Shadowland Laser Adventure is coming to Chantilly — and it's like nothing this area has ever seen. It's also way more than laser tag.
"It's part sport, part video game, part problem-solving and a whole lot of adventure," said Randall Briggs, president of Concepts 21 Ltd., Shadowland's parent company.
It'll be near the Dulles Expo Center at Route 28 and Willard Road, near the Holiday Inn. It needed a special permit to locate here and, on Sept. 10, the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved it unanimously.
"It's appropriate for both youth and adults," said BZA member Jim Hart. "With the population growth here, we're always looking for more recreational opportunities, and this is one more choice."
Shadowland will be created inside a 9,200-square-foot, one-story building on 13.3 acres. Some 4,600 square feet in back will be a hexagonal-shaped arena that may be rearranged in various ways to suit the game. Altogether, patrons will be able to play on about 6,500 square feet of space on two different levels.
There'll be educational and meeting rooms, a game room and snack bar. Hours are Monday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (but private groups could rent it by the hour then); Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Saturday, 10 a.m.-midnight; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Lock-ins for overnight parties are available.
Shadowland Laser Adventure Centers have operated in Columbia, Md., since 1997 and Gaithersburg, Md., since 1999. Briggs began considering Fairfax County after Northern Virginians trekking to Gaithersburg asked him to bring one here, too.
"We tend to do better in suburbs, and [Chantilly is] a good, central location," he said, noting that the National Air and Space Museum Annex, opening next year in Chantilly, and the expo center, will both draw visitors to the area.
For example, said Briggs, mothers could attend a show at the expo center and drop off their 10- and 12-year-olds at Shadowland. "It's very safe," he said. "Our main age group is 6-12. On a typical winter weekend, 60-75 percent of our sales are birthday parties."
Midweek, the facility attracts more corporate groups, plus after-school birthday parties. (Reservations required). Although individual walk-ins are welcome, birthday parties, youth groups and corporate gatherings are the company's bread and butter.
Shadowland creates scenarios for laser adventures which are physical and intellectual and require strategy and thinking. That's why they're great for teaching team-management to groups and corporations. Student-government leaders could also learn teamwork this way.
"You could have several teams playing at a time," said Briggs. "We have hundreds of different games and scenarios and we're constantly coming up with new adventures." He says Chantilly will probably have a theme of being inside a spaceship: "We think that's appropriate, with the Air and Space Museum so close by."
Players will be given special suits to wear and will receive laser handsets; they'll learn how to work them, and then teams will play for 15 minutes. "You tag your opponent by infrared remote control," explained Briggs. "Lights are on the suits — each team is a different color. There's a radio on the suits and a computer screen on the back of the handsets. It tells you your current ranking among the players."
But there's more to the game than just tagging other players. Hardware GEMS — game-enhancement modules — are mounted around the arena. Players can tag them — and they can tag the players. Said Briggs: "When you tag people or GEMS, you get points and credits to purchase powers to enhance your ability to score more points."
For example, players could choose the power of invisibility. Normally, the lights on the suits tell which team a player is on. But if a player became invisible, his lights would go out — making it harder for his opponent to see him.
"Or you could choose invulnerability, so you can't be tagged for a certain period of time," said Briggs. "It's like [the movie] 'Lord of the Rings.'"
Chantilly's Shadowland will have 40 suits, and players could choose sides in any combination. It could even be a solo game — one person against any number of people up to 39. Typically, there are two teams of 15 players, or so, per team. "Or you could have 10 teams of two players each," added Briggs. "And both partners could share the same powers."
Players pick code names, such as Terminator or Poison Ivy. Afterward, they receive scorecards of their tags, bonus points, ranking and team scores. "This is where lots of team-building takes place," said Briggs. "Team members discuss the game and bond over their shared experience. And it's a great way to bridge the gap between parents and children."
Cost is $7.25/half-hour adventure; $14/two adventures; $19.50/three adventures. Briggs anticipates a Feb. 1 opening and looks forward to holding community fund-raisers and making donations to local schools. He'll also offer three-hour, Tech Challenge field trips to school classes, teaching students how Shadowland's computer technology, laser equipment and infrared radios all interact together.