You Can Play Laser Tag On Ice

It’s a thing and it is called hockey tag.

If Disney and muscle injuries have taught us anything, it’s that everything gets better on ice. It stands to reason then, that a game of laser tag could only be made better by slapping on some skates and hitting the rink, a truth Rick Syryda, the owner of Adventure Tag, has fully grasped.

All you need is rink, some players and the help of Adventure Tag to hit the ice, guns a-blazing.

What to expect

Before the first shot is fired, Syryda and his team set up a dozen or so different barriers on the ice to provide cover for players, they get a fog machine pumping over the sheet, and install a light show timed with music played over the arena’s PA system (or their own Bluetooth system, if need be). They transform the rink into a spectacular, icy war zone.

It’s not your typical game of laser tag

On or off the ice, Adventure Tag sets itself apart from other laser tag establishments by offering what it calls “tactical laser tag.” Games are won or lost as a team, something Syryda says is comparable to a game of Call of Duty.

An average round of hockey tag will see participants play six or seven different kinds of game. For example, there’s Team Death Match, where the team that holds out the longest wins. There’s Sniper, where one shot equals one kill and guns must be reloaded after each shot. And there’s Domination, where players must take and keep control of a cube at the centre of the ice to accumulate points.

Suiting up for a game

Games are typically played with a team of 16 to 24 players. Syryda says it’s mostly hockey or ringette teams that book to play hockey tag right now.

All players must wear the appropriate hockey padding and have a basic grasp of how to stay on two skates. Players who wear visors or cages to cover their faces will have to remove them, as Adventure Tag’s taggers aim using a red dot sight.

How to book your battle

Teams currently have to book their own ice time and then inform Adventure tag of when and where it is. That may change if demand keeps up.

“We may, in the near future, have to rent the ice and book the team into the slots that we get,” says Syryda. “It’s never been done before, so we’re just trying to make it work.”

For more information, or to book a time, call 403-259-0168 or visit adventuretag.ca.