China’s Active Gaming Trend: Lasers And Laughter At X Club

What’s the number one recreational activity in China? The answer might surprise you... badminton. Anyway,
let’s talk about Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation tag (laser tag)…

 Laser tag is an activity for Shanghai residents who have a lot of getup-and-go, the type who don’t spend all day in an Internet café, those who like to do their gaming actively and aggressively – that’s where X Club comes in.

It’s no secret that drinking is a popular weekend activity in Shanghai. But here, in China, we have an opportunity to pair nightlife with games in a way that isn’t possible in the United States. As X Club partner, Gideon Clark, states, “We immediately saw potential. Potential to use all the hours in the day, potential to cater to different audiences, potential for a nine year old's birthday party, a team building retreat and a bachelor party to all enjoy X Club equally.” Owner, Yufei, adds, “At X Club, every day is Friday.”

 X Club is part of a new wave of venues that capture the essence of gaming and nightlife. Here, patrons can play pool, darts, beer pong, foosball and, of course, laser tag. Places like Stampede (go-karting) and Cages (batting cages) are following a similar formula: multi-function spaces that have activities and are good for people of all ages. And we are all banking on Shanghai’s go-getters.

The first time you walk through the sliding, “metal,” “air-lock” doors at X Club and stand face-to-face with Megatron, you know this is a uniquely Chinese joint. It is an experience built to quench China’s insatiable thirst for games infused with drinking – a road paved first by the KTV phenomenon.

When Gideon, and fellow partners Jacob and I, began working on X Club this past May, we knew the bones were in place, and it had a certain charm, but it clearly needed a makeover. After reminiscing about playing laser tag as kids with three fundamental elements – pizza party, bright colours and futuristic stuff – the goal became to emphasise all of these aspects while creating an environment that was fun for adults as well as children. Enlisting some of Shanghai’s best artists, Basement 6, along with some hired help from the US, the venue is now covered with reactive murals and classic sci-fi movie posters. We replaced the floors, rearranged the layout and redid the menus…. Now X Club is part arcade, part nightclub, part dive bar, part restaurant, part laser tag arena and 100% covered in glowing, blacklight, neon awesomeness.

At the end of the day, there are a million and one things to do in this city. And the most boring of them all would be to just sit in a room and drink with the sole purpose of getting drunk (It’s just our opinion. Some people are into that and we won’t judge). Both Chinese and Westerners agree, drinking socially is always more fun when you have something to do. There is certainly no dearth of entertainment options in Shanghai. But, in our eyes, they are all missing one key gaming ingredient – a 500sqm laser tag arena.

X Club. 366 Zhaojiabang Lu, near Xiangyang Lu. Tel: 400 666 8023. Email: [email protected]. Instagram:
xclubshanghai (the first person to correctly spell out the acronym for “LASER” on the X Club Instagram will win a RMB 400 voucher).