Laser tag is a thrilling action-packed game for the whole family. Suit up with your futuristic laser vest and enter the special-effect filled arena. Blast your opponents as you make your way into the labyrinth, but stay alert for the traps that await. Choose from over 30 different game types from your Standard Team Game all the way to Zombies!

Stay with your team and control the arena, or be the stoic action hero; which role will you play?

A typical Laser Tag attraction requires 2,500-5,000 square feet. The total space available should be at least 7,000 square feet in total building size to allow for party rooms, bathrooms, lobby, front counter, game room, and possibly other attractions. Laser tag areas as small as 1000 square feet can be accommodated with the CyberBlast Phaser Only system, but returns will not be on par with a full-size attraction.

Multi-level laser tag attractions tend to perform better than single-level centers, especially in highly competitive areas. Adding a walk-under raised area should be the goal if it is feasible for your building, the local market and government regulations. a walk-under area requires a ceiling height of 16′. In some areas, the regulatory burden may make it impractical to add a raised play structure with requirements to use a steel mezzanine, install new sprinkler systems, extra backup lighting and emergency exits. In these cases, a partially raised area is still preferable to a purely 2D arena. This would consist of a small 3-4′ high raised platform, typically towards the middle of the arena. A ceiling height of 12′ can easily accommodate this feature.

For a 20 player, 3000 square foot laser tag attraction, about 160 square feet (8 sq ft per player) of the laser tag layout would be used for the briefing room, where the LaserBlast Briefing Video is shown 5 minutes prior to the previous game’s end. Briefing the players early allows you to minimize the turnover time between games, and maximize the games played during your busiest hours. Another 270 square feet (10-14 sq ft per player) would be used for the vesting room, where the computer, vests & phasers are kept. The remaining 2570 square feet would be used for the laser tag arena. See a typical laser tag layout and how to design for maximum throughput.

In the past, most laser tag attractions only offered laser tag and a small arcade or game room. As other types of entertainment have sought new attractions to offer more variety than their competition, single-attraction centers have become very rare, typically only excelling in smaller markets. Laser tag is now almost always part of a multi-attraction center with bowling, bumper cars, go-karts, mini-golf, food & beverage, game rooms, trampoline parks, skating rinks, or even cinemas.

A CyberBlast system from Laser-Blast can earn laser tag operators $50 to $150 plus per square foot annually. The biggest factors that will decide where an attraction falls in this range include location, population, marketing efforts, and operating hours.

The table below shows a sample revenue calculation for a 20 player system in a small-medium market.

Investment
The investment required to add a laser tag attraction typically ranges from $100,000 to $250,000. The main factors that determine the investment include local regulatory environment, self-built arena or turn-key, and whether the arena is single or multi-level. A 3000 square foot attraction like the one the above revenue numbers are based on will require an investment between $100,000 and $150,000.

For a customizable revenue and investment estimator, please contact us!

Building an exciting arena with eye-catching designs is among the most important factors in the success of any laser tag center. The arena by itself must be a memorable experience for your guests. The two most frequently chosen options are to buy an arena from a theming company, or build-your-own arena with design assistance from Laser-Blast.

If you choose to construct your own arena, LaserBlast will provide a fun, functional, and competitive layout tailored to your available space using our 3D modeling software and extensive experience. This is the least expensive option and tends to make sense for smaller markets. You will be provided with an arena package, including partition layouts & details, electrical requirements, and suggested audio / special effects. We still recommend having the arena themed or painted by a professional. We can recommend an experienced laser tag artist, or you can hire a local artist.

For more populated areas that can support a larger initial investment, we recommend working with a professional theming company that specializes in laser tag environments. Working with an experienced construction company ensures your arena will be safe, durable, and impressive to keep players coming back. In addition to standard wood & barrel partitions, these arenas typically also include unique elements to match your theme, base structures, archways and more. We have worked with several theming companies over the years who can help with your project. Contact a Laserblast representative for contacts and more information on these companies.

