Partner content: sponsored by Derby Club
It’s impossible to guess what will immediately catch the eye in Cheyenne’s Derby Club’s new youth entertainment center, located at 1510 E. Pershing, in what used to be the old Montgomery Wards Department store.
That’s because with 88,000 square feet to play with, there are about a million things going on all at once in the old department store’s spaces, and every option is something designed to entertain, if not enthrall.
The youth entertainment parlor is separate from the already existing adult gaming parlor at the same address, giving youths a place of their very own for amusement.
And it's scheduled to open in the third week of January. The bowling alley will open in the fall of 2024.
All Aboard
Among the options is a really high-tech, state-of-the art virtual reality laser tag game, set on a futuristic space ship. It’s one of the first things encountered in the youth arcade. The live-action set accommodates up to eight players at one time — but it’s just as fun for two or three people as it is for an entire group of eight.
And, while it’s as high tech as gaming gets, there’s no real learning curve for beginners. This is a turn-key game, no experience required. Simply strap on the VR headset, tightening it to suit, and suddenly find yourself immersed in a futuristic starship vessel that is hurtling through space with enemy combatants lurking around every corner, waiting to shoot and be shot at.
Don’t forget to grab one of the electronic “laser” weapons before you enter. Your gun has got one simple trigger to pull, and that’s it. You’ll be blasting lightning bolts in no time at all, no practice required.
Computer software builds a realistic setting around participants, that is so realistic, it’s impossible to tell that you’re not really on a spaceship.
You and your opponents are likewise outfitted in futuristic spacesuits that disguise appearances to a degree. That makes it hard to even tell just who you’re blasting away at. Feel free to blow everyone around you away — including your friends if you can — 100% guilt-free. You can always tell them later you just couldn’t tell who was who.
Throughout the blasting spree, sparkling virtual goodies will pop up to help you in your quest for bragging rights. How about a flamethrower for extra points on every hit? And there’s some health, grab it quick!
But be warned — those prizes are also great traps for your opponents to catch you unawares. If you’re going to go for them, better not just be quick. Better be drop-fire-and-roll-quick, like a Space Age John Wick.
Well, if that was fun, but you want more action, no worries. The Derby Club is ready to accommodate. Right next door to the eight-man laser tag arena is a much larger, Western-themed laser tag adventure that accommodates 16 people!
This arena is a little bit different, but Wyomingites will feel right at home. There are all kinds of Cowboy State motifs on the wall, from famous ranches and Western scenes to the iconic Devils Tower glowing in the dark. Not to mention a mountain lion, looking down on combatants from a ledge. Yowza!
This venue has a lot more hiding places, too, giving you more places to lie in wait for your friends and frenemies alike.
Hide in the saloon, the bank, or, maybe more appropriately, the jail — where you certainly will not take any prisoners.
Go Speed Racer Go!
Laser tag is just the beginning of all the fun, though. The Derby Club has an assortment of high-tech video games that will challenge both reflexes and wits in every type of scenario imaginable.
There is, for example, a motorcycle racing game that features realistic motorcycles to climb aboard and ride. Go Speed Racer Go!
There are also first-person shooter games, or how about that intriguing Jurassic Park game? You’ll find all the menacing dinosaurs anyone could ever want encounter, just waiting to be subdued by your tranquilizer gun, on an island that’s gone crazy with earth-shaking beasts.
There are also oldies but goodies, too, like the side-by-side basketball shooting tournament, the foosball table, or how about those funky carnival-style cranes that drop down to capture stuffed animals? Yes, you get to keep what you catch.
These may be classics, but they have all been upgraded with the technology of today, so that they are smoother and more entertaining to play than anyone can remember.
Let’s Rob A Bank, Honey
Saving the best for last, the entertainment area also includes not just one, not just two, but three escape rooms that will blow. your. mind.
Each one is realistically set up to immerse you in another world. You can rob a Fort Collins Bank while never leaving Cheyenne, you can test your wits against the ghosts and ghouls of a haunted mansion, or you can test your mettle against wizards of old in a medieval room will remind you of Hogwarts.
These rooms have a control room in the back, manned like the Wizard from Oz. That’s to keep an eye on each team’s progress and ensure just the right amount of clues are revealed to keep the team engaged.
Each puzzle room has been designed to be solved in about an hour. They’re perfect for families, for birthday parties, for date nights — or really anyone looking for an adventure.
Along with the youth arcade, 377 Derby Club is also building out a huge bowling alley with 18 lanes of traditional bowling, eight duck pin lanes, and four mini lanes.
That area is also going to include a virtual sports room with 20 different sports to choose from, ranging from golf and soccer to football and basketball. One of the common areas will also have pool tables easily accessible for those under 21.
The Cheyenne Derby Club’s expansion is a continuation of 307 Horse Racing’s effort to build out premier entertainment venues across the Cowboy State that are second to none. Locations include Gillette, Sheridan, Casper, Rawlins, Riverton, Douglas and Rock Springs, with a new parlor opening soon in Torrington.
