Barney Stinson does it and does it to “awesomeness”. And now you can do it too, right here in your city. No, we’re not talking about the How I Met Your Mother stud’s luck with the ladies, but with the laser gun! Let’s Laser Tag at 21A Shakespeare Sarani (basement of Standard Chartered building) is eastern India’s first laser tag arena. Last week, the t2 campus team decided to check out this exciting world of Mayan jungles, Avatar and all things sci-fi.

The playing arena is pitch-dark, with neo-creative artwork all around. “Neon-lit walls, flying mushroom, Ewa’s tree of life, dragons... and you in a suit with a laser gun in hand. It’s the perfect place to be with friends. Shooting with laser guns, and formulating strategies along the arena give you the feel of actually being inside a game and playing the character yourself,” gushed Debdeep Banerjee of St. Xavier’s College.

Originally invented to train American army personnel in combat situations, laser tag has now become a worldwide craze, and not just among the youth. Many corporates use a laser tag outing as a team-building exercise. “We get all kinds of crowds, from youngsters to office-goers. I think this is the ideal place to celebrate birthdays and also corporate events as this helps in spot strategy making and sharpens leadership skills,” said Roshni Ali, one of the owners of Let’s Laser Tag and a former member of the t2 campus team. Go girl, we say!

Each action-packed session costs Rs 200 per person. There’s also a cafe that offers coffee, mocktails, kebabs and more. Let’s Laser Tag is open 10am to 10pm on weekends and 11am to 9pm on weekdays.

“Generally the youth of Calcutta do not have too many options to chill with friends other than at hookah bars or movies, so we hope this will be a nice place to hang out on weekends or after college. Also, playing laser tag gives you both physical and mental exercise, so there’s never a dull moment,” said Xerxes D. Irani, co-owner, Let’s Laser Tag.

“The best part about Let’s Laser Tag is midway into the game you forget about the scores and begin to just enjoy! I’d love to come here with friends after a busy day in college,” said Priyankar Patra,
Asutosh College.

“Barney Stinson is crazy about laser tag, and now I know why! I had a brilliant time. I could have never imagined that this would be so much fun. I hope this leads to more such initiatives being taken in the city,” said Rwitoban Deb, Jadavpur University.

“Seeing how I fare in every other kind of sport, I was pretty anxious about playing laser tag. All I had for intel was Barney in How I Met Your Mother. Needless to say, a minute into the game and I realised what all the hype was about! You feel like you’re playing out a character from a video game,” said Sanjana Ray,
Presidency University.

Text: Malancha Dasgupta
Pictures: B. Halder