\nWinners and losers are not based on kills or hits, but the amount of points scored ... the more you tag the other opponents, the more points you get. Each time a person is tagged, the harness will vibrate and shut down for five seconds, giving each person enough time to relocate within the arena. The situation is complicated by techno music and several fog machines, which serve to reduce visibility and marginalize any noise an opponent might make.\n"I loved sneaking up on people," sophomore Andy Shoulders says. "The place had a real maze feeling to it."\nTen intense minutes later, the alarm will sound and the game will be over. "Drinks, please!" the sweat will scream as it trickles down your face. While you sit and enjoy the after-game relaxation, Abel will bring each person the results of the game, complete with how many times you were tagged versus how many times you tagged someone else, allowing you to retell the entire game to those who didn't see your incredible tags.\nYou can choose from playing one to three games in a row, and getting three games instead of one or two is cheaper in the long run. One game is $6, two games cost $11, and three games cost $14. \nLazerLite is open 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.