We talked to Maggie Clevenger, store manager, to find out more about Lazer Kraze.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your staff?
A: I have been working at Lazer Kraze for over 12 years. I live in Maineville, I graduated in 2009 from Mason High School. Our staff consists of about 25 part-time high school to college-aged young adults as well as a few full-time employees such as myself. All of our management team has been with Lazer Kraze for many years.
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
A: When I'm not working, I'm busy taking care of my 6-month-old baby Roxy, who loves to sport her Lazer Kraze clothing. I also enjoy playing board games with my husband, Andrew, and our friends. Andrew also works as the tech manager at Lazer Kraze.
Q: What’s the history of the Mason location?
A: Lazer Kraze first opened our doors in the Mason area in October 2004. We started with laser tag and an arcade and expanded to include new attractions anytime we could. After serving our community for nine years, we maxed out our space but wanted to continue expanding. So in November 2013 we moved from our original location on Western Row to where we are currently located at 7082 Columbia Road.
Q: What do you offer?
A: Our facility features a huge multi-level laser tag arena with state-of-the-art equipment. We can run various game formats from a standard team game to complex capture the flag style games. Our arena is loaded with mines and targets to make even a 1-on-1 game fun. The indoor trampoline park is a great place to combine fun with exercise. We have the large jumper where you can literally bounce off the walls and take on fierce games of air dodgeball. Our basketball jumper has two lanes where anyone can live the dream of being able to slam dunk with our adjustable basketball hoops. All ages enjoy our immersive arcade with our eco-friendly play cards that load your tickets straight on to your card. Time Freak is yet another way to get your blood pumping at Lazer Kraze. Face off or play solo against the clock to try and hit the buttons as they light up. The faster you go the more points you get. When it's time for a break, we offer a variety of food and drinks at our concessions area including pizza, chips, mozzarella sticks, candy, soda, hot coffee and so much more.
Q: What are some of the highlights/activities that are the most popular? Do you have any specials?
A: Our combo deals are popular. We have three options to help save guests money at Lazer Kraze. We also have various specials throughout the week including Late Night Lazer on Friday nights, which is a hit with local teens. For $15 every Friday night from 9 p.m.-12 a.m. we offer "all you can play" laser tag. This time is geared toward teens and older, as we like to do some of our more complex games during this time.
Q: What are you most proud of as far as what you bring to the community?
A: We pride ourselves on our great customer service as well as our inexpensive party packages. Feedback is crucial to how we have changed over the years, and we read every review that we receive, so we can better serve our community. We offer safe, affordable family fun in a clean environment that gets the kids off the couch and away from their devices.
Q: Have you received any awards or accolades?
A: Over the years, we have received many awards including five-time Best of the North (awards) for "Best Away From Home Birthday Party." We have also received the "Most Loved Indoor Gym" from Hula Frog, and "Best in the City" from Cincinnati Magazine.
Q: Why would you encourage families to visit Lazer Kraze this winter?
A: Lazer Kraze is a great place to beat the cold and help keep families active and having fun together any time of year. Each year, we see lots of family reunions come in to battle it out in laser tag all together. It really is amazing to see how all ages come together and enjoy the same activity; that is a hard thing to find. We also offer a winter camp to get the kids out of your hair during school break.
Q: How can Lazer Kraze provide guests with something fun to do during winter break, or when planning fun activities during the holidays?
A: We have so many options with our weekly specials and our different activities that anyone can find something that fits their budget and time frame. Whether you have 30 minutes to fill, or three hours, Lazer Kraze has something to offer.
Q: What’s in store for the Winter Camp? And the New Year’s event on Dec. 31?
A: The two-day Winter Camp will be held on Dec. 27-28, and it goes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. It's for ages 7-12 and includes mega amounts of laser tag including different game formats to encourage team skills as well as two trampoline jump sessions. The kids also get to play in the arcade where we do various tournaments. Camp includes pizza for lunch and a time of crafting and is an awesome experience for everyone.
For the past few years, we have offered our New Year’s Eve Bash which, is two “all you can play” laser tag sessions that let you burn some steam before heading home to ring in the New Year. Sessions are 6-8 p.m. or 8-10 p.m. for $15 per person and everyone is guaranteed at least three missions, and everyone gets glow necklaces and bracelets to light up their new year.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
A: Lazer Kraze is a family-owned and operated business that started out as an idea in a kitchen in Mason. We have a location in Erlanger, Ky., and two locations now in the Columbus area. We have donated over $1,000,000 in product and services to local nonprofits, and we strive to have the best equipment and team, so that we can continue to offer great indoor family fun. We're excited about our new Virtual Reality system coming in February and are always looking to provide the best experience possible to the community.
For more information, go online to www.lazerkraze.com.
Contact this contributing writer at gmwriteon@aol.com.
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