What are gel blasters? New game in Clovis a combination of laser tag and paintball

A new family-fun attraction in Clovis allows folks of nearly all ages to battle in a new game that combines elements of laser tag and paintball while featuring the popular toy gel ball blasters.

Located at the No Surrender Adventure Park on Shaw Avenue between Clovis and Sunnyside avenues, the Nexus Gel Blaster is an interactive digital and physical game in which players shoot gel pellets at each other while piling up points.

The gels, which are hydrating balls that are non-toxic and made of starch-based material, are about the size and softness of peas.

Players use Nexus Smart Blasters engineered to fire water balls at speed ranging from 170 to 240 feet per second.

“It’s fun and it can get intense,” said Randy Castillo, director of group sales and marketing for the Clovis No Surrender. “When you get hit by a gel ball, it might sting. But only for a little bit.

“But that’s what also makes the experience fun. It’s like living out a video game of Call of Duty or Fortnite.”

Getting struck by a gel ball might be a happy medium between hardly feeling anything when struck while playing laser tag and feeling a bit too much pain when hit by a paintball.

Each burst of water ball fire is tracked for scoring, and is considered safe thanks to a suite of infrared emitters and ultrasonic sensors.

Players must wear a protective mask and vest, which lights up and distinguish if other players are friends or foes.

Folks can either team together or compete in a free-for-all while navigating through a two-story obstacle course that’s more than 3,500 square feet.

The entire arena goes dark and is lit only by black lights, while intense EDM music plays to set the mood.

Each game session ranges from 5 to 7 minutes.

The Nexus Gel Blasters experience is located around the country, but the Clovis No Surrender is the first and only place to offer it in the central San Joaquin Valley.