WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- I attended the South Florida Fair this year with the hope of finding something new to write about. I walked around the fair; nothing new. Since I am not particularly a ride partaker, I was able to get through the entire fair in under 2 hours. There was absolutely nothing new to write home about, or at least for this writer, no paycheck here! Then, as I walked out of the giant candy store on the last aisle of the fair, something caught my eye. It was a long line of people standing outside a trailer which was wrapped to look like a treasure on a pirate ship. Now, since the only line I saw today was the line waiting to get into the ladies restroom, this rather excited me!

I found out it was a new Laser Maze Challenge. Someone outside described it as an obstacle course made of laser beams. So while I waited on the line for about 15 minutes, I watched people coming out with big smiles on their faces and some even getting back on the line to go through again. I finally got inside. Cooler than cool! I felt like I was Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Green and Red laser beams shooting across the room in different directions. The participants will hit the button when they are ready to begin, and the timer starts counting down. You need to navigate your way through the maze to get to the, "pirates treasure," then head back the other way all within the time limit. Points are also deducted every time you break a beam and a siren sounds to simulate a security alarm. It took me about a minute to get through and I broke several beams, but it was actually something I would consider going through again.

I found out that a company called Thunder Ridge Entertainment, manufactured this Laser challenge inside a mobile trailer 20 x 8 in size. The attendant at the fair couldn't tell me much more than the instructions to get through the challenge, but did give me a business card with the company's website www.thunderridgeusa.com, so I could make contact with someone who could answer some questions.

"We have developed a variety of themes such as art thefts, diamond heists and now even a pirate ship treasure," said George Domaceti, the company's president. "Additionally, no two mazes are alike. We have over a thousand different patterns which can be changed at any time in each maze, however we advise our operators to keep the same pattern for the entire day as many people will want to go through again and again until they can master the challenge."

Those last words he had said, "again and again," remained on my mind and translated into dollar signs. Yes, it was obvious, the people who were getting back in line wanted to beat their previous score or beat their friend's score. It was quite addicting; I was hooked and judging by the crowd, they were too. The company also offered a video of the participants experience on DVD for an additional $5. I clearly saw the future for this new challenge game.

"The laser maze challenge is in its infancy.  We are getting calls from people around the world who are interested in owning one. Everyone from theme parks to individual people wanting to start a business," said Domaceti. "Within a year or two, you are going to see these in places like Malls, Amusement Parks, Bowling Alleys and Arcades. We install these for use in either a free standing retail establishment or inside mobile units so they can be easily driven up to temporary venues such as fairs, festivals and even private parties."

Sometimes I wish that I didn't love to write so much, as this writer is fascinated with the business opportunity that exists here.

Media Contact:

Karen Brown Amusement News Writers Assoc., 954-200-8910, kbrownwrites@yahoo.com

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SOURCE Amusement News Writers Assoc.

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