What it is
Laser Tag is a set of blasters I built that talk to each other using invisible infrared light — the same kind of light a TV remote uses. When I pull the trigger, my blaster sends out a beam. If it hits the sensor on the other player's gear, they get 'tagged.' It's a real game I made with my own hands. (This is my placeholder text — I'll write the real version later!)
How it works
My Laser Tag build is a two-player infrared combat system: a blaster and a pair of goggles, both run by a microcontroller. Here's the twist — there are no real lasers. It uses invisible <strong>infrared light</strong>, the exact same kind a TV remote uses, and every "hit" is really a coded signal being sent through the air.
1. The blaster fires invisible light
At the front of the barrel is an IR LED — a tiny bulb that shines infrared light our eyes can't see. Pulling the trigger fires a quick burst of it toward your opponent. No projectiles, just a flash of light traveling at, well, the speed of light.
2. A lens focuses the beam
Raw infrared light spreads out and gets weak fast. A focusing lens collimates it — bundles the scattered light into a tight, straight beam — so it stays strong across the room. That's what turns a fuzzy glow into an aimable "shot."
3. The goggles listen for a code
On the goggles is an IR receiver that watches for infrared. But it doesn't react to just any light — the blaster sends a specific coded pulse pattern, and the receiver only counts it as a hit if the code matches. This stops sunlight or random remotes from setting it off.
4. Getting hit blacks out your view
When a valid hit lands, the microcontroller drives a small servo motor that rotates polarizing filters in the goggles. Line two polarizers up the wrong way and almost no light gets through — so the world goes dark for a moment. That's your penalty for getting tagged.
5. The Arduino runs the game
An Arduino-compatible board is the referee. It reads the trigger, sends the coded IR pulse, watches the receiver, and fires the servo on a hit — all in a fraction of a second. Every rule of the game lives in that code.
6. Hacking makes new game modes
The best part is editing the code. By changing what the pulses mean, I can build new rules — health points, ammo limits, team modes, or even sending whole images over infrared. The hardware stays the same; the code decides the game.
Laser Tag kit by CrunchLabs / Hack Pack — built and coded by me!
Why I built it
I wanted to build something I could actually PLAY with my friends, not just watch on my desk. Laser tag felt perfect because it's a game AND it teaches me how to send signals through the air. The first time my blaster tagged the target and the light blinked, I couldn't stop smiling. (Placeholder — I'll add my real story here.)
What it teaches
My build steps
Sort all the parts
I opened the kit and lined up every piece so I knew what I was working with before I started building.
Build the blaster body
I put the handle and the front of the blaster together, going slow so every piece clicked into the right spot.
Add the light sender and the sensor
I mounted the part that shoots the infrared beam at the front, and the sensor that notices when I get tagged.
Wire it up and load the code
I connected everything to the brain board, plugged it into my computer, and loaded the program that tells the blaster when to fire and how to count hits.
Test it and play
I aimed at the sensor to check that a hit registered, then grabbed a friend and played a real round to make sure both blasters worked.
What I learned
I learned that invisible infrared light can carry a signal through the air, just like a TV remote. I also learned that aiming the sender and the sensor at each other really matters — a tiny tilt can make the whole game stop working. (Placeholder — I'll write more once I finish.)
Want to build your own Laser Tag?
Grab the official kit and build along with me — about $66+.