Given the unique and often difficult circumstances that 2020 brought us all, it should come as no surprise that one of the fastest-growing games for kids and families to enjoy together at home was — and still is — laser tag. It offers all kinds of fun, loads of vigorous exercise, and as parents who play with their kids soon find out, it’s also a great way to enhance skills of strategy and quick, on-your-toes thinking.
For these reasons and more, laser tag guns, sets, and complete kits are selling off the shelves at every sporting goods store and online outlet thinkable. But, with so many options available on the market today, which laser tag game set is the best for your kids, your family, or your mixed-age group of players?
Let’s take a look at what we can look forward to in the laser tag arena for 2021 and what each of the top-ranking options offers the laser tag lovers in your household and beyond.
The Adventure Guys Deluxe Laser Tag Set
As one of the top-selling sets for at-home laser tag play available today, The Adventure Guys Deluxe Laser Tag Set offers scads of sweet features that every player can appreciate. To begin, with this laser tag kit you can set up to play as two or more opposing teams, or you can opt to go it alone and enjoy a fun game of every man, woman, and child for him or herself.
The laser guns themselves offer varying firing rates and ammunition levels, but remember, when you decide to go in with the big guns blaring at all times, you’ll use up more of your power, potentially leaving yourself open for a vicious attack when you run out of virtual bullets!
To make the game even more engaging and entertaining, players can set their laser guns to act like machine guns, shotguns, handgun-type pistols, or even rocket blasters! Starting with a set of four guns available in up to four different colors, there will never be any confusion about who is on whose team. But if four laser guns are not enough for your large squad of laser tag lovers, you can always add on as many more as you like for a true battle royal across several acres if you like.
Finally, The Adventure Guys Deluxe Laser Tag Set also comes standard with its own “spider target,” which can be used for target practice when no one else is around or when you just want to sharpen your skills before the next big match.
Best of all, this laser tag gun set offers everything adult players will love without making the game too complicated for much younger players to enjoy, too. Simple, suitable for players of all ages, and priced to move at about $120, this laser tag game of 2021 is among the best available today.
Squad Hero Rechargeable Laser Tag Set
This laser tag set will get your young group as close to playing laser tag at a professional facility as any other set around today. Available with laser tag vests that notify you and your teammates when someone has been hit, Squad Hero really brings the authentic feel you’ve been looking for in an at-home laser tag kit.
What’s more, with Squad Hero, you’ll never have to worry about buying batteries. This entire set is completely rechargeable and comes with all the bells and whistles you need to charge up every single blaster at once (that’s right, the charger offers four charging stations!) before or after every match. As if that wasn’t enough of a draw, according to the manufacturer, each charge will last you up to eight matches before you need to recharge!
While this laser tag game is perfect for at-home use inside or out-of-doors, it may not