Laser Quest facts for kids

A closed Laser Quest location in Richmond Hill, Ontario

Laser Quest is a super fun indoor game where you use lasers to tag your friends! It's a British company that started in Manchester, United Kingdom in 1989. In Laser Quest, you wear a special vest and use a hand-held laser unit that shoots infrared (IR) beams. The oldest Laser Quest place is in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England.

Laser Quest also opened in North America (the United States and Canada) in 1993. Their main office there was in Mississauga, Ontario. But in September 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Laser Quest stopped its games in North America. Luckily, Laser Quest still operates in the United Kingdom today!

How to Play Laser Quest

The main goal in Laser Quest is to tag other players as many times as you can, while trying not to get tagged yourself. Players get a special vest with sensors and a hand-held laser unit. The game happens in a big, dark, multi-level maze. This arena has ramps, walkways, and windows to explore.

In Laser Quest centers, the playing areas are filled with cool theatrical fog and black light. There are also strobe lights and surfaces painted with special UV-reactive paint that glows! It might look like chaos, but there are important rules to follow.

Player's Code

Before you play, you go to a "Briefing Room" to learn the rules. Players say a "Player's Code" together. This code reminds you not to run, climb, jump, sit, kneel, or lie down. You also can't cover your sensors, touch other players, or use bad language. The code ends with "play hard, play smart, and play to survive!"

Game Marshals

There's always at least one employee, called a "Marshal," in the arena. They are there to make sure everyone plays fairly and safely. They also help make sure everyone has a great time!

Laser Quest Gear

Every Laser Quest center has about 30 special vests, also called packs or ponchos. Bigger places might have more vests for larger groups. The vest is made of strong fabric and has sensors on the chest, back, and shoulders. Your hand-held laser unit also has sensors on the front and sides.

Vest Sensors

The sensor on your chest has a small motor inside. This motor makes the vest vibrate when you get tagged! The infrared sensors are connected to small electronic boards with colorful LEDs, usually red and green or red and blue. These lights turn on when your pack is active. Each sensor is covered by hard, clear plastic so the laser beams can reach them.

Laser Unit

Your laser unit has a sensor board, lights, a speaker, a trigger, and a small screen. The laser unit shoots out a visible laser beam that you can see, and an invisible IR (infrared) beam. This invisible beam is what actually "tags" your opponents' vests.

The screen on your laser unit shows you important information. When you get tagged, it tells you who tagged you and where you were hit. It also sometimes shows your current score or rank during the game.

How Scoring Works

In Laser Quest, you earn points by tagging other players or by hitting the opposing team's base. You lose points if other players tag you or if you get caught in a "trap" (a special area that takes points). The points you lose depend on where you were tagged and the game settings.

Points for Tags

Here's how points usually work in a standard game:

• Shoulders: 3 points
• Laser: 3 points
• Back: 4 points
• Front: 5 points

You always get more points for tagging someone than you lose for being tagged. In a normal game, you get 10 points for tagging another player.

Bonus Points

You can also get bonus points for being accurate! Usually, you get 10 bonus points for every 1% of your shots that hit a target. If you hit 10% of your shots, you get 100 bonus points. In a standard "Solo" game, this bonus is usually capped at 100 points. This rule stops players from tagging one person and then hiding for the rest of the game. Sometimes, you can even tag multiple players with one shot, which can make your accuracy seem higher than 100%!

Team Games

In team games, your team's score is simply the total of all the individual scores of players on your team.

Different Ways to Play

Laser Quest centers can set up different types of games. They can change things like how many teams play, how long the game lasts, and how many lives or shots you have. Usually, everyone on a team has the same settings, but sometimes special players (like "sentinels") might have different abilities. Sentinel packs have a different light pattern and can give lives or ammo to teammates.

Here are some settings that can be changed:

Downtime

"Downtime" is the amount of time you are deactivated after being tagged. Once your downtime is over, your pack turns back on, and you can play again!

Cheating in Laser Quest

Even though players promise to follow the rules, some might try to cheat. One common way is by putting duct tape over the sensors on their vest. While tape doesn't completely stop tags, it makes it much harder. Marshals are usually quick to spot cheating and will remove players from the game for this kind of behavior. Laser pointers don't work because the game uses an invisible IR beam, not the visible laser beam, to register a hit. Another way some players try to cheat is by making a "V" shape with their hands to block the sensor on the end of their laser unit.

World Laser Quest Championship (WLC)

The World Laser Quest Challenge, or WLC, is a big tournament where teams and players from the US, Canada, the Netherlands, France, and the UK compete to see who is the best in the world! The WLC happens every few years and switches between the different countries that participate.

WLC Champions

Here are some of the past champions:

This tournament doesn't happen every year; it depends on how many players are interested. Teams of six players compete in different game types. The best teams then move on to knockout rounds and eventually the finals to decide the champion!

North America Challenge (NAC)

Laser Quest used to have a big tournament just for North America called the North America Challenge, or NAC. To get into the NAC, players from a Laser Quest center would have try-outs. The top players would then go to one of three regional tournaments. The best teams from these regional tournaments would then compete in the main continental tournament to find the best team in North America.

NAC Champions

Here are some of the past winners of the NAC:

Year	Winner	First Runner Up	Finals Location
2012	TSA Toronto  ON	NRH North Richland Hills  TX	Las Vegas  NV
2011	NRH North Richland Hills  TX	TSA Toronto  ON	Las Vegas  NV
2010	TSA Toronto  ON	NRH North Richland Hills  TX	Hoffman Estates  IL
2009	NRH North Richland Hills  TX	TSA Toronto  ON	Las Vegas  NV
2008	NRH North Richland Hills  TX	ShadowZ Lincoln  NE	Hoffman Estates  IL

European Laser Quest Championship (ELC)

The European Laser Quest Championship (ELC) is a tournament for teams of nine players from the UK, France, and the Netherlands. This tournament happens every year, and the location changes between the participating countries. Teams of six players compete in preliminary games, and then the top teams move on to knockout rounds and the finals.

ELC Results

Here are some of the past ELC winners:

So far, there have been 14 European Championships. France has won 7 titles, the UK has won 5, and the Netherlands has won 2. France is the current European Champion, but "The Tribe Called Quest" team has won the most titles overall. Just like the WLC, this tournament is held less regularly now, depending on player interest.