Game Report: Foam Warriorz Northern Kentucky

Over the weekend, as part of Valentine activities, I brought my fiancee down to the Dillard’s Clearance Center in Cincinnati, to enjoy herself for the afternoon. However, instead of torturing myself for hours, I got to run over to Foam Warriorz NKY to see how business was going even with a pandemic. It appears so far, so good, especially when opening the entire arena space and being attentive to various protocols.

Rival Rules

There are actual dart blasters, of course, but part of the business model at Foam Warriorz is being able to pay to use better blasters. Seeing as the ammo is predominantly Rival, they end up having lots of blasters on hand for customers to use. You can, however, bring your own blasters from home and use those without any extra fee. In my case, I brought my Curve Shot Sideswipe and the Fauxmetheus. Partly for saving money, and partly for more war-testing.

The building has other amenities, from video games to axe-throwing. However, those weren’t seeing a lot of use when I was there at the time. It was mainly people signing in to fill out the usual waivers for playing a sporting game, paying at the counter, or playing. Everyone got a team vest and eye protection to use, to drop into separate bins after use, and shoes went on a shelf while playing.

Gameplay

The arena is decently sized, especially for stock Rival ranges. It can be split in two, but that wasn’t being done. Box barriers with team colors sit on opposite sides of a midfield line, which can be crossed partway into each game type. Headshots and blaster shots don’t count.

During the time I was there (most matches take five minutes, followed by a minute or two to gather ammo), we played Freeze Tag, Medic, and single life Team Deathmatch. The first type, you stay in place when frozen, but can pivot to reach out to teammates, who can tag you back in. Reaching and tagging with blasters was highly encouraged, as to both reduce contact and extend reaching distance. Somewhat important especially with the spacing of the cover. Medic reduces that to one person who can save teammates, and whose death ends the round. The last gametype? Exactly how it sounds.

The Fauxmetheus worked well, rewired and on a 3S lipo just so it would hit stock Rival speeds. The lack of a hop-up tab was noticeable at distance, as the balls all did their own thing that far away. Meanwhile, the Sideswipe worked great, especially with my top priming handle on it. When it fired, anyway. However, that’s an ammo issue, in this case – the arena ammo is very well used (not to mention always the standard diameter), so the squishy ammo doesn’t play as well with some breech types. Due to playing conservatively, though, it was easy to watch for feeding errors, pull back on the ammo in the magazine as needed, and close the breech.

A Fun Time

If you’re in the area, Foam Warriorz has locations in Florence, Louisville, and Lexington. Check for prices, times, etc. As always, be courteous to others, but especially during a pandemic. And don’t be afraid to bring your favorite Rival blaster to use during combat. Though I’m not sure they’d appreciate someone bringing a Proton Pack and trying to take all the arena ammo in order to fill it…