How to Build a Profitable Laser Tag Business: Practical Guide and Real Case Study by James Goldstein

Running a profitable laser tag business is about much more than buying guns and hoping for bookings. It’s about choosing the right model, systems, and customer experience from day one. Few people understand this better than James Goldstein, founder of Laser Tag on the Go in Connecticut, USA — a 100% mobile laser tag company.

“We specialize in mobile laser tag. We don’t have a facility — we’re 100% mobile. We go out to events,” emphasizes James Goldstein.

Below are practical lessons from James’s journey that you can apply to your own laser tag business, whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale.

Choose a Flexible Business Model

James originally considered opening a traditional indoor arena for birthday parties. Then the pandemic hit.

“I was thinking of opening a facility… but then the pandemic hit, everything shut down, and I was actually grateful we didn’t go that route — we would’ve been in serious trouble,” recalls James Goldstein.

Instead of a fixed location, he built a fully mobile operation that sets up games in backyards, parks, schools, summer camps, colleges, and corporate campuses.

Why mobile worked so well for him:

Even if you already run a facility, James believes mobile is a powerful add‑on.

As James Goldstein explains, “I’ve talked to facility owners who began exploring the mobile market. With the right equipment, you can easily support mobile events and create an extra revenue stream.”

Invest in Reliable Equipment From the Start

Like many entrepreneurs, James tried to save money at the beginning — and regretted it.

“We started with some other laser tag equipment and kept things very small at first. It didn’t last for us — it just didn’t work. Looking back, one thing I would’ve changed is investing more money right from the start,” admits James Goldstein.

A few months later he switched fully to professional‑grade LASERTAG.NET’s equipment and never looked back. For him, the critical factors were:

He also had a very specific requirement for how the taggers should look.

As James Goldstein points out, “in my area, anything associated with ‘guns’ can be sensitive. That’s why I looked for equipment that didn’t have a military feel. Falcon Lux, with its sci-fi, Star Wars-like design, turned out to be a perfect match for my audience,” says James Goldstein.

Looking back, he says he would have started bigger:

As James Goldstein explains,“We started with 24 Falcon taggers. I probably would have doubled that order… you always need to have extra, so we can cover four complete birthday parties at once.”

Keep Game Formats Kid‑Friendly and Easy to Run

Most of James’s business is kids’ birthday parties, camps, and families, so his games are deliberately simple, high‑energy, and “softened” in language.

“We’ve always said we went more the Disney Star Wars approach. We don’t type in the kids’ names. We give them Star Wars names — Jedi, Princess Leia, Baby Yoda, Mandalorian,” notes James Goldstein.

He also avoids heavy weapons language:

“We don’t say the word bullets or ammo, just because of the area we’re in. We say you get health, you get power in your blaster,” says James Goldstein.

Core game modes he relies on:

As James Goldstein recalls, “Usually we start with team versus team… Then we’ll do a free‑for‑all. We call it high score and tell the kids it’s like Battle Royale — they think Fortnite and they’re all loving it.”

Accessories like Sirius, Smart Domination Boxes and Nebula grenades are used to add “wow moments,” especially for the birthday child:

“When we do birthday parties, the birthday kid… gets a bigger tagger and we give him a Nebula grenade. He thinks he is the coolest kid at the party,” admits James Goldstein.

Design Compact, Fun Fields for Every Location

One of the biggest challenges in mobile laser tag is setting up a good playing field in random backyards and parks. James has learned to prepare before he ever arrives.

“We use a really cool thing called Google Earth. When a client books us, we’ll type in their address and get a satellite view of their yard, and get an idea of what it looks like,” says James Goldstein.

Over time he discovered that “smaller but dense” fields are better than huge spread‑out arenas:

James Goldstein puts it simply: “We don’t keep them very wide… sometimes about the size of a basketball field really kind of helps us. That gives them enough where they’re not too winded.”

He also scales the number of inflatable bunkers with group size:

“As we go up in packages, we go up in bunkers… everything from a large brick to a temple, or even jumbo centers where four people can hide around it,” says James Goldstein.

For very large yards, he deliberately keeps the play area smaller so kids don’t burn out after one game:

“Some clients have two acres of property and they want the kids to spread out. I’m like, they will be exhausted. We found a good formula that we could have a large course but keep them more contained,” notes James Goldstein.

Put Safety and Discipline Front and Center

Mobile operators have to deal with unknown yards, uneven ground, pools, and guests who don’t know the layout. Safety has to be part of your brand.

“Safety is one of our biggest concerns. Being mobile, we have to really be cautious of our surroundings. A lot of times we’re dealing with pools… guests are coming to your home and they’re not familiar with the territory,” explains James Goldstein.

A few practical elements James uses:

As James Goldstein points out, “We implement the hand sensor on all of our Falcon taggers… to prevent kids from taking one hand and just waving the tagger and hitting somebody.”
“Everybody stops for a whistle. It’s the only thing that stops these kids and makes them go, ‘Okay, we’re gonna stop, we got it.’”

If someone ignores the rules, coaches use the LASERTAG OPERATOR software:

“We’ll go into the system, player 5, and we’ll deactivate them. They’ll come over and go, ‘It’s not working.’ I go, ‘Okay, it’s not working for this reason,” notes James Goldstein.

