Laser Quest / Quasar / Megazone

[oli_lar]

I've no idea where any are now, shame really.

was the quaser the one near castle market? I know some friends went to one round here recently, but don't know which one. Didn't bother as guns etc are always broken, as others have said paintballing is so much better, for example seeing your mate climb up a tree and then getting shot in the head and falling out haha

[silvergunner]

Yeah I remember Laser Quest. Used to go to the one at Hollywood Bowl in Stockton. Once when i went with one of my mates, he got stalked all the way round What was even funnier was he could not get a shot off at all as this little kid who kept following him, who must of been about six and could just about manage wearing the vest. He kept shooting him and just as his vest reset so he could start firing again this kid would just shoot him point blank again God he got so stressed

[joefish]

Since we're raising this thread from its grave, I recently found this old C+VG article on one of the early laser games that was just amazing to read at the time. Little did I expect the technology to come and go as a passing fad in the UK:
ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sincl ... 400039.jpg
ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sincl ... 400040.jpg

This is from Issue 54, April 1986. That issue also contains one of the first previews of the Atari ST. This link is the full C+VG archive:
ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sincl ... iewer.html

[Wookiee]

Blimey that takes me back

We had a Quasar open near us when we were teens, went there a fair bit for a while and got pretty good.

But it got stupid towards the end, the ghetto kids were always covering up their packs or plugging headpghones into the guns (this apparenlty meant no hits registered but the gun worked fine when they pulled it out for their shots etc)

That caused me to have a few rucks to be honest, benefit of being a big lad was you could knock these muppets over and shoot em on the floor a few times

The classic was when they put grease on the floor to stop people running.....some genius move right there, obviously no one stopped running and everyone just ended up smashing into each other at high speed in the dark

It deffo went from being a nice fun well run place to a hang out for the "troubled urban youth" at the end, most of the marshalls were mates with the kids hanging around in the arcade to mug the little kids as they came out etc. Turned into a pub and now a set of poncy flats these days.

Shame though cos I used to think these places were great fun - much easier to arrange than paintball and to be honest lots more fun too as a lucky shot wouldn't put you out of the game you'd just paid for.

[rocky1980]

Man this brings back some good memories. The last time I was at a laser quest was aat my brother in laws stag doo in 2006 It was at the Edinburgh Dalry road branch, the place was run down (looked like no money had been spent since the 90's) the batterys in the guns / vests kept dying, they blamed the heat we blamed crap old batterys however it was a DAMM good time. A quick google turns up that not only is it still open but it last just the same as back in 2006. Also I discovered that there are 3 arenas in Edinburgh alone, looks like plenty off people are still playing

[ReplayRetro]

I very briefly worked at QZar in LA Bowl on Sweet Street in Leeds, the place was an utter bomb site and the equipment was mostly broken we had to refund or discount so often its unreal, no surprise that dump is long since shut down

I actually have a good amount of outdoor equipment both old and modern (can you tell what i collected before retro games?) so if anyone local fancied a game (or anyone further afield if you pay my petrol) i'd be up for that, i actually run games for the local scouts sometimes as a bit of extra cash on the side

[ootini]

I could be horrifically wrong here, but I think there are still a few places in my area that still run Qzar's.

Last time I plated Quazar was a long, long time ago after getting turfed out of a house party some time in the min 90's.

The Quazar I used to go to back in the early 90's was in the basement of a massive old building in an industrial estate. Thought the whole thing was the absolute bees knees. The place was completely demolished about ten years ago and they built a massive shopping center on the site.

[ReplayRetro]

yeah there still are some, but the equipment is widely regarded as the worst you can get for arenas these days (heck even when i worked there it was only better than Lazer Quest, which doesn't take much) it's sad but in most places the kit is jsut kept as a "we may as well use this space for something" option when it can actually be an impressive attraction
the best arena i can remember actually had a recreation of a small area somewhat like an FPS map, with a church and a chem factory etc (altho i cud be looking back with rose tinted glasses and it may have looked nothing like that lol wish i knew where it was

[disarm]

I too used to go to Laser Quest at Duke Street in Leicester, which must have been about 20 years ago now. F--k me.

Anyway I loved it at the time. I used to go every Friday afternoon/evening, with my friend 'Overfiend' (not his real name). Seem to remember a few usernames..Maverick, Masia, some guy wearing a shirt and tie who used to pop in on his lunch break. Good players. I remember playing four or five games (think the 5th game was free?) and ended with a slush Puppie for the walk home. Good times.

It's a shame the place turned in to flats but I fell out of love with the place before then. I remember being pissed off with one of the marshals who launched a bit of a personal attack on me after I did really well in a game that he was in. The rest of the staff were great, especially Seamus.

I tried Quasar but found it to be too brightly lit and didn't have the atmosphere of the Duke Street Arena. The MegaZone on Belgrave Gate wasn't as good, thought the arena design was a bit dangerous and I wonder how it has improved now. The place seems to be still going so it must be doing something right. I haven't tried the other place, suspect it will be like a youth club so slightly out of place

[crusto]

I went on holiday with a friend to Butlins in Minehead when I was about 14 or so (feck me, 21 years ago!!) and we discovered a Quasar on the high street there. Iirc it was a cavern like setting, really dark and dry ice was used. We had a brilliant time and spent as much time as we physically (and financially) could in there. We both got quite good at it in the end, although my pal was always just that bit better than me . I used to love the little print outs of your performance you were given at the end of each match.

Great times indeed, I think there were also a good few arcades along the sea front there too. One was called Merlins Magic caves iirc. Im pretty sure Minehead itself was a bit of a dump though