You’re on the Isles of Shoals in a post-apocalyptic future dominated by bloodthirsty pirate clones armed with laser guns. A massive, deserted ship glows under black lights on the waterfront, and you do your best to stay hidden from the red-vested vampire who is methodically hunting you down.

It sounds like a made-for-TV movie on the Syfy channel, but it’s actually just a scenario at Raider Laser, a new laser tag arena and entertainment center in Newington. It opened a few weeks ago on Fox Run Road, offering activities like arcade games, skee ball, puck bowling, aeroball, and an SR2 Motion Simulator. There’s also an 80-seat restaurant and a variety of party package deals for kids.

But the main attraction here is the laser tag course, which features a full-scale pirate ship populated by clones of the infamous Blackbeard, who supposedly visited the Isles of Shoals a few centuries ago. There’s also a fortress, multi-level catwalks, a waterfront area and village. The players wear glowing “battle vests” with light-weight, fiber-optic sensors that vibrate when hit with a laser.

Owner Roger Rivers came up with the game’s back story, set in a bleak but visually dazzling future where the only remaining energy is used to power lasers. Rivers, who has a 7-year-old son, said the appeal of pirates has never been stronger, as evidenced by the blockbuster success of the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

“There’s a general interest people have in pirates, and it seems to be time-tested, too,” Rivers said.

Laser tag, too, seems to have withstood the tests of time. The sport has been around since the 1980s and was long prevalent on Hampton Beach. An arena off Ocean Avenue burned down in February 2010, leaving a void on the beach.

The Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth has a laser tag arena with a dinosaur theme, complete with a T. rex and raptor, tropical plants, black lights, fog and sound effects. Located on Route 108, Hilltop also has an arcade, a mini golf course, a driving range, batting cages and go-kart tracks.
Raider Laser offers still other attractions. The SR2 Motion Simulator is like a virtual rollercoaster that replicates the feeling of plummeting down a mountain pass or flying over the Grand Canyon. It can seat up to 12 people, who see the virtual landscape on a screen and feel all the bumps and stomach dips.

Aeroball is a sport played on a trampoline that combines volleyball and basketball. Rivers has already organized league tournaments for aeroball and plans to do the same with laser tag, probably starting in the fall.

The laser tag arena in Newington offers a number of customized team games. In one version, a red-vested vampire hunts for green-vested humans. If a participant is hit by the vampire, his vest turns from green to red and he too becomes a vampire.

The arena was designed by Art FX Studios in Florida and uses LaZer Runner equipment. The system combines wireless radio frequency transmissions, fiber-optic sensors and a laser beam signal carrier to create the excitement of a combat situation without ay of the actual danger. Monitors visible from the floor keep track of each player’s score in real time.

Rivers said business at the venue has been steady over its first few weeks, especially on rainy days when the beach is less appealing. The company has already hosted more than 100 children’s birthday parties, he said. 

But he hopes adults will take advantage of the facility, as well. After all, few people ever outgrow their appetite for lasers and pirates.