On the field: Domination arms (King of laser tag props!)

Posted on December 15, 2014 by admin

If you haven’t played Domination with us then you haven’t played with us in far too long. Basically, two teams compete to gain ownership of control points scattered around the field. These control points are represented by laser tag props that are brightly colored arms that flip back and forth, making this great “thwok!” sound. It looks something like this: Continue reading →

Game Summaries for Players: Freeze Tag

Posted on April 8, 2013 by admin

We recently learned Freeze Tag from Cypher over at Spec Ops Live Play in Modesto, CA. It’s actually based on a game we occasionally play (and originally taught Cypher!) called Ears. Freeze Tag is by far the superior version between the two laser tag games, though, and you’re much more likely to see it on the field. Continue reading →

Game Summaries for Players: Battleball

Posted on January 18, 2009 by admin

Battleball is a crazy fusion of football and our characteristic lasertag on steroids. In many ways Battleball is a fusion of many other games, including Bulldog, VIP Escort, Bomb the Base and Team Deathmatch. As you can imagine it’s crazy fun and it doesn’t matter whether you like or even understand American football. Battleball was conceived by another field owner, but Mike wrote the final rules for it. Battleball was debuted by multiple fields across the US for the first time on January 31, 2009.

Strategy and Tactics:

Winning requires moving the battleball from your end of the field to the far end of the field, into the opponents’ endzone. Since only one player on your team can carry the battleball you obviously need to protect them. On the bright side, though, the defending team is unlikely to send out much in the way of a hunter team to kill your carrier.
If you’re defending focus on making every step farther down the field more painful for the offense team. You don’t have to kill them off by the midfield, just before they get to the endzone. So to this end try to whittle down their health progressively. Make sure you’ve got defenders starting near their starting point and as they progress just concentrate your forces as much as possible. Ideally they’ll have been taking damage and will start to run out of respawns by the time they get to the endzone, making them more cautious, slower, and easier to ambush and stop.
When you’re on offense the most valuable thing on the field (besides your ball carrier) is information. You need stealthy players to survey the field, identify where the defense has placed themselves, and figure out how you’re going to escort the ball carrier down the field.
As the ball carrier you might have more health, but you only have one hand since you’re carrying the battleball. You should focus on stealth and keeping your head down, though don’t forget that you DO still have a laser tag gun. In a pinch you should feel free to use it. You won’t have any chance of hitting, though, if you don’t use the scope, especially since you’ve got to be holding onto the battleball the whole time. Use the ball to help support the front of your gun.

Game Summaries for Players: Bomb the Base

Posted on January 18, 2009 by admin

A variation on Zone Control and Base Assault, in Bomb the Base games your job is to bring a bomb to the defenders’ base, start the timer and then prevent the bomb from being defused before it can go off! Multiple bombs and plant sites inside of each team’s base can make this insane with larger teams or go with the classic single bomb attacker/defender game. Imagine the challenge if you have to scout out the defending base, too, because you don’t know where the plant site is or you have to find the bomb components scattered across the battlefield!

Strategy and Tactics:

DO NOT under any circumstances lose control of the bomb! Even if the other team is not allowed to touch the bomb they can camp right on top of it and prevent your team from reacquiring it.
The most challenging aspect of this game is controlling the bomb location until the bomb actually goes off. Before you actually set the bomb figure out how you’re going to defend the location. If some of your fellow defenders are low on hit points it might be wise to retreat slightly, let them run out to get killed (and then respawn with full health), and THEN set the bomb.
If you are on defense and you hear that the bomb has been planted you must get to the plant site as fast as possible, but don’t attack until you can assault the location with a fire team. Attacking alone will leave you severely outgunned. Defense of a location is always easier than attacking it, so make sure you have help if you’re going to manage to eliminate the bomb’s defenders.

Game Summaries for Players: Zombie

Posted on January 18, 2009 by admin

Zombie games are in many ways the reverse of a Sniper game. One person starts out as a zombie with full auto and less life but unlimited respawns. Everyone else is a human with their gun set to bolt action mode. Whenever a human dies they are respawned as a zombie with unlimited respawns. Played on a short time span, (10 minutes or less) this game is very tough on the humans, who have fewer and fewer allies as time goes on and have to create and maintain a perimeter under increasing fire.

