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Laser tag is essentially a pursuit sport whereby one player or team attempts to tag (to trigger a sensor with the IR signal) or tag out (to trigger all of a player's available tags so that they are out of the game) as many opposing players or opposing team members as possible. It can be played outdoors or indoors, in urban or rural environments, and even include simple to advanced tactics and simple to complex role playing. Games can be as simple as a quick "last man standing" free-for-all to a full blown, multiple day Live Action Role Playing event. The ALTC is in the former end of the spectrum, enjoying the game for the fun and exercise it provides, sometimes including simple scenarios to make a new game more interesting and compelling for the players. We also prefer to play outdoors in a natural, wooded environment where the trees and bushes and terrain provide the arena.
What many people don't realise, is that laser tag is actually a misnomer. The vast majority of "laser tag" actually uses focused infrared light, like a TV remote, to send signals to a sensor. With few exceptions, when a real LASER is used, it's either just for show, or as an aiming device, or both. When the game was invented, "laser tag" sounded a lot cooler than "infrared light tag" so it stuck. The ALTC plays with gear that uses only focued IR, and does not allow the use of real LASERs for aiming or any other reason.
The best thing about laser tag is that anyone can play. We encourage anyone with an interest to come, from children age 8 all the way up to adults 88 years and older. All a player needs the ability to do is hold up and aim the tagger at their opponents.
The ALTC cares deeply about safety and parental consent and involvement. Children age 8 to 12 need to have a parent or guardian present at all times, and kids 13 to 18 should be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for the first meeting at least, to introduce themselves to the ALTC organizer(s), and to sign the Waiver. We encourage a parent or guardian to be present at all times for anyone under 18. All participants and, if under 18, their parent or legal guardian, must sign the waiver to play with the ALTC.
The ALTC plays a variety of games available in the LTTO gear, which you can read about here. We also play some variations of these games that were invented by Greg and other players to "spice up" some of the more basic games, for an added incentive or challenge. Read about our custom games here.
In most cases, games are chosen by the current host, or by majority vote of the players given a couple choices to vote on. Starting in the 2008 season, the ALTC sometimes chooses games randomly by rolling a 10-sided di (1d10) where 0 represents 10. The result of the roll is then matched to the following table and the game is played (2 or 3 teams as needed).
The Auburn Lazer Tag Club uses Hasbro/Tiger Lazer Tag Team Ops (LTTO) gear, which is available at most major retailers that carry toys, including but not limited to Fred Meyer, Target, Wal*Mart, Toys-R-Us, and K-Mart. Prices vary from $20 to $50 depending on what kind of set you get, and each tagger requires 6 AA batteries (Energizer Max are recommended). All LTTO is compatible, so it doesn't matter which model you use, as long as it is from the LTTO line and unmodified.
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You can also order Lazer Tag Team Ops products from Amazon.com. These are affiliate links, which means I'll get about 5% from the sale. This money will go toward paying for batteries and beverages for the Auburn Lazer Tag Club.