With NEBULA grenades, he’s extremely strict about throwing style:

As James Goldstein recalls, “I tell the kids, anybody who throws it overhand, even if it’s the birthday boy, you’re out of the game. Do we understand the rules?”

Standardize Operations With Checklists and Apps

As the company grew from a one‑truck family operation to 14 employees, the main bottleneck shifted from finding customers to staying organized.

“When we first started, it was myself and my two sons… We have 14 employees now. One of our biggest challenges is hiring,” says James Goldstein.

To keep everyone aligned, James built everything around clear checklists and a team app:

“We use a program called Connect Teams… It allows me to create forms. If my guys are out there doing an event and something breaks, they can take a picture, send me the serial number, tell me a brief description,” notes James Goldstein.

He uses the app to:

“It’s free for up to 10 people. I looked at every scheduling program… When you’re dealing with high school, college kids, they’re on their phone. I want to be able to schedule something, push a notification, and they can approve or decline the job,” says James Goldstein.

His team also follows a strict recharge routine back at the warehouse: pulling all taggers out of cases, charging them, topping up batteries for bunkers, headbands, devices and speakers. Missing a charge on a single tagger is one of the most common “problems” they see.

Use Music to Transform the Experience

Sound design is often overlooked. For James, it’s a core part of the product.

“When we go out, we bring speakers, so we’re playing music in the background, and that’s one of the things I love about the app — you can play some really cool sounds,” notes James Goldstein.

He uses different playlists for different audiences:

As James Goldstein explains, “We use a lot of high‑energy instrumental… Tron just got released, the newest version, and there’s a lot of great stuff on there that is really cool to use for laser tag.”

Playlists are prepared in advance (he builds them in Spotify) and integrated into the game flow so music and effects start and stop with the scenarios.

Capture Content at Every Event

Video has turned into a powerful marketing engine for Laser Tag on the Go. For higher‑tier packages, James includes filmed highlights.

“We’ll film the event with GoPros or cameras, and then put together a three‑ to six‑minute highlight video and send it to the client. One of our videos that we did early on has almost 90,000 views,” says James Goldstein.

Even when the edit isn’t perfect, the impact is huge:

If you don’t have a pro editor, you can start simple:

As James Goldstein explains, “If you have a GoPro, their cloud will automatically create a video for you. It’s not perfect, but it gives the kids something to see and share.”

The key is consistency: film often, publish regularly, and reuse clips across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Build a Marketing Engine Around SEO and Word‑of‑Mouth

Despite strong growth, James spends surprisingly little on ads. His main focus is being visible where parents actually search.

“We really focus on Google. We work on SEO so when somebody types ‘laser tag near me’ or ‘laser tag birthday party’ in our area, we show up without having to pay for ads,” admits James Goldstein.

He reinforces this with:

As James Goldstein recalls, “When we do events, we’ll post in the local moms’ groups and town groups. We’ll say ‘Thank you to this town, we had a great time’ and tag it. People see us that way.”

Camps and schools are another massive word‑of‑mouth channel:

“We come out for a three‑, four‑, or six‑hour camp… These kids all go home and they had such a great time and they’re telling their parents. The parents call us up: ‘My son, my daughter was at summer camp, we want to inquire more about birthday parties,” says James Goldstein.

Diversify Your Client Segments

Laser Tag on the Go started with birthday parties, but quickly expanded into other segments that now drive serious revenue.

James Goldstein puts it simply: “Birthday parties and summer camps are our two biggest revenue‑driven areas in our market.”

Today, their mix includes:

Each segment has its own format, timing and pricing, but the core product — mobile laser tag — stays the same. This diversification makes the business less seasonal and less dependent on any one type of client.

Price for Real Profit, Not Just Play Time

James is very honest about costs: fuel, staff, insurance, equipment, logistics and prep time are significant, especially in a high‑wage area.

“Sometimes we’re traveling 30, 40 minutes, an hour to get to an event, and that’s all cost. Sometimes we’re driving to the event just as much as we’re playing,” says James Goldstein.

He structures his pricing around:

He also emphasizes how long a “90‑minute party” actually takes his team: loading, driving, setup, briefing, games, teardown, driving back, charging equipment. When you price your packages, you need to account for that full cycle, not just what customers see.

Protect Your Business With Insurance and Waivers

In the US, working with schools, camps and corporates means meeting strict insurance requirements.

As James Goldstein recalls, “We operate as a company with insurance. Almost every time a school or camp books us, they want to see a certificate of insurance and be listed as additional insured.”

He also uses waivers for participants, especially minors:

“Parents sign a waiver online when they accept the digital invitation. It’s easy for them and easy for us to track,” says James Goldstein.

His advice to other operators is clear: talk to a local insurance agent who understands entertainment or sports businesses, and don’t assume a waiver alone will protect you.

Final Thought

James’s story shows that a laser tag business can grow fast and profitably if you combine the right model (mobile), reliable LASERTAG.NET equipment, strong safety culture, and smart marketing. He didn’t bet on one big arena — he built a flexible system that can show up anywhere and deliver a consistent “wow” experience.

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