Play Laser Tag

Laser tag is a great game for a couple of friends, a party, or to join in with a new group of people. It's easy to learn the gameplay basics, but truly dominating this fast-paced shooting game takes practice and strategy.

Steps

Preparing for a Game

  1. Do research on your arena. See if you can find a map of the arena and become familiar with it. It will be very hard to do so in the low light environment.
  2. Dress for the event. Most indoor arenas are in a low-light environment. Wear dark colored clothing, minimizing bright logos or things that will stand out in the darkness. Remember, black-lights will make whites and other light colors glow. Wear all black; it helps blend in and hide!
  3. Familiarize yourself with the game rules and procedures. Each facility operates under different conditions and equipment. They also calculate scoring differently. With some scoring methods, you gain more points for hitting someone else than you lose for getting hit, so it's better to use an offensive strategy, over a defensive one.
  4. Get to know your gun. Get a feel for how firmly you need to pull the trigger and how you can hold it comfortably. Test your laser for drift. Do this by firing at a wall and moving your laser backwards. if the dot moves significantly, you will need to compensate for the "crooked sight" since most equipment tags with an invisible laser that fires perfectly straight.

Playing a Game

  1. Enter the arena quickly. Once suited up, try to get into the arena as early as possible to adjust to the low light. If you have a chance to shoot your enemies right away as they enter the arena, take it.
  2. Get the lay of the land. In the arena, find yourself a good position to start off with. Something covered or protected, not out in the open. Avoid clustering around others if possible (some arena require you to start at a base or station).
    • If you do start at a base or station, don't be the first or the last to leave. Leaving first poses the risk of not knowing where the enemy is. By leaving last, the enemy may have found your base or the good spots may have been taken.
  3. Find a good spot to fire from. Depending on how the laser tag venue handles scoring, it may be better to play an offensive strategy; in other words, it's worth risking getting hit if you can hit multiple enemies. However, you can still be smart about how you defend yourself. By starting out hidden you can get a feel for the other players. Look for somewhere you can protect yourself from the enemy while still see what is going on and fire on them.
    • Look for positions that cover your back and give you a view over some area - preferably not very wide, but deep.
  4. Look for flashing lights. Most laser uniforms have lights on them somewhere. When you see the lights coming toward you, quickly aim and start shooting! You will take the person by surprise!
  5. Aim for the kill zones. These vary from outfit to outfit but may include the gun, chest, waist, earpiece. Larger zones are your better bet.
    • Depending on the gun design, you may find it helpful to make sweeping motions across the enemy's chest area as you fire repeatedly. This can increase your chance of triggering one of their several chest sensors, compared to aiming directly just at one.
  6. Think offensively. Don't be afraid to shoot. If you can hit an enemy, it's generally worth risking getting hit, particularly in a team game. If you see a group of enemy team members all gathered together, take them down. They might hit you, but if you're quick and have good aim, you can hit at least one enemy, if not more, before you get hit. A 1-to-1 hit ratio is not a bad outcome necessarily, and if you can beat that, you'll be earning points.
  7. If shot at, seek cover and evade your aggressor. Don't just stand there; use the time when your sensors are deactivated to get out of the way. If you need to recharge your gun, head there immediately. Tell any teammate where the enemy is to return fire. Good communication is key to a team victory!
    • If the same enemy repeats attacking you (spawn killing), get a group of your team to take them down, or see a referee if they are violating the rules.

Developing Winning Strategies

  1. Try not to be spotted. If you aren't, then you can snipe at the other team without taking to many hits. If you find a good location and can take out several enemies while they're attacking one another, that's ideal. Consider corner spots where you can cover any back sensors with the wall.
  2. Use group tactics to assault enemies. Example: Tell one group to give you covering fire while another group flanks them.
    • You can try to ambush enemies if you got a good amount of teammates and you take them by surprise. However, it requires a lot of skill and experience.
  3. Debrief to improve your strategies. After the game, review your score and talk with your teammates to see what you can improve on. A debriefing can be very helpful for improvement.

Tips

  • Never stay in one place; the enemy will figure out your strategies and shoot you.
  • If on higher ground, such as a second level, stay somewhere where you can see the enemy, but they can't see you.
  • Do not panic when you see one of your enemies. Do not hesitate to shoot. Also make sure your aim straight so you can have the advantage.
  • Do not yell or the enemy will know where you are.
  • Wear comfortable dark shoes and clothes that allow you to bend and stretch easily so that you can make your enemies not see you.
  • Practice aim ahead of time, while each gun is slightly different. Knowing the general aim of the laser is helpful.
  • If there is a viewing area, prepare ahead of time and review the arena if possible. Look for the choke-points and camping spots.
  • If you don't mind/have a loose definition of cheating, look for older vests. in general, as vests deteriorate, they become harder to hit or gain any number of advantages.
  • Don't travel in big groups. Staying with a couple other people is fine though.
  • Look for certain special targets in the arena. Some arenas have tag-able "bases" or other targets which are worth a lot of points, or they may act as land mines.
  • Some of the arenas have mirrors, if you see an enemy in the mirror, shoot at the mirror and you should get points.
  • You can block the sound thing so you can shoot them silently.
  • Make your name "nobody" or something ambiguous to easily back-stab people in a free-for-all.
  • If you need to go back to the entrance, grab a team of 3 so you won't be as likely to get shot.
    • If you are going back because your battery needs to be recharged, you don't need to go with others because no one can zap you (and count as points).
  • If you are playing free-for-all, get a few guys together, make a truce with them, and when they don't look, shoot them down! Be careful, however, as some equipment displays the name of whomever shot you.
  • Stay low. Humans tend to scan areas at eye level the most, so by staying low you minimize your chances of being seen.
  • Dress in navy blue or dark grey. While you want to wear dark clothing, black is a poor choice as it will make your silhouette stand out.
  • If an enemy is chasing you, find a team-mate or two to help you take him out.
  • If the arena has two levels, go to the top one and shoot from above. It will really confuse your opponent!
  • If you are sniping, make sure to look behind and around you before returning aim on your targets. From many experiences, if a sniper only focuses on his targets, then the enemy players will be able to take you out from the sides or behind.
  • Look for good hiding spots where you can see the enemies but they cannot see you.

Warnings

  • Be careful as it isn't uncommon to bump into others while turning corners.
  • Strobe lights, smoke and other environmental factors can be bad for your health - if you are asthmatic, go easy on yourself! You don't have to wear yourself out to be good player.

Things You'll Need

  • Dark clothing
  • Comfortable footwear

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