A Surprise Game of Lazer Tag (In My Apartment)

For the past few days, my wife has mentioned some kind of “surprise.” She wouldn’t tell me what, only that there was something she was planning. It was mostly “a matter of when” is bout as detailed as she would get.

After work on Friday evening, I walked up to my apartment I found a piece of paper taped to the door.

At first glance, it looked like a series of instructions.

On closer inspection, I saw that the bottom of the page contained a list of “rules.” They were:

After reading things over, it dawned on me what I was looking at. This wasn’t some mere list of instructions or rules…

This was a challenge.

Here’s the gun that I found, on my doorstep. I remember when Lazer Tag guns first came out, and this thing was a markedly different beast.

Here’s something I bet you didn’t know: after 10 shots, you need to re-load the gun. You do this by pulling back on what looks like a safety, and it ejects this psuedo-cartridge at the base of the gun. The act of clicking the cartridge back in reloads the gun.

It took me a while to read over the rules (and the instructions). But once I was prepared, I took off my shoes (for better sneaking around) and entered in to my apartment. Near the front door, I took off my jacket and dropped it on the ground along with camera.

As I walked into the dining room, I noticed that every single closet door was open. Not only that, I saw that Liz had created fake walls to hide behind!

Not only was I being challenged to a Lazer Tag duel, but my apartment had been transformed into a battle arena!

This is a shot of the dining room – it’s kind of hard to see, but the black blanket is draped over the partition… and made for a possible hiding spot.

Peeking in the office, I saw yet another example of how sneaky Liz could be. She took several of our iMac boxes and built a mini-wall.

This is Liz, who ultimately defeated me with a score of 2-1.

//Edit: Note that, even though she’s simply posing for a photo, she still has her fingers on the trigger. On both triggers.

Once I lost the first game, I went back outside and we started again. For the third game (which I won, I had her go outside and enter. I’m thinking the element of surprise (and being the person who hides first) gives you an advantage.

For the record, each time Liz won a game she wasn’t shy about celebrating. You know that motion where you make a fist, and then move like you’re trying to elbow yourself in the stomach? My wife did that after each game she won.

What an amazing, awesome thing to come home to on a Friday evening. There was no way I could have anticipated something like this, and I found myself laughing the entire time we were playing. Liz is by leaps and bounds someone who is really good at surprises.

I felt silly, and very much like a kid again. I’m pretty sure that now, if we ever get into an argument about errands or chores… we have a way to settle things definitively. Rock, Paper, Scissors is for amatuers. Lazer Tag is where it’s at.

Good lord, I married an incredible woman. Did I luck out or what?

Related:
Awesome Birthday Surprise: My Office, Filled With Balloons
After Work Surprise
Wall of Macs
My Amazing (And Slightly Terrifying) Birthday Surprise