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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Lazer Tag?
- What Lazer Tag equipment has been produced?
- Can I use old Worlds of Wonder equipment with new Tiger equipment?
- Where can I buy new Lazer Tag equipment?
- Where can I buy discontinued Lazer Tag equipment?
- What other equipment is compatible with Lazer Tag?
- What games can I play with Lazer Tag equipment?
- Where can I play Lazer Tag?
- Didn't a kid get shot by police while playing Lazer Tag?
- Are the laser beams safe to look at?
- Where can I see the TV commercials?
- How can I make my own guns?
- Who can I get to fix my broken equipment?
- What are the guns' frequencies?
- Can you send me information about starting up a laser tag business?
- What is Lazer Tag?
Lazer Tag is a product created in 1986 by Worlds of Wonder, the company who also produced Teddy Ruxpin. Using Lazer Tag equipment, players can shoot sensors worn by other players to "tag" them. If you're tagged a certain number of times, you're out.
Worlds of Wonder ceased production of Lazer Tag equipment when it went out of business in either 1987 or 1988. However, the term "laser tag" remained to be used to describe many games of the same kind. (For example, "Kleenex" and "Band Aid" are used to describe similar products from other brands.) To tell the two apart, Lazer Tag is capitalized and spelled with a "z" when referring to the product; laser tag is lowercase and spelled with an "s" when referring to the general game of using "laser" weapons.
Ten years later, Tiger Electronics licensed the Lazer Tag brand and began producing its own Lazer Tag equipment. It is still being produced to this day.
- What Lazer Tag equipment has been produced?
See the Equipment section of this web site.
There was also a Lazer Tag Academy Saturday morning cartoon, a Lazer Tag video game for Commodore 64, lunchboxes, T-shirts, bed sheets, and more.
- Can I use old Worlds of Wonder equipment with new Tiger equipment?
No. Unfortunately, the two technologies are incompatible with each other. (However, you're still able to use the old StarTalk walkie-talkies since they don't send or recieve any Lazer Tag signals.)
- Where can I buy new Lazer Tag equipment?
Tiger's Lazer Tag equipment is getting harder and harder to find. You may be able to find some Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, or Kay Bee stores that still have some discontinued equipment in stock.
With Star Wars: Episode I, Tiger released licensed products. You should be able to find Star Wars Lazer Tag in our Links section under "Retailers".
Old Lazer Tag Academy videos are still available from Videoflicks.com. They are also available in the Links section under "Retailers".
- Where can I buy discontinued Lazer Tag equipment?
You can find discontinued Lazer Tag equipment from Worlds of Wonder or Tiger Electronics up for sale online from time to time. Check auction sites such as eBay to see what's available.
ADEQUATE.com does not have any equipment for sale.
- What other equipment is compatible with Lazer Tag?
Shortly after Lazer Tag was released by Worlds of Wonder, a company produced a compatible system called "Photon". Hasbro's "Electric Survivor Shot" is also compatible.
There is no equipment that is compatible with Tiger's Lazer Tag equipment.
- What games can I play with Lazer Tag equipment?
See the Games section of this web site.
- Where can I play Lazer Tag?
Indoors, in parks, on football fields, on baseball fields, in the woods, and just about anywhere. If you will be playing on private property, make sure you have permission first.
Avoid certain areas such as: public shopping malls, stores, or busy areas with pedestrians moving around; schools (unless the principal has given permission for the activity); churches; police, security, military, or government areas of any type; hospitals, infirmaries, or health clinics; sports events (football games, basketball games, etc.); movie theaters; near large gatherings of people who don't know that Lazer Tag games are being run in and about their area; moving vehicles of any kind (including bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, go-carts, mini-bikes, skis, and sleds); busy traffic areas (highways, alleys, roads, etc.).1
Our Links section has a list of places to play for free. They're listed under "Playing Locations". If you don't see your favorite spot listed, feel free to add it.
- Didn't a kid get shot by police while playing Lazer Tag?
Yes. A 19 year-old was shot when a police officer mistook a black Worlds of Wonder Lazer Tag gun for a real gun. Because of this incident, Worlds of Wonder changed the color of the StarLyte Pro from black to white before it was released.
- Are the laser beams safe to look at?
Absolutely! They actually aren't laser beams at all, they're infra-red signals that are very similar to your TV remote. In fact, some programmable remotes can learn the IR signal from a Lazer Tag gun and be used to shoot the sensors. For this reason, don't let anyone bring a remote control to your Lazer Tag games. It's cheating.
- Where can I see the TV commercials?
We have created some QuickTime movies with several Lazer Tag commercials. See our Commercials page if you would like to see the commercials.
Please make sure you have the latest version of QuickTime before attempting to view these movies.
- How can I make my own guns?
See our Links section for links to web sites with information on building or modifying Lazer Tag equipment.
- Who can I get to fix my broken equipment?
Do not contact this web site for repair information. We cannot repair any equipment.
For Worlds of Wonder equipment, you're on your own. Worlds of Wonder is no longer around to perform repairs.
Tiger Electronics should be notified of defective equipment by writing to:
TIGER ELECTRONICS, LTD. REPAIR DEPT.
980 Woodlands Parkway
Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061
U.S.A.
In your note, mention the name of your product, product's model number, and tell them briefly what the problem is. Also, include sales slip, date, place of purchase, price paid, and your return address.
Tiger's equipment is covered by a 90-day limited warranty. If your equipment is outside the warranty, it is subject to the following service fee:
- A.T.W., Stinger unit, or Stinger target - $7.50
- Star Wars target - $9.00
- Star Wars: Episode I blasters - $14.00
- Striker or Star Wars Striker - $15.00
- B.L.A.S.T. - $38.50
Payment must be by check or money order payable to Tiger Electronics, LTD. See your Lazer Tag Instruction Manual for full details. 2
- What are the guns' frequencies?
The Worlds of Wonder Lazer Tag equipment uses a 57.6 kHz carrier frequency modulated with a 1.8 kHz signal.
The frequency for Tiger Electronics Lazer Tag equipment is 30 KHz +/- 10%, modulated as three 25-millisecond IR bursts seperated by 50-millisecond idle periods for normal tags, and seperated by 100-millisecond idle periods for super-strike tags. Some details are available in US Patent #5,904,621.
If this hasn't scared you off, you may wish to visit our Links section to visit web sites with information on building or modifying Lazer Tag equipment.
- Can you send me information about starting up a laser tag business?
No. Lazer Tag sets produced by Worlds of Wonder and Tiger Electronics are not designed for heavy commercial use. In addition, this site does not have any information about setting up a laser tag business.
1 - Lazer Tag: The Official Game Handbook, TSR, Inc., 1987, pg. 7
2 - Lazer Tag Instruction Manuals, Tiger Electronics, LTD., 1997 & 1998
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