5 Must-Try Laser Tag and Paintball Arenas for NYC Kids

August 13, 2017

Are your big kids bored of bowling? Not quite ready for the zip line? Consider laser tag or paintball, both fun party options and action-fueled activities you can find right here in NYC.

For the uninitiated, laser tag is a high-energy game of tag meets hide-and-seek that’s played with infrared laser guns in a darkened arena. Paintball pelts participants with small dye pellets. The object of both games: Get to your opponents before they get to you out by strategically shooting, running, and hiding from cover to cover. Don't worry, the laser guns emit harmless, invisible rays that register a "kill" by lighting up a spot on your adversaries' vests and paintball pellets might sting for a few seconds, but there's no long-lasting effects.

Laser Tag at Bowlmor Chelsea Piers — Chelsea
Pier 60 at 23rd Street and the West Side Highway
This sleek, high-end bowling alley added an aerial ropes course and 3,000-square-foot laser tag arena to its attractions in 2014. The laser tag has an NYC theme with replicas of landmarks like the Washington Square Park Arch and the Statue of Liberty. My son really loved the laser guns, which are less realistic than other local spots and shoot a visible beam of light. Children need to be at least 44 inches tall to play.