Fun summer action (in 1986)

I said that I'd found no mention of Star Laser Force in my newspaper-research sojourn this year, but that wasn't strictly true; there was one article in the index that I couldn't find in the actual archive, and then there is this one, which I already had.  For the sake of completeness, here are the hours and prices, part of a longer list of things to do during the summer of 1986.

Houston Chronicle
July 6, 1986
Fun summer action for those on a budget
Gina Seay

Most parents struggling to make ends meet will have to tell Johnny and Suzy to put their dream vacations on hold. But that doesn't mean the summer has to be long and boring.

There are lots of indoor and outdoor activities in the greater Houston area that fit within a teen-ager's budget....

Getting to the point...

Star Laser Force, 5810 S. Rice Ave., allows visitors to live out their "Star Trek" fantasies in laser gun duels. Everyone gets a light-sensitive helmet and shoulder pads. Purchase a lifetime membership for $3.50. Games for members are $1.25; for non-members, $4. Hours are 2-11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2 p.m-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-11 p.m. Sunday.

$1.25 a game is ridiculously cheap, and suggests desperation in response to the threat of Photon, which was the much "hotter" and better-promoted laser tag experience. It's interesting that they also allowed "non-members" to play, and I wonder if they were still using the liability release form at this time. It's quite possible that the bulk of the revenue at this time was coming from birthday parties, an element that would spread from pizza/arcade places to become a crucial part of operations in all entertainment destinations over the following ten years.

In case you're wondering, the other attractions listed were:

• Fame City (a very early family entertainment center)
• AstroWorld (the theme park, owned by Six Flags and later closed)
• WaterWorld (next to Astroworld)
• Sea-Arama Marineworld
• Galveston Island
• Armand Bayou Nature Center
• The Houston Zoo
• The Oil Ranch
• Games People Play
• The Children's Museum (fairly new back then), and finally...
• Splash Town USA ("scheduled to open in early August") which is still around to this day.

Edit: Updated title, added a bit of detail to the other attractions, and commentary about the pricing.