Remember the good old days when you used to play Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, etc.? Ever wonder why kids get all the fun and "grown-ups" have to be boring and sensible? What if you could be a "Colonial Marine" fighting for survival against alien hordes? How about taking on the role of a "Starship Trooper" doing a bit of bug stomping? Imagine yourself a “vampire slayer” making the world safer by putting down the creatures of the night? How about a Special Ops putting down a terrorist plot?

People have been role playing for years but with it came the problem of conflict resolution. One player would say "Bang, I shot you", the other would say "no, you missed". Many games were “ruined” because of disputes. Over years, different methods have been used; "boff weapons", water guns, dart guns and finally "laser", or "lazer" tag which makes the scene in the 80's.

The game of Lazer Tag began in the mid '80s (distributed by Worlds of Wonder. Some say it was started with the game “Photon”) with a boxed children's toy, patterned after arena based Laser Tag. It got around the problem of kids' "shoot-em" games ("I hit you!", "No you didn't!!", "YES I DID!!!"...etc.) by using a "gun" or emitter, which puts out a coded beam of light that is picked up by a sensor to register a "hit". Once the sensor has taken a set number of hits it sounds a siren and you are "dead", or deactivated.  

Talk of "guns" may bother some people, but rest assured that we do not seek to glorify war and killing. We play for fun, not for keeps and we know the difference between a game and real life. Lazer Tag, as a game teaches team play, strategic planning and more.

The name of the game fluctuates between Laser Tag (which has been primarily used by arena game systems) and Lazer Tag (which was coined by the Worlds of Wonder system). For our purpose we prefer the term LAZER TAG to identify our game style. Also, we use the system put out by Hasbro in the early 90’s called ELECTRONIC SURVIVOR SHOT, or ESS for short.

Also, in spite of the name there are no lasers involved - in fact the use of lasers in game play is highly discouraged because of possible eye damage. The system is very similar in principle to a common TV remote control - so there is no risk of injury from the weapons. Unlike Paintball - a similar hobby which you have probably heard of - there's no solid flying projectile that can really do damage. 

Lazer Tag uses the same technology as your TV remote control, and other infrared remote controls. If fires a coded pulse of infrared light (out side the spectrum visible to humans) which causes a detector to react. Enhancements to weapons have included rapid and automatic firing as well as lens arrangements to focus the infrared into a tight beam for greater range (100 to 1000 feet is about average for "toy" infra red emitter). Other related enhancements such as ammo counters, ammo limiters and reload systems, as well as different emitter configurations have been added by hobbyists so that the games became more than just spraying the opposition with infrared.

Every player wears a sensor on their head (or a chest/back sensor setup, newer systems are tagger mounted); this can detect incoming fire from any direction and is less likely to be obscured by clothing or obstructions (such as trees) giving the opposition a fair crack at hitting you. In general this sensor can receive up to six hits before sounding a "dead" siren, at which point you fall over "unconscious". Depending on your character’s various attributes you may pre-set your sensor so different characters are knocked out after a different number of hits are received from someone else’s (hopefully) weapon. For example, if you are willing to go to the trouble (and believe me they are uncomfortable) wear a helmet and flak jacket in a military game you will get two or three more hit points than someone wearing a baseball cap and Bermuda shorts. Once you are unconscious you either “bleed to death” after about half an hour and return to a muster point (dead zone) to potentially be recycled into the game. If a designated "medic" player reaches you within the critical half hour they then operate a game mechanism to restore your hit points, usually with some kind of physical penalty (reduced hits, Arm in a sling, blindfolded, that kind of thing). Of course the actual situation varies according to the game in question. Please note that not all games use these techniques.

Energy or light weapons have their own unique properties and limitations. Good range, no wind age, effectively unlimited ammunition. They also have disadvantages; infrared is light so it can be reflected by shiny and not so shiny surfaces. What appears to be good cover can be infrared transparent and nice flat leaves that are full of water reflect IR very effectively. Also, some sensors may be affected by ambient light either triggering them prematurely or blinding them altogether.