If you’ve never played laser tag before, it’s a game in which two teams wearing vests with different-colored sensors try to score points by “shooting” their opponents with laser guns. Every time someone gets hit, the equipment flashes, vibrates, and deactivates for a few seconds.
When my friends and I first entered StarTrooper, we were excited to see the themed arena made up of two large rooms with different objects to hide behind. There are effects like fog and green lighting that make the game even more challenging. We were around 12, but you can easily bring more people since the place was huge. Besides, the more, the merrier (4-24 players allowed simultaneously). One piece of advice: Don’t wear white clothes. I did, and everyone saw me too well in the half-dark.
StarTrooper offers different kinds of set-ups for their laser games. You can decide how you want to play: in teams, in a free-for-all, more complicated games for experienced players, or simple games for kids.
We decided to play two different kinds of team games. The first one was the basic game with unlimited shooting and hits. The second one was more complicated; after getting hit five times, we had to run to our team’s “reload light,” hold our gun under the light, then the gun’s display reloaded our “lives” automatically. I was quite amazed by how well the equipment worked.
Before the game, players get a quick briefing about the equipment. After each 15-minute bout, everyone gets a sheet with the number of hits that they scored and how many times they got hit. Afterwards, we rested in the waiting room and enjoyed free drinks while comparing our results. One friend, who was always running around in the enemy zone during the game, scored zero hits – out of over 1,000 shots.
A 15-minute game costs RMB 40 per person. You can reserve a birthday celebration for RMB 1680 per hour. StarTroopers’ opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday 9am-8pm, but Tuesdays and Fridays are by appointment only.
It was my first time playing laser tag, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an activity that everyone should try at least once with a friend. Even though it was expensive, I really want to do it again.
Address
Wang Jing West Garden, Bldg 316, Wangjing, Chaoyang District
Contact
Call 6475 8329 or email info@startrooper.net to make a reservation. To find out more, check out the StarTrooper website.
beijingkids intern Josefine Rein (15) is a Grade 9 student at the German Embassy School. She’s from Braunschweig (Germany) and has been living in Beijing for two years. She plays basketball and football, and likes hanging around with her friends.
Photo by shawnzrossi via Flickr