Strategies and Tactics:

For humans to survive they MUST work together it is very rare for any humans to survive the entire game if they split up and hide. Instead, humans would be well-advised to start the game by setting an ambush. Wait for the zombie to enter the ambush kill zone and then open fire from behind. Remember: for every hit the zombie makes on you it’s a hit you’ll never get back, but the zombies will respawn infinitely, so don’t get into a shooting match with the zombies! When the zombie dies move your whole ambush somewhere else as soon as possible. Rinse, wash, repeat.
If you’ve been turned into a zombie then congratulations! You’re now on the team that’s almost certain to win! Coordinate with your fellow zombies and let them know what you’ve heard the humans planning most recently, then go flank them wherever you think they might be.
Wide zombie lines (a la the British Redcoats) are nice because it’s hard to hit more than one zombie at the same time but most of the zombies should be able to return fire in an ambush. Make sure to keep your spacing, though: don’t stand too close to one another. Wide lines are also great for flushing out humans.

Game Summaries for Players: VIP Escort

Posted on January 18, 2009 by admin

One team has a VIP that needs to pass through several waypoints. The other team wants to eliminate the VIP. As ambushers die they become a pursuit force that keeps the VIP escorts from lagging. VIP escorts are very challenging games that force the escort team to handle a very large number of challenges at the same time, not the least of which is maintaining a reliable chain of command.

Strategy and Tactics:

As the escort team you have a thousand things to juggle: movement of the VIP, advance scouting for the VIP’s path, protection of the VIP, counterambushing hunters, locating waypoints, and searching for the extraction point, among other things. Escort is VERY hard.
As the hunter team you have two things to do: run a LOT and kill the VIP. It’s relatively easy to kill the VIP and even eliminate the escorts. The key is to keep the pressure on them as much and as long as possible. Eventually, they’ll likely trip up and end up delivering the VIP to you on a platter. In the mean time, you need to run, shoot, die, and run again. Hunting is VERY tiring, but usually profitable.
The VIP almost always has a highly visible costume piece, whether that’s an orange hat or vest, large object to carry, etc. If you’re on the escort team try to keep the VIP down and hidden as much as possible whenever you aren’t moving them. As the hunters, make sure you know what you’re looking for and how high above the ground you expect it to be.
On escort, the best weapon you have against the hunters is fatigue. They have to run a LOT. If you have a choice between moving the VIP and staying put and both choices are equally dangerous always move. It’s probable that the hunter respawn point will slowly move towards you over the course of the game, so the longer you sit the less the hunters will need to run and the easier time they’ll have overrunning you.
If you’re protecting the VIP you shouldn’t be standing next to them. You are not a bullet magnet when you’re guarding the VIP in the same way you would be in any other game. Any hunter who sees you and sees the VIP is going to shoot first at the VIP. For this reason, make sure that you’re controlling a wide perimeter around the VIP. …and since the laser tag guns shoot several hundred feet, the smallest your perimeter should probably be is a 50′ radius circle and more is better. If you need to cheat a little on coverage cheat by leaving openings towards the front. Since you’ve got scouts searching for the path forward and looking for ambushes you’re less likely to come under fire from that direction. Also, the closer you can be moving to the edge of the battlefield the less likely you’ll come under fire from that direction, too.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The safest path is almost certainly much, much longer.
If you are the VIP, make sure that someone on your protective crew is always aware of where you are and trying to figure out where you should be going next. This is important because the safest position for you to be in is most likely laying down as flat and low on the ground as possible. If your team loses track of where you are they’ll start freaking out and yelling to one another to figure out where you are. This is going to tell the hunters (who will have heard the yelling) where to start looking for you.
Do not expect to win this game as the escort team the first time you play it. Don’t expect to win the second time, either. This game is not unbalanced in favor of the hunters, but the skills required to keep the VIP alive and moving are really, really challenging and escorting doesn’t give you many second chances.