The ideal laser tag layout features separate Briefing and Vesting (or suit-up) areas. Depending on the length of your standard game, the goal is to play 3 to 6 games per hour. For the examples below we have assumed a 20 minute experience for 3 games per hour. This 20 minute experience includes 12 minutes of game play, 4 minutes of briefing, and 4 minutes of vesting, team selection, and last minute questions. Because the briefing can be completed while the previous game is still ongoing, your staff should have an extra 3 minutes between games to react to unusual delays, complete any urgent tasks, and keep your games on schedule.

Ticketing
There are a few common options for distributing tickets for each game: Multi-colored game cards, printed receipts, or first come first serve. Your LaserBlast system includes 6 sets of game passes in various colors, each color representing a different time slot. LaserBlast passes are a set of laminated cards in 6 colors for easy identification. Each pass will represent one game for one player. This pass is the customer′ s ticket into the game of laser tag and is sold from your main POS station. The color of the pass will correspond to an upcoming time slot. For a 20 player system, you would begin the day with 20 passes of each color at your POS station. If a guest purchased 3 games of laser tag, the attendant would record the transaction on your POS, and hand the guest 3 passes, each with a different color corresponding to a different time slot.

Printed Receipt Some POS systems will allow you to track the number of players booked for each time slot for the day ahead, and prevent your staff from overbooking any particular time slot. These systems typically provide a printed receipt that indicates the time of the game that the guest has purchased, and the number of players paid for that timeslot. Instead of a colored game pass, this printed receipt is the guests′ ticket into the game.

With either of these methods your staff will announce from the front counter that its time for all players in the blue (or 3:30) game to report to the briefing area, beginning with about 7 minutes left in the previous game. The cashier then tells the laser tag attendant how many players have signed up for the game. As the players enter the briefing area, they must hand their ticket to the attendant. Once the laser tag attendant has collected all of the tickets, they begin the briefing video and return the tickets to the front desk.

The first come first serve method is the simplest and makes it very easy for your guest to purchase a game, but doesn’t allow you to schedule walk-in players in advance. It works like the other methods except that players queue up outside of the briefing room and don’t reserve or pay until their game card is swiped as they enter the briefing area.

Space & Site Selection is among the most critical variables in the success of your center, but also difficult to easily quantify and sum up.  We recommend a minimum population of 100,000 within a 20 minute drive time as a general rule of thumb.  If possible, we would highly recommend a customized feasibility study and demographic analysis.  Your LaserBlast representative can assist you with layout concerns such as which part of the building would be best for the laser tag attraction, how to avoid unnecessary demo work, and which other attractions would fit and make sense for your project.

Most repairs are very simple, and can be handled using your spare parts kit if you’d like to avoid the time in transit of shipping to our repair center in Plymouth, Michigan.  Our team repairs and returns items sent in for service in 1-5 business days from when we receive the item.

Service needs vary dramatically from operator to operator. Some factors are out of your control, such as volume of plays (a vest that is used in 5,000 games per year will need more maintenance than one that is used in 1,000).You can help to minimize these needs by:

1. Providing adequate arena supervision at all times.  When guests are disobeying the safety rules, warn, penalize, and remove them from the game if the warnings being ignored.

2. Providing a padded surface in the vesting room, at least underneath the vest racks.  Despite your staff’s best efforts, some excited customers will drop the equipment onto the ground in their rush to exit after the game and see their scores.  Gym flooring or carpet are good options.

3. Regularly reviewing your arena for safety hazards, including open rail hooks, tight blind corners, and very dark corridors.

We have locations in over 30 countries around the world.  There may be a new center closer to you that hasn’t made it onto the map yet, but the most recent available map is here.

Unfortunately there isn’t really a mid-level offering in-between the low-grade consumer laser tag that doesn’t keep score and can be purchased for around $50 per player, and higher end commercial equipment designed for Family Entertainment Centers, which can range from $700-$2000 per player.  A few customers every year do purchase one of our older model refurbished LiteBlast systems, or our handheld CyberBlast phaser system for home use. The equipment can operate with as few as 2 at a time, but a more typical size is a 4-8 player system. With our CyberBlast phaser system you are receiving a high-end product with a laptop game controller, varying game modes, real-time score display, and the option to add bases, targets, and more.  

