Tron Legacy Party

My family has become recent fans of both Tron (1982) and Tron Legacy (2010).  There's just something about going inside a video game fighting for the user...and those lights!  So, of course my son wants a Tron Legacy ("The new one, mom, not the old one" he says) party for his 7th birthday.  Read on for Tron party ideas.  His party isn't until next week, so I will update this post once I see what's a hit and what bombed.



One thing I've discovered about doing a Tron party is that it's in a whole different ballpark than your average home party.  How do you create the inner computer atmosphere you might be thinking.  Simple: black lights.

The decor is pretty simple with the right equipment.  One to three black lights should produce the desired effect.  Add some white streamers hung around or on the walls like the 'grid' and voila - you're now on the computer grid.  For the full effect, use the Tron Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk to get your guests feeling like they are in an alternate reality.

As for the invitations, I usually make them myself.  I took an abstract image of computer circuitry and then put a computer on top to look like the invite was printed on the screen.  Disney Family also has some invitations as well as other cool items that are free to print and use.

We've asked all our guests to come in all white or all black as it goes along with our Light Cycle Game below and continues with the mood of the party.

Since they don't eat much in Tron, we're sticking to the arcade food like what might be found in Flynn's Arcade.  Served buffet style, it could include popcorn, nachos and cheese, soft pretzels and cheese, hot dogs etc.  Hey - it's a party so just think junk food and you've probably hit it.  (My usual parties have the kids making English Muffin pizzas but I didn't think it fit the theme.  However, if you do it with String cheese, they can string their circuits across the sauce and muffin before baking.)  Oh, for drinks - sorbet and 7-UP.  From what I read, it glows under a black light.

The cake can be as simple or elaborate as you want.  I make my own (last year was a light saber) but I have seen that Tron Legacy cake toppers are available at grocery stores.  I haven't completely decided between a light racer and the recognizer that looks like a rectangle on legs (easier to do old Tron style on this), but the basic idea would be chocolate icing with white icing accents to glow with the black light.  I would even go so far to buy the black spray icing to spray over the chocolate icing for a true black.

Here's some activities and games we will be doing at our party:

1. Make Programs and Users -  (might have to explain briefly if they don't know that a program is the 'game' and the user is the one who develops the game and usually sits at the computer - not usually in the game)  Group the kids in pairs.  There will be a Program and User in each pair.  The kids take turns putting some stripes on their partners with fluorescent tape (for this I would do red/pink programs and blue/white users even though that's not the real reason for the two colors but the kids probably don't need to know that).  The tape will glow under black light so voila, the kids have instant glow like the characters on Tron.  They'll probably want to move around to see their stripes glow in motion, too.

2. Light Cycle Races - Our party is inside, though there are a lot of other great ideas for outside online.  The kids get in their groups of Programs vs. Users for a relay type game.  The whole point of a light cycle race is to not run into the other team's light beam.  How to do that with kids?  Line the kids up on one side of the room.  Start the first person in line off with a glow bracelet/necklace (not closed).  That person from each team then goes to the other corner (potentially crossing paths) of the room to grab a glow necklace or bracelet with connector.  They return to the line with it connected and the second person grabs onto the 'light beam' and both go back to the other side.  This continues until the whole team has made it back and forth and has added a section of the light beam each time.  The idea is the light beam (with people holding onto it) keeps getting longer and the two teams can't cross their paths (breaking the light beam).  The winning team is the first one to complete their light beam without it breaking.

3. Flying Discs competition - Your standard ring toss using 2-liters (7-UP or Mountain Dew might glow in their containers, but I'm not sure) and glow in the dark or neon ring type Frisbees.  I guess the winner would be the one who got the most Frisbees on, but I make everyone a winner just for doing it.

4. Grid Drawings - For a calmer game (maybe to transition between games and presents) each kid will get a shiny piece of paper (like presentation paper) and highlighters to draw their own grids that glow under a black light (yep, highlighters glow too - I know that from a past high school project).

Games we probably won't play but I read about:

1. Hula Hoop Contest - In place of the Light Cycle Races because they look like light beams.

2. Glow in the Dark Hot Potato

The main idea is that Tron Legacy is constantly 'dark' in the computer world with the exception of the light beams and some glowy stuff.  This is why the Tron party is centered around things that glow in the dark or under a black light.  Anything else related to that and you're pretty much spot on.

Lastly, goody bags can be made by filling glow in the dark cups with other glowing items like necklaces, stickers, bouncing balls etc.  Haven't shopped for all this yet, so I'll have to add on when I find more filler items.

Well, now that you have some ideas on how to pull of a Tron Legacy Party there's only one thing left to say.

Game On.