Have you been noticing more and more photos popping up on social media of locals playing laser tag in a dark arena lit with neon-colored signs and graphics?

Turns out that laser tag has (finally?) arrived in the Maldives!

Introducing… LaserQ!

They are a new business that provides the experience of playing laser tag locally. We managed to catch up with them recently and got to ask them a few fun questions.

We wanted to get to know the minds behind this frankly awesome idea and help our readers get a better understanding about what’s going on.

What follows is an email interview Emmen Gaming conducted with LaserQ. It has been slightly edited for clarity.

Emmen: Let’s start at the beginning. How did the idea for LaserQ form?

LaserQ: Basically where all ideas are birthed nowadays; over a coffee. We were discussing possible business ventures and we wanted to do something unique. Enter a niche market.

We all agreed that entertainment especially in Malé was something that was hugely lacking and had great potential. People, especially the youth, didn’t have much to do other than going for coffees or a bike ride, along with the occasional visits to the cinema.

Emmen: That is very true. But laser tag… that’s a huge leap forward in terms of fun things to do. What was the inspiration for going in this direction?

LaserQ: To be perfectly honest, laser tag was not our original idea. We had our minds on something different entirely.

Unfortunately we quickly realised that we could not scrape together enough funding to finance it. But we didn’t want to give up. So we started researching entertainment ventures that we could actually pull off with the funding we had.

That’s when we stumbled upon laser tag; something we ourselves had played abroad. So we settled on the idea and quite literally ran with it.

We knew the risks of entering a niche market. There was not much local data to do a market comparison with. We simply didn’t know how people would respond.

Emmen: So far, it looks like they are responding really well. Congratulations! Now… could you elaborate a bit more about your opening times, the packages you offer, and where to find LazerQ?

We operate based on pre-bookings. Since laser tag is a group activity, we thought it would be ideal for our customers to have time in advance to gather their friends or family for a game.

That way, they could book a time slot, even for the weekend when everyone in the group would be free.

We are open for booking from 2pm until midnight on weekdays. On weekends and public holidays, we are open from morning with a break for prayers on Friday, of course.

We have three standard packages. Quick Single, Double Blitz and Triple strike. It’s basically for one, two, or three games of laser tag.

We have designed our packages in a way that it would be like a fun outing for a group of friends or family.

In our double and triple packages there will be a break between games making the package duration about 40 minutes to an hour.

We also wanted to offer exclusivity to our taggers so they can really enjoy themselves and have fun. So we designed our timings to ensure that there won’t be an overlap between other groups, which means you kind of have the place all to yourself for the duration of your package.

We also have an event package ideal for birthdays, other celebrations, and even corporate team building.

We have also introduced a duo package specially designed for couples looking for something unique on date night or just a couple of friends looking to blow off some steam!

Emmen: That sounds amazing! Looks like LaserQ is off to a great start, so let’s talk about the road ahead. What can you share with us about any possible future plans that might be in the works?

LaserQ: We named our company “Haleesaa”, which means “fun” in archaic Dhivehi. We have firmly set our minds to go down the entertainment route.

The overwhelming reception for LaserQ shows how much people have been starved of something fun to do after work, school, and during the weekend.

So our original venture idea is something we will definitely explore going forward. And we also have other exciting new ideas we are planning to roll out in the near future, inshaAllah.

But for now our focus is solely on LaserQ; we have different game modes, more tactical games, and even mini competitions that we will introduce once enough taggers get familiar with our arena.

We will also make subtle tweaks to the arena layout with different obstacles from time to time. Our aim is to offer a whole new experience for our taggers.

And there you have it, folks… LaserQ has entered the building!

And it looks like they are just getting started…

We at Emmen Gaming are very excited about LaserQ. For us, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when”.

What about you, dear reader?

Does the prospect of running around in a dark neon-lit arena and playing laser tag with your close ones excite you too?

Then what are you waiting for?!

Go check out LaserQ on Instagram and who knows… maybe the perfect time slot is just waiting for you.