August 2014 - Mike's Combat Games Laser Tag BlogMike's Combat Games Laser Tag Blog

Looking to improve your game? The drills below can help you dramatically improve your skills. If you read nothing else and do nothing else then learn and practice the pole dancing exercise. Nothing will teach you more critical information faster that you’ll use more often. With that said, everything below is helpful and nothing is too terribly difficult. Some games that are particularly good exercises as well include 2-man Free-For-All, Sniper and Zombie. One other quick note: although laser tag will help improve your performance in FPS video games by improving your strategies and ability to communicate on the fly, the reverse is not as true. Because physical capabilities (or physics themselves!) are exaggerated in video games players often find themselves “nerfed” by comparison, negating many strategies.

Pole Dancing

You need: A partner, a tree and a pair of laser tag guns. Ideally your tree will be two to three feet wide. More is fine, but much less may make things difficult. Set the guns to bolt action mode with 3 hit points. Commandos and scorpions are probably some of the better laser tag guns for this exercise and both people should have the same gun.

Directions:Stand on the opposite side of the tree from your partner. You are not allowed to move within a yard of the tree. Count to three and on three start shooting. Your goal is to kill your partner. When one person dies, reset the guns and do it again.

Sneaky Race

You need: Two partners (one of you will be a referee), a section of brush or ground with lots of plants, sticks, etc., (alternately, a stretch of gravel works, too) and a pair of guns. Set the guns to semi-auto with 3 hit points. We recommend that at least the referee carries a Spitfire, but the two racers can use whatever they want.

Directions:The two racers line up about 30 feet away from the referee. The referee closes their eyes. On a signal from the referee both racers start moving towards the referee. If the referee hears any sounds they fire one shot at the location they believe the player to be. The racers want to touch the referee. Win conditions can vary, but we recommend that the winner is the racer with the most life left after they tag the referee.

Physical Conditioning

You need: Weights or heavy objects, hills and a really high level of dedication to your laser tag game. (Or your airsoft, paintball, etc. game.) Alternately, just a desire to be more fit.

Directions:When you get tired on the field your chances of dying skyrocket. Incorporate resistance or weight training into things you already do. Do you jog? Carry about as much weight with you as your favorite gaming gun. Do you ride a bike? Throw extra weight in your pack to work your back and core muscles. Even if you only work in an office you can wear wrist or ankle weights. Choose to take paths that have steep hills. Put extra effort into running faster on those hills. Time yourself on staircases and push to reduce your time. Basically, find a way to push yourself harder than you are now when you’re away from the field so that you can perform better on the field. If you need some structured workout ideas we highly recommend taking the advice of Navy SEALs. Check out http://www.sealswcc.com/ for a physical training guide, proper technique, and more.

A bad plan executed perfectly will usually beat a perfect plan executed badly.

Lone wolves running across the field are easier to pick off and generally can’t eliminate (or even engage without dying) a larger group from the opposing team, so don’t be one.

The longer guns shoot farther, so take advantage of their range if you can. This means that you probably want to be firing from 300’+ away from your target. Remember that even the machine pistols will shoot 150′ on a pinpoint and they have a wider spread, so if you engage closer they’ll have an advantage.

Suppressive fire can be handy, but in laser tag you don’t need to pour on constant fire to make it work. Instead, work with a few teammates and each of you can be firing only every second or two while another group of teammates can move up.

Lots of folks ask about using team radios. There’s no way we can provide enough radios, but most folks have a bluetooth headset for their phone. Some quick internet searching will find a few free conference call services. Set up a conference call number for your team before you come out to the field and your team will be ready to go. Don’t forget the headset! Another option is to use team communication software. Gamers playing MMOs on the internet often use free software that allows them to communicate and coordinate while playing and several of those now offer iPhone and Android apps. While it’s slightly easier to handle administratively, using team communication software does require that everyone has a smart phone.

Be the first to hit your opponent. This will probably require that you shoot first, but you can never miss fast enough. When you are hit there is a one second delay before you can either shoot or be shot again, so when you hit your opponent they’re going to be behind the curve. If YOU are hit first then seek cover. Get down and then move! Popping your head back up in the same area will be an easy shot for your opponent to make again and you’ll be hit before you can line up your own shot. If you don’t have anywhere to move then call for a teammate to help you. Get them to either pin or flank the opponent who has you targeted.

Do you have a medic, leader, or other VIP who needs to be protected? “Protection” means “don’t stand next to them!” If you and the VIP are within about 20 feet of each other then any attacker will shoot the VIP if they’re visible rather than shooting you. You need to create a protection perimeter with at least a 50′ radius (and probably much larger) if you want to keep opponents away from your VIP. (Protection is hard!)

Monthly Archives: August 2014

Training Drills

Pole Dancing

Sneaky Race

Physical Conditioning

General Tips from Mike, vol. 1