ZANESVILLE – “Medic,” yelled out one young soldier sitting on the ground. He had taken a hit in a bunker deep under Muskingum Avenue.
A comrade scurried over to assist. About 10 seconds later, the two were both on their feet. The fallen marksman made a full recovery after getting struck with a few gel orbs just minutes earlier.
The two were part of an eight-person group – and birthday celebration – at Underground Wars Y-City, an indoor recreational combat arena. The 8,000-square-foot facility is located the basement of the Carl L. Mitzel Building at 126 Muskingum Ave., sharing a space with Weasel Boy Brewing Company, Hardwick’s Furnishing, and Float the River Zanesville.
“(It’s) a place where people can come get away and have some fun,” owner Alex Campbell explained. “Nerf, it’s kind of a free-for-all… Gel blasters, we set up the same games as what you would play on Call of Duty.”
The arena, in some respects, appears similar to an interior version of a multiplayer map called “Firing Range” from Call of Duty’s Black Ops franchise.
There are a variety of different battle variations, like Free-for-All, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Medic, which gives one player on each team the ability to revive others.
Other varieties include King of the Hill, where soldiers fight over the kill room area, and Domination, where shooters vie for control over boxes.
“You actually have to engage people pretty close,” Campbell said, so most matches last around 10 minutes or so, he added.
The gel blasters are a mix between Nerf and Airsoft guns. The ammo is soft, wet beads called orbeez, or sometimes called gellets, that nearly disintegrate on impact, making for not-so-painful hits and easy cleanup. The Nerf guns use the traditional foam darts.
The orbeez are around six millimeters and can come flying in three speeds: single-shot, burst mode and fully automatic. A direct hit can feel like a rubber band snapping your skin, Campbell noted.
Underground Wars started with its Newark location in 2001, but it’s just recently been closed down, Campbell noted. So, Zanesville’s is the only operational Underground Wars location as of June 2026.
“It was a good run,” Campbell added of the Newark location.
Some changes are already underway, too, he explained. In mid-June, fog machines and new barriers were going to be added to the arena, which was previously a former refinery, different kayaking business and art gallery, Campbell said.
A revamped website is also in the works and should be done in the coming weeks.
A front sign is still pending, but the entrance is the same one used by Hardwick’s Furnishing and Girl UPcycled Studio (two doors left of Weasel Boy’s front doors).
The play gunfight concept isn’t new, Campbell continued, but he and his staff have worked to improve the matches.
“Added gel blasters, made Nerf a lot bigger,” he noted. “When we had airsoft, we made that a lot bigger and safer, but basically we just took the premise and made it better.”
Pricing
Nerf parties are $180 on weekdays and $230 on weekends, for two hours, and cover the costs of up to 15 players. Gel blaster parties, which can be bought for three-hour sessions, are $210 on weekdays and $260 for weekends. They include up to 16 participants.
Underground Wars can be found on Facebook or its website for now. It’ll eventually have an active TikTok account as well.
Hours are by appointment, but Campbell noted there are conversations to have an open-Nerf night on Fridays. Nothing is confirmed yet, however.
For more information, call 614-495-7974.
Shawn Digity is a reporter for the Zanesville Times Recorder. He can be emailed at sdigity@gannett.com or found on X at @ShawnDigityZTR.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Underground Wars brings Nerf and gel blaster action to Local Players
Reporting by Shawn Digity, Zanesville Times Recorder / Zanesville Times Recorder
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By Shawn Digity, Zanesville Times Recorder | USA TODAY Network
