Things to Do in Plainville

Laser Planet's sprawling facility hosts a trio of attractions: laser tag, black-light mini golf, and an arcade. Competitors don vests and equip their laser-emitting weapons before heading into the multi-level laser-tag arena, where they'll be met with techno music, fog, and strobe lights, as they navigate corridors and attempt to tag the other team in a game of PowerPoint de la muerte. Or, they can head to the mini-golf arena, where black lights illuminate bright colors, aliens, and astronauts positioned around the 10-hole course. Elsewhere, a video arcade presents digital challenges, as players grab joysticks and mash buttons gleefully. Additionally, Laser Planet also offers a host of parties and events, ranging from all-night lock-ins, to corporate team building, to birthdays.

Jim, the owner and operator of Extreme Paintball, bought his first paintball marker––a Nelspot 007––more than 20 years ago. Shortly after discovering his passion, he toured the country on a National Professional Paintball League team, retiring after 11 years to open Extreme Paintball. Nowadays, Jim and his staff work to introduce new players to his preferred method of paintball: woodsball. Contrasting with bunker-based speedball, woodsball is played in the natural outdoors, such as in the woods or at the bottom of the ocean.

At Extreme Paintball, Jim's three vast courses are designed around different scenarios with thematic obstacles scattered throughout to enhance the experience. The tank course carries the scars of war as crashed planes and the wrecked husks of tanks litter the battlefield, and the Vietnam course is shrouded in the area's densest foliage, finally making use of all the artificial trees populating the region. Jim's team rotates the courses throughout the year to preserve the environment and create an ever-changing battlefield.

The teachers at Sanctuary Power Yoga advocate a regular yoga practice as a way to bring greater peace and balance into everyday life. Because of the perspective shifts they’ve each experienced through yoga, they are eager to ease beginners into what may seem like a foreign or strange type of exercise. They teach basic poses in a beginner series, and their heated power-yoga classes suit all levels, emphasizing a flowing sequence that promotes moving meditation. Unheated slow flow allows students to learn proper alignment, and the gently held poses of restorative yoga relieve tension built up from carrying children to school everyday. The studio also holds workshops and events such as reiki sessions and card readings.

Jump!Zone’s indoor playgrounds envelop kids aged 2–12 in an inflatable world filled with challenging obstacle courses, fun slides, and cardio-boosting bounce houses. While navigating the plush courses under the watchful eyes of air-filled dinosaurs and superheroes, kids burn off extra energy and participate in activities that may help develop motor skills. Jump!Zone’s energetic staff supervises all play as kids climb on pirate ships and trampoline inside princess castles. Specific inflatables may vary by location but often include towering bounce houses shaped like fire trucks or octopi as well as party rooms, games, pizza, soda, and other festive fare. The bouncy center also hosts birthday parties, fundraisers, and special events.

At each Jump!Zone locale nationwide, children aged 2–12 race through themed play areas, bounce on inflatables, and fly down giant slides. Boys and girls can become airborne in SpongeBob SquarePants and Atlantis-themed bouncers or slide near the vigilant figure of Batman, which, as in real life, is 16 feet tall and filled with air. 

Tots with aspirations to be firefighters slide into a bouncy fire truck, and hopeful time travelers acquaint themselves with their future by examining prehistory in the Jurassic Adventure. Pintsize play timers can dispatch their financial stresses in the Toddler Zone. While the kids play, their adult counterparts can relax in the café, use Jump!Zone's free WiFi and computer, and finally have time to recite the periodic table of elements in peace. Check the schedule for open-play hours.

When Scuba Shack's founders attained their first certifications more than 34 years ago, they were frustrated with the inadequate teaching they received. As their dive careers continued, that dissatisfaction led them to create Scuba Shack, where their goal is to imbue every one of their lessons with tangible value for burgeoning divers. Their class schedule brims with PADI–certification courses, and introductory scuba classes help beginners to recite the first 100 decimals of pi before coming to the surface for air. The shack also has an onsite store overflowing with necessary gear such as snorkels, fins, and masks, required for many of the Scuba Shack's classes or group-travel dives.