Give It a Shot

By Lisa Arnett
Appears in the January 2025 issue.

Burn off some energy at these laser tag venues

When inventor George Carter III created laser tag in 1984, he named it Photon and was inspired by the plasma-shooting blasters in Star Wars. All these years later, it remains a popular indoor game, especially during the colder months when our collective levels of cabin fever are through the roof.

At Astro Fun World in Aurora, you can play with the latest laser tag equipment on an outer space-themed course laden with obstacles such as UFOs and aliens. “We have a brand-new state-of-the-art laser tag system that we installed about a year ago,” says Ron Beem, owner. “There’s a vest and a blaster, and they each have video screens on them with your own avatar you can customize.”

Though visitors at WhirlyBall Naperville need to be 54 inches tall to play their signature bumper car game, younger kiddos can play in the multilevel laser tag arena. “To wear the [laser tag] equipment you need to be 42 inches tall, which we find 7 years old seems to be the sweet spot to meet that requirement,” says Adam Elias, CEO of WhirlyBall. “Kids love it, but adults do as well. It’s the perfect opportunity coming into the heart of winter, when parents are looking for something they can do alongside their kids, or grandparents are looking to take their kids out for the day for a family activity.”

You can play with four to 30 players and choose from several different laser tag games at Whirlyball. “We can do every person for themselves, we can play Capture the Flag, we can do green team vs. red team,” Elias says. “Our referee will manage the game, and they will make sure everyone is playing safely and handle any questions that come up in the middle of the game.”

Long-standing Naperville laser tag arena Chasers opened near Fox Valley Mall back in 1998. It’s now located a bit farther north, near Naperville Park District’s Fort Hill Activity Center. “As a kid, I played laser tag with my mom at a place called Laser Quest,” says Chasers owner Bob Lockwood. “I had so much fun and when I was younger, I remember I looked into franchising it.”

Since buying Chasers in 2023 from the previous owners, Lockwood has introduced new storytelling elements to the laser tag arena. “There’s Cyber City with Max the Robot, and then you go through Chase City with buildings, a pizzeria, and two big towers you can go into,” Lockwood says. “And then there’s Old City, where there’s rumors of an old military base.”

Players can choose from two types of gameplay at Chasers. “We have tactical, which is like Call of Duty, urban warfare with 750 rounds of lasers,” Lockwood says. “And then we have Space Marines, which is like your classic 1985 Stranger Things laser tag, with unlimited fire.”

Depending on the season, you might happen upon some creepy or kooky characters in the arena. “We have characters like Decrepit Cupids or the Unlucky Leprechaun for February and March,” Lockwood says. “That’s what makes our park different.”

Chasers Laser Tag

1811 High Grove Lane, Naperville
chaserslasertag.com
Requirements: 6 years old and up for Space Marines; 11 and up for tactical laser tag
Pricing per person: $19 for 30 minutes, $29 for 30 minutes and a $10 arcade card, $39 for 1 hour and a $15 arcade card
Other activities: arcade games, Knockerball (bubble soccer), dodgeball, foam dart wars

WhirlyBall Naperville

3103 Odyssey Court, Naperville
whirlyball.com/naperville
Requirements: Must be at least 42 inches tall
Pricing per person: $15 for 30 minutes, $25 for an hour
Other activities: WhirlyBall, bowling, table tennis, cornhole, giant Jenga, Connect Four

Main Event

28248 Diehl Road, Warrenville
mainevent.com
Requirements: Must be at least 48 inches tall
Pricing per person: Variety of passes available starting at $12.99
Other activities: Bowling, gravity ropes, arcade and VR games, billiards

Astro Fun World

301 Route 59, Aurora
astrofunworld.com
Requirements: Must be at least 42 inches tall
Pricing per person: $12 for a single round; $34 unlimited pass for all 10 attractions
Other attractions: Indoor go-karts, ropes course with zipline, mini golf, arcade games, climbing walls and more

Enchanted Castle

1103 S. Main St., Lombard
enchanted.com
Requirements: Must be at least 42 inches tall
Pricing per person: $9.25 per game
Other attractions: Indoor go-karts, bumper cards, arcade games, mini-bowling

WickedBall

332 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard
wickedballchicago.com
Requirements: Ages 8 and up
Pricing per person: $10 per single game, $40/one-hour pass, $50/90-minute pass
Other attractions: Bubble soccer, arcade games, dodgeball, mechanical bull

Lazer X

1455 Lake St., Addison
lazerxtag.com
Requirements: Ages 6 and up
Pricing per person: $8 for one game, $16 for two games, $20 for three games
Other attractions: Arcade

Funway

1335 S. River St., Batavia
funway.com
Requirements: Must be at least 48 inches tall and age 6 or older
Pricing per person: $7 per game
Other attractions: Rollerskating, bowling, bumper cars, arcade games, mini golf, batting cages

Photos: WhirlyBall