Most of our home-use customers also operate mobile rental laser tag as a side-business to help offset the up front investment.  This can be done with just the laser tag equipment and a speaker using existing barriers, such as a school gymnasium, park, or wooded backyard, or you can provide rental barriers with the equipment.  The most common rental barriers are home-made PVC/vinyl banners, a 3v3 or 5v5 paintball-style set of bunkers, or an enclosed laser tag inflatable, such as those provided by Inflatable 2000 or Cutting Edge Creations.

There are a few main components involved in the safety of laser tag equipment.  The one that typically gets the most attention is the lasers themselves. The laser used in our laser tag product is a red or green low power laser diode, operated at < 1 milli-watts. The lasers are on for 80 milli-seconds out of every 250 milli-seconds. They are regulated in the United States by the laws of the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) CDRH (Center for Diseases and Radiological Health). The appropriate law is known as CDRH 1040.10 and CDRH 1040.11. Advanced Avionics, Inc. fully complies with all aspects of this regulation Class IIA (< 1 milli-watts).  At these low power levels, the human eye protects itself with the normal blinking action. In order to even potentially cause harm, a person would have to purposely hold or tape their eyelid open, hold their head steady, and stare directly into the laser beam for an extended period of time. As per our laser safety procedure, we purchase lasers that are certified to the CDRH standard, and then we again verify 100% of our product using a calibrated laser power meter. Our laser also complies with the safety standards of the European Union, IEC 60825-1, class IIA. The United States FDA recognizes this laser safety standard as being sufficient to comply with CDRH 1040.10 and CDRH 1040.11.

Like any physically active game, there are some inherent injury risks in laser tag.  Although very infrequent, an occasional bruised ankle, chipped tooth, or bloody nose can happen, especially when manufacturer recommended safety rules are not followed.  We recommend requiring that a game marshall or referee monitor the gameplay, and warn, penalize and remove players who are not following the safety rules. These rules include: No running, no jumping, and no climbing on objects.

 We take a number of steps to reduce these risks, including:

 Soft foam safety tips on the front of the phaser

 LED lighting throughout all hard surfaces of our equipment

 Low-profile plastics so that players are more likely to bump into clothing instead of polycarbonate

 Safety rules signage & video at the entrance of the attraction and reminders in the vesting area

 Referee enforcement of safety rules

If you are already operating any laser tag system, make sure to ask for the trade-in credit. Depending on the revision and condition of the gear, we can typically offer between $5,000 and $20,000.

FREE FOR ALL Its every player for themselves. Tag any target, player, and base in the arena to earn points. Bases are worth 1500, Elements are worth 500 and Targets are worth 100. Tag the front and the back of the vest for 200, or the shoulder and phaser for 100. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

SEARCH AND DESTROY Your mission is to find the red targets and tag them for 1000 points before your opponents find them. Every minute 4 Targets at random will be activated.

CAPTURE THE FLAG Retrieve the opponent’s flag and return it to your base safely. Take the opponents flag by tagging their base. While carrying the flag, you can pass it to a teammate by tagging them. Finally tag your own base to capture the flag. If you’re tagged while carrying the flag it returns to its base. The first team to retrieve 3 flags wins the game.

RABBIT Every player for themselves with a special bonus. Soon after the game begins, one player will be chosen at random to be the rabbit of the arena. If you are selected, your vest will turn white and your lights will flash rapidly; other players will stay green. As long as you remain the rabbit, you will earn a bonus every second. You’ll also get a special burst fire weapon. If you are hit, the player who tagged you will become the next rabbit. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

DRACULA One player will be selected to be Dracula, turning red and gaining an infectious shot. As soon as Dracula tags another player, they are converted to a vampire, also turning red. Stay human for as long as possible to earn the survival bonus. The last surviving human wins the game, which ends when the last player has been turned.

