Opportunity Development Case Study
Buckland Park Laser Tag — From Identified Opportunity to Operational Attraction
How an opportunity identified in 2022 developed through specialist supplier engagement, site evaluation, operational planning and a £23,000+ investment proposition — before ultimately being taken forward independently by Buckland Park as Wildstrike Adventures.
Not every successful piece of development work ends with the person who originated the proposition operating it. Sometimes the value lies in seeing what an asset could become before it is obvious.
This case study traces one such example at Buckland Park Lake: the identification, investigation and development of an outdoor laser-tag opportunity in the estate woodland. It shows how an initial idea moved through supplier engagement, operational planning, staff preparation and commercial specification to the point of a detailed £23,000+ investment proposition — and how the eventual delivery took a different but connected route.
SHACADEMY does not claim responsibility for Wildstrike Adventures as it operates today. What this case study records is the earlier development work that helped turn an unrealised woodland opportunity into a credible operational and commercial proposition.
Case study snapshot
At a glance
Location
Opportunity identified
Specialist supplier
Formal quote
Investment proposition
Subsequent operator
Current status
Focus areas
- Opportunity Identification
- Venue & Destination Development
- Supplier Engagement
- Commercial Modelling
- Operational Planning
- Staff Training
- Technology & Systems
- Land Diversification
- Tourism & Rural Diversification
One
The opportunity
Buckland Park Lake had always offered more potential than its water alone.
Beyond the lake sits established woodland capable of supporting activities that could broaden the destination’s appeal, create additional reasons to visit and make productive use of parts of the estate away from the water.
In 2022, Skip Innes identified outdoor laser tag as one such opportunity.
The proposition was not simply to buy laser-tag equipment. The opportunity was to use Buckland’s existing natural environment to create an immersive woodland activity capable of serving families, groups, schools, corporate customers and other visitors while complementing the activities already being developed through The Surrey Hills Adventure Company (The SHAC).
What followed was a development process spanning several years.
Two
From idea to investigation
Skip began discussions with specialist UK manufacturer Combat Laser Games in early 2022.
By February that year, conversations were already underway about visiting the company’s operation and understanding both its equipment and the practicalities of running an outdoor laser-tag business.
The intention quickly moved beyond product research. During discussions in August 2022, Skip proposed bringing Combat Laser Games equipment to the woodland so that The SHAC team could experience the activity in the environment in which they might ultimately deliver it.
“I want the team to experience what they will be delivering in our location.”— Skip Innes, 2022
Discussions considered the suitability of the woodland, player numbers, equipment requirements and opportunities including games after dark.
The principle was straightforward: before committing significant capital, understand the experience, test its suitability for the location and establish what would be required to operate it properly.
Three
Building the proposition
By January 2023, laser tag had progressed sufficiently to form part of discussions between The SHAC and Buckland Park.
The SHAC was prepared to make the investment required to establish the activity, but doing so depended upon having sufficient certainty over its longer-term position at the destination.
“With regards laser tag, as you know we are keen to proceed but it is a big investment (which we are happy to make under the right agreement…)”— Skip Innes, correspondence with Buckland Park, 2023
The discussion became connected to wider negotiations around The SHAC’s position at Buckland and the security required to justify investment in additional activities and infrastructure.
The proposition was also entering operational planning. Internal SHAC management discussions in April 2023 identified laser tag among the activities for which staff would require appropriate training before delivery.
This was no longer simply an interesting idea for the woodland. The practical questions of investment, staffing, training, location and commercial viability were being worked through.
Four
Continuing development
The opportunity remained under consideration as both the available technology and the wider Buckland operation developed.
The relationship with Combat Laser Games continued, including discussions around newer scoring and target technology.
In 2025, Skip actively returned to the proposition and arranged for the supplier to visit Buckland Park itself. Combat Laser Games visited the venue in June, enabling the proposed operating environment to be considered directly and the commercial requirements to be developed around the actual site.
Following the visit, the supplier described Buckland as an “amazing venue” and expressed confidence in the opportunity.
The proposition then moved to detailed commercial specification.
Five
A £23,000+ investment proposition
On 5 June 2025, Combat Laser Games produced formal Quote 22944 for The Surrey Hills Adventure Company & Buckland Park Lake.
The proposed system was considerably more sophisticated than a basic collection of laser-tag equipment.
It included:
- 10 standard Cyclone player units
- 10 HyperShock Cyclone units
- Player head sensors and sights
- A referee control system
- A Domination Box
- Respawn Boxes
- HyperShock equipment
- A Target 360 system
- 10 interactive target units
- Tablet and game software
- Charging and transport equipment
The proposed investment totalled £19,492 before VAT and £23,390.40 including VAT, with 50% required to confirm the order.
The proposition had therefore progressed from identifying an opportunity in the woodland to a site-specific, supplier-supported investment decision involving equipment, game formats, technology and operating infrastructure.
