The bugle sounds over the battlefield. Guns are loaded, ammo is checked and masks come on. The shooting spree begins!
No, this is not a scene from a movie or a hostage situation going wrong. It’s just another regular day at the plethora of paintball and laser tag arenas and spaces that have taken Bengaluru by storm. Although well-established adventure and activity sports, the games are now rapidly attracting the corporate world that dots the Bengaluru cityscape as a means to shoot away stress and build team spirit!
Yes, you read it right. Corporate companies are looking at paintball and laser tag activities as a means to ensure work-related stress is done away with and what better way to do it than to shoot some of your colleagues away in friendly fire!
Anurag Surendra, an IT professional whose firm took their employees over the weekend to a paintball arena near Sarjapur, says it’s one of the best events they’ve done in the company in the last four years he’s worked there.
“The IT field can be an exhausting occupation. And doing anything to de-stress mostly involves going out for a drink or watching a movie with friends. But to chill out with the office crowd and shoot at one another really helped me rejuvenate from work stress.”
Paintball and laser tag involves simple strategies like scoring a goal, capturing a flag, preventing your opponent from reaching a certain point or entering your territory.
The games enhance team management skills, co-ordination and adaptation. Both cost an average of Rs. 300 to 500 per person for around 50 pellets, which varies from arena to arena.
Arun David, a software engineer, points out that the idea of any activity outdoors alone will seem tiresome nowadays, especially with the laid back work culture that’s made us lazy. “But laser tag was so much fun with my office friends. We’ve made it a regular pastime and even make unofficial visits after office hours as a team since it’s so addictive. Often, it’s a battle between employers and employees and the management is very sportive. I’m very happy when my team leader is on the other side,” he quips.
Varsha C.V., who works in a market research company, went to an arena in Koramangala as part of her team outing. “We tried out both paintball and laser tag. Paintball was way cooler than laser tag because we had planning and strategy in place. We scored more in laser tag though. The only disadvantage with paintball is if you get hit in the legs or forearms which don’t have protection, then it hurts. The padding is only for the shoulder, front and upper arms, apart from the helmet. Laser tag was fun in its own way since it was a dark room and we had people running around like crazy. We even had one of the players run straight out of the room in his excitement to escape getting tagged,” she laughs.
It’s always more fun than just going out, drinking and eating and it doesn’t require much planning, Varsha adds. “We went a half day after work and played till late evening. It’s affordable and the company recognises this as an effort to bring the team together. I didn’t even know some of their names till the event. This has given us something common to connect with. I can’t wait for the next outing!”
What makes paintball all the more exciting is that it’s played outdoors and can be absolute fun when you work as a team trying to not get hit while hunting the other team out, says Sanjeev Ramesh, a software developer. “Laser tag has the element of co-ordinating under unfamiliar conditions as an added advantage. Both are great games to play and proven to be effective in team building since our work results have shot up well over the last few months.”
