~ story and photos by Chrissy Alspaugh
Arrow Tag
Gary Bartels, owner of eXplore Brown County at Valley Branch Retreat, demonstrates German-made bows and rubbertipped, shatter-proof arrows that make his newest adventure, Arrow Tag, fun for all ages.
The new Arrow Tag archery games at eXplore Brown County are hitting the mark with adventurists age 8 to 80. Never heard of it?
That’ s because eXplore Brown County owner Gary Bartels is copyrighting the term and just launched the games this spring.
“ I’ m just having a good time learning where it’ s going to take us,” Bartels said with a laugh.“ It’ s definitely already catching on among our visitors who want to try something outdoors that’ s new and different.” The idea began when Bartels discovered indoor Archery Tag with his grandson in Las Vegas. The lifelong archer said the game was a fun progression in difficulty from a game like laser tag, but the arrows didn’ t shoot very far and left much to be desired. Then he stumbled upon a German-made system of bows and rubber-tipped, shatter-proof arrows that have become popular in Europe among live action role-playing enthusiasts. He ordered some sets and let his imagination run wild. Bartels’ Arrow Tag games combine the best aspects of dodge ball, paintball, and laser tag, while also teaching survival skills and how to string and shoot a bow. After a training session players participate in games ranging from a light-hearted round of Bottoms Up, in which
5-year-old Henry Stateler, right, and his brothers, from left, Kaleb and Isaac Fortner enjoyed some Arrow Tag games during a family vacation.
16 Our Brown County May / June 2016