Six
Thinking beyond the initial launch
Development continued as Combat Laser Games introduced its next generation of equipment.
Ahead of further discussions with Buckland Park, Skip sought information on the Typhoon 2026 system and explored how the proposition might develop beyond its initial configuration.
The questions included:
- The optimum equipment mix for approximately 20 players
- Woodland-specific operation
- Staff training
- Lead times
- Operational support
- Scoring technology
- Target 360 and BattleStatz integration
- Mobile operation
- Future scalability
- Purchase, leasing and potential revenue-share structures
Territorial protection was also explored with the supplier as part of understanding the commercial position of a Buckland-based operation.
The intention was not simply to launch an activity, but to understand how a sustainable operation could be established and subsequently developed.
Seven
A different route to delivery
The SHAC ultimately did not make the investment or launch the laser-tag operation itself.
As discussions developed into 2026, the possibility emerged of others taking the project forward.
Skip made clear that he was open either to remaining involved under an appropriately defined arrangement or to stepping away cleanly if Buckland wished to proceed independently.
The subsequent implementation therefore belongs to Buckland Park and the team that ultimately developed and operates it.
But the underlying opportunity did not disappear.
It became real.
Eight
From proposition to Wildstrike Adventures
Buckland Park subsequently developed its woodland laser-tag operation as Wildstrike Adventures.
Today, Wildstrike operates from the woodland at Buckland Park Lake, using the natural environment to provide outdoor combat games for families, parties and groups, schools and organisations, and corporate customers.
The proposition that had first been investigated years earlier — using Buckland’s woodland to broaden the destination beyond its existing activities through technology-enabled outdoor adventure — had become an operational attraction.
SHACADEMY does not claim responsibility for Wildstrike’s subsequent development or delivery.
What the journey demonstrates is the work that happened much earlier: recognising the potential of the location, identifying an appropriate activity, engaging specialist expertise, evaluating the operational model and progressing the opportunity to the point of a substantial investment proposition.
Nine
What this case study demonstrates
Not every successful piece of development work ends with the person who originated the proposition operating it.
Sometimes the value lies in seeing what an asset could become before it is obvious. The Laser Tag project demonstrates SHACADEMY’s approach to opportunity identification and proposition development:
See the opportunity
Recognise potential within an existing destination or physical asset that is not currently being realised.
Test the idea
Find the right specialist expertise, understand the customer experience and assess whether the concept genuinely suits the location.
Work through the operation
Consider equipment, staffing, training, safety, infrastructure, technology and the practical realities of delivery.
Understand the commercial model
Move beyond an interesting idea to investment requirements, capacity, scalability and potential routes to market.
Allow the evidence to determine what happens next
The eventual operator does not have to be the person who first identified the opportunity for the development work to have value.
Ten
The outcome
What began as an identified opportunity in Buckland Park’s woodland in 2022 progressed through several years of supplier engagement, operational consideration and commercial development.
By June 2025 it had become a detailed £23,390 investment proposition built around the specific destination.
The SHAC ultimately did not launch it.
Buckland Park subsequently did.
Today, woodland laser tag is an operational part of the destination through Wildstrike Adventures.
For SHACADEMY, the significance of the story is not a claim over what Wildstrike is today.
It is evidence of something broader: the ability to look at a place, recognise unrealised potential and do the work required to turn an initial idea into a credible operational and commercial proposition.
Related case study
Buckland Park Lake — Letting the Place Lead the Development
This laser-tag case study looks at a single woodland opportunity within the wider Buckland Park destination. For the broader story of how the lake, woodland and destination itself developed — including stakeholder engagement, phased activity and the venue-development model — read the Buckland Park Lake case study.
Read the Buckland Park Lake case study →Related SHACADEMY areas
Where this experience applies
Venue & Destination Development
Helping landowners and operators understand what a place could become — from opportunity identification and feasibility through phased development, operating models and specialist introductions.
Explore →Networks & Partnerships
Connecting projects, venues, specialists and opportunities — including supplier introductions and partner development that help an idea become a deliverable proposition.
Explore →Technology & Systems
Provider-neutral advice on the systems that run an operation — including the technology, software and operational infrastructure that turn an activity concept into a working experience.
Explore →Tourism & Rural Diversification
Broadening the appeal and commercial resilience of estates, rural destinations and outdoor venues through new visitor experiences and complementary activities.
Explore →Related organisations
Buckland Park Lake
The wider destination where the woodland laser-tag opportunity was identified and developed.
www.bucklandparklake.co.uk →Wildstrike Adventures
The independent operator that subsequently developed and operates woodland laser tag at Buckland Park.
wildstrikeadventures.co.uk →Start a conversation
What opportunity is waiting in your place?
If you have a lake, woodland, estate, quarry or outdoor space with unrealised potential, SHACADEMY can help explore what it could become before you decide what to build around it.
Start with the place, the people and the problem — then work out what comes next.