The Ohio Union is home to a slew of events – meetings, meals, lectures, concerts – but Thursday night it transformed into so much more.
I never imagined I would be able to say I played laser tag inside the Ohio Union but that all changed Thursday night.
I waited in line for about 20 minutes in the Union’s Performance Hall and the entire time all I could think was, “wow this better be worth the wait.” Granted, 20 minutes isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things but I was anxious and it felt like forever.
It didn’t seem to me like an event that would be overly popular or exciting but I was pleasantly surprised. The Ohio Union Activities Board pulled off a pretty cool activity by bringing laser tag inside the Union.
The inside of the Performance Hall looked like a big blow up bouncy house, which wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I was a first time laser-tagger and didn’t really know what to expect actually, but a blow up house wasn’t it.
When we got closer to the front of the line we were handed a paper that we had to sign. I presumably signed my life away, agreeing that any injuries I sustained were my own fault, but I didn’t really read it very closely.
At the entrance to the course, a worker asked if we had all signed the paper. Apparently it was important and I probably should have read it.
We each got our laser guns and were given specific instructions on how to play and how to use the guns. In a group of eight people that were about to play, I was one of two girls so naturally I was intimidated about what was about to happen.
Immediately upon entering the inflatable course, there was a rush of heat and a smell of what I can only assume was sweat – but whatever, it was game time. We all ran in separate directions to start things off.
Again, this was an inflatable laser tag course so you wouldn’t really think it would be difficult to maneuver around but it was, at least for me.
I found myself getting really into the game and becoming super competitive. Each group was only given three minutes of playing time, which was pretty disappointing because it wasn’t nearly long enough.
Only about a minute in, I found myself breaking a slight sweat fairly quickly. Running around in the heat-filled course was a serious workout. I was, of course, the girl that screamed anytime anybody came near me and I’m sure that was annoying but I didn’t care.
By the time I had finally found my groove in the maze, our time was up. I could’ve used at least another couple of minutes.
Once the round was over, the program had a digital scoreboard showing how each player in the round did. In a group of six guys and two girls, I came in second place. Not bad for my first time.
So, despite waiting in line about seven times as long as it took to actually play the game, laser tag in the Union was an unexpected, carefree activity.
Turns out, zapping random strangers with a toy laser gun can be pretty fun, even at age 20.