DOMINATION Everything in the arena in white is capturable. Tag any device to capture it and convert it to your color. After 5 seconds, other teams can tag your devices to take them back. Every 5 seconds, you receive bonus points for each device you control. Work as a team to control the arena, score the most points, and win the game.

BASE RESPAWN Also known as Retro Laser Tag. Instead of automatically reactivating, you must return to your base every time you are hit to respawn. Use your elusiveness to reach and destroy the opponent’s base before they tag you. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

FREE FOR ALL BASE RESPAWN Also known as Retro Laser Tag. Instead of automatically reactivating, you must return to any base every time you are hit to respawn. Use your elusiveness to stay alive as long as possible. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

TEAM FIRE Adds a special bonus weapon to the standard game. Tag three players in a row to earn a rapid firing laser weapon until the next time you are tagged. The rapid fire bonus is extremely powerful, so be careful not to allow your opponents to earn it. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

FREE FOR ALL FIRE. Adds a special bonus weapon to the standard game. Tag three players in a row to earn a rapid firing laser weapon until the next time you are tagged. The rapid fire bonus is extremely powerful, so be careful not to allow your opponents to earn it. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

VIP. Protect your VIP. Each team is filled with guards and one VIP. The VIP only has 10 lives, and 100 shots of a slow-firing weapon. Their center lights flash white instead of the normal team color. They also receive 2 shields, which provide temporary invulnerability. Each other player is a guard, with 20 lives and fast-firing weapons. If your team’s VIP is the last one still alive, your team wins.

ODDBALL. Every 60 seconds, an element is randomly chosen to hold the next oddball, indicated by a white glow. The first player to tag this element gains the oddball, and their vest turns white. While holding the oddball, you earn 50 points per second. Your weapon changes to a short-range shot that hits anyone in front of you. Tag the player who holds the oddball to take it. Every 60 seconds, the oddball is dropped and another target is randomly chosen to hold the next oddball. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

TEAM SNIPERS. This is a more difficult version of team game that rewards accuracy and careful play. Your shot rate is reduced to 1 shot per second, so take careful aim. Downtime is also increased, so take care not to move through exposed areas. Points are awarded for tagging other players, the base, and elements throughout the arena. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

SNIPERS FREE FOR ALL. The snipers game format is for experts only- your shot rate is reduced to 1 shot per second, so take careful aim. Downtime is also increased, so take care not to move through exposed areas. Points are awarded for tagging other players, tagging the bases, and tagging elements throughout the arena. Extra points awarded for chest and back hits. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

ZOMBIES. This is a Free For All Game. Work as a group or on your own. It’s up to you. Each player begins the game as a blue survivor. Soon after the game starts, the zombie outbreak begins. Any survivor who has been hit by a zombie will become infected. Zombies fire more slowly, but they also earn a bonus for each player infected. Survive as long as possible to earn bonus points. The last survivor of each round earns 10,000 points. Once all survivors have been turned, a new round begins. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

KING OF THE HILL. Capture and hold the hill! Every minute a Base will be chosen as the new hill, glowing white. Tag the white base 3 times to take control of it. After you capture the hill, defend it from your opponents and get ready to move on to the next hill. Points are awarded for every second the base is controlled. While you are the King of the Hill you get an enhanced shot rate. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

RAPID FORMAT FREE FOR ALL. This is a simplified free for all format, with only the basic blaster on rapid fire (no shields, photons, or laser bursts). Tag any target, player, or base in the arena to earn points. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

TEAM RAPID FORMAT. This is a simplified Team Game format, with only the basic blaster on rapid fire (no shields, photons, or laser bursts). Tag any target, player, or base in the arena to earn points. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

PROGRESSIVE ELIMINATION A free-for-all game in which the lowest score is eliminated every ute. This is a fun active game type that discourages passive players from trying to hide. Make sure to ta g players, targets, and bases or you might be the next one out.

MISSION OBJECTIVE SURVIVOR. A cooperative team based game. After a 3 minute safe period, one player is randomly chosen and eliminated from the losing team every minute. Every moment counts! Get as many points as possible to ensure you are not on the losing side.

