Spencer Bauer
Flashing lights and fog machines flood the hot dark room as my classmates and I scurry around the slippery floor. No, we are not at a club, its student night at Laser-Quest and the landscape architects have traded their pens, sketchbooks, and cameras for flashing vests and plastic guns. What was supposed to be a fun night of bonding quickly escalated into a cut-throat bloodbath of glory and honor. Although we paid 14 euros for two games and a beer (yes, I said beer) the blood, sweat, and laughs were simply an added bonus. For some, laser tag was a new endeavor but the excitement was thick in the air. Besides our class there was a Dutch father with his daughter and son. At first they appeared like easy targets, this surface level judgment was quickly diminished. Once teams were set, rules were given, and the arena gate flung open. Let the flurry begin.
“Lindsay! Hold the point here, I’m going to flank the right and flush them out!” I think I made it about two steps before Karen sniped me from behind and left Lindsay a sitting duck. The red team was off to a rough start, but the game had just begun. Zigzagging through the maze of strobe lights, glow in the dark paint, and dead ends, our team started to put together a solid series of kills thanks to the Dutch gang. The bells rang and the game ended. Getting out of the arena became a mission in itself, but following the laughter and lights I made it back to the briefing room. You would have thought we all just crossed the finish line of a military obstacle course. Sweat, smiles, and high fives converged between members of all teams as we headed out to the common room where cold beer and “activity juice” (the Dutch version of Gatorade) awaited us. Everyone was given their scorecards to see their game report. Go figure, the Dutch were at the top of the points list with Joe rounding out last place with negative points, no surprises there. Following a refreshing pilsner we eagerly headed back for more. The second game split everyone up into three teams and twenty minutes later we were back in the commons checking for scores and telling “tales of the hunt.” We found out Karen is full time assassin, part time landscape architecture student as she had more than 3 times the points as anyone. While Jody “TA” Rader might be colorblind as she had the most kills against her own team, talk about a happy trigger finger. Overall we had a great time and will definitely be back next week for some more battle scars and war stories.
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