What would happen if you crossed the innocent childhood game of tag and a crazy TV gameshow?
The answer awaits in a darkened portion of Coquitlam’s Crash Crawley’s indoor playground that’s hosted children’s birthday parties and playdates for more than three decades.
But the facility’s new Ninja Tag course is for adults and teens only, and manager Mitchell Wilson is discovering it’s becoming a bit of a destination for adrenaline junkies looking to add a competitive vibe to their cardio workouts.
Wilson’s family has owned Crash Crawley’s since 2010, but when the facility had to close last year because of COVID-19 they decided the time was right to stretch into a whole new demographic by replacing its old laser tag and indoor mini golf courses with a giant rumpus room for grown ups.
In July, Canada’s first Ninja Tag arena opened after months of design work and construction by Langley playground manufacturer iPlayCO.
The result is an outsized 5,500 sq-ft kinetic obstacle course which takes cues from the TV gameshows American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout, testing contestants with gruelling sets of physical challenges that can result in painful or embarrassing landings if you fail.
Wilson calls it a “gamified experience” for people who’ve been there done that with day-glo bowling or escape rooms.
Competitors are issued a special wristband embedded with an RFID chip that records whenever its wearer achieves sets of progressively more difficult lighted goals at each of the 14 obstacles.
Standing in the way to frustrate their efforts are narrow balance beams that sway, mesh nets that twist and undulate, a steep, curved wall that’s yet to be fully conquered, narrow plastic tubes and giant translucent exercise balls that roll, tumble and squeeze within the confines of a tight enclosure.
Each successful goal is then tabulated on a monitor out front that keeps track of the best scores of the day, as well as all-time.
“It gets pretty competitive,” Wilson said, adding the best players devote considerable time devising strategies to navigate the course in such a way to score the maximum number of points in a 10-minute round with the least amount of energy and risk expended.
But challenges like the “ball hop” and “spider wall” can be formidable foes. To conquer them, Wilson said, requires skills in gymnastics, parkour, climbing, balance and even a resilient core. Oh yeah, and it all has to be done in a cavernous, darkened hall pulsing with a loud rock soundtrack.
“It’s non-stop running up and down and lateral movement,” he said. “By the end, you’re exhausted.”
But not enough to keep those looking to better their personal best score or even hit the all-time leaderboard from peeling themselves away from the snack bar and trying again.
Wilson said the course is tough enough he had to lower the time limit from its original 15 minutes because competitors were wiped out not even two-thirds of the way through.
Still, he added, “It’s more fun than running on a treadmill.”
For more information, you’re encouraged to visit Ninja Tag’s website.