FREE FOR ALL STEALTH ELIMINATION. A traditional elimination game popular with no vest lights. Minimizing sound and laser lights is critical, as your vest lights will no longer give away your position. The shot rate is slowed to 2 shots per second to reward marksmanship. Each player is limited to 10 lives. After the 10th hit, the player is eliminated from the game. The last player standing wins the game.

FREE FOR ALL STEALTH. A traditional game with no vest lights. Minimizing sound and laser lights is critical, as your vest lights will no longer give away your position. The shot rate is slowed to 2 shots per second to reward marksmanship. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

TEAM STEALTH. A traditional game with no vest lights. Minimizing sound and laser lights is critical, as your vest lights will no longer give away your position. The shot rate is slowed to 2 shots per second to reward marksmanship. The team with the most points when time expires wins the game.

STEALTH TEAM ELIMINATION. A traditional elimination game popular with no vest lights. Minimizing sound and laser lights is critical, as your vest lights will no longer give away your position. The shot rate is slowed to 2 shots per second to reward marksmanship. Each player is limited to 10 lives. After the 10th hit, the player is eliminated from the game. The last team to have a player standing wins the game.

FREE FOR ALL ELIMINATION A free-for-all game in which the lowest score is eliminated every minute. This is a fun active game type that discourages passive players from trying to hide. Make sure to tag players, targets, and bases or you might be the next one out.

TEAM ELIMINATION A traditional elimination game popular with skilled players. The shot rate is slowed to 2 shots per second to reward marksmanship. Each player is limited to 10 lives. After the 10th hit, the player is eliminated from the game. The last team to have a player standing wins the game.

HOT POTATO. Free for all game where you don’t want to get stuck with the hot potato. All players start the game blue with 20,000 points. After a 30 second timer, one player will turn red and begin losing 50 points per second. If you’ve got the hot potato (a red vest) your goal is to quickly tag another player and pass it to them to stop losing points. The player with the most points when time expires wins the game.

From the players’ perspective, The biggest difference between VR and the laser tag experience that our systems offer is the social experience.  When visiting a Family Entertainment Center, you’re typically going to meet a group of friends that you might not get to see in-person as often as you’d like.  Laser tag is fun for all ages and different from your home console gaming options, because you’re playing with, and zapping your friends, not just armor-laden video game characters.  When you’re playing a VR-based laser tag through enclosed glasses, you aren’t interacting with your friends and real people but digital representations.

You can also accommodate a much larger group, so that you’re entire group of friends or party can play together, not just 2-4 at a time.  

From the operator’s perspective, laser tag provides a much faster throughput, more longevity, and much lower labor costs. For the same investment, you can either have a 16 player laser tag game & arena with a maximum of 64-80 players per hour, or a tethered VR attraction with a maximum of 16-20 players per hour.  The longevity of the attraction is also critical. The average LaserBlast system is in use for 7-12 years before needing to be replaced. VR is much more of a wildcard with technology becoming outdated more rapidly; how many years can you expect to use a VR attraction purchased today before an upgrade is required and support is cut off to the older model?  Some of our locations are still continuing to offer a great experience even after 20 years of use with the same system, and we have not ended the support of any LaserBlast system.

Additionally, the labor cost makes up a much higher portion of a VR attraction’s revenue; requiring 1-2 attendants, even during slower times.  Laser tag typically requires a single attendant on slower days, and 2 during peak periods when you’re running at nearly full capacity.  

VR-based games have their own advantages, especially with a weekday group of 1 or 2 players who might not have the best time playing in a laser tag arena alone.  We have added a number of game formats such as Domination, King of the Hill, and Sentries to better serve very small weekday groups. We’ve also recently released AI Projector targets so that players not only compete against each other, and targets throughout the arena but also animated 10′ characters.  We’ve also integrated special effects into arenas, such as smoke bursts, fire effects, reactive LED lighting, wind gusts, and motion sliding target props. The result of these is an immersive experience that stays fun time and time again.

All of our systems are rated for outdoor use! In fact, we have a small group of mobile operators that travel with our vested system. Cyberblast offers 32 game formats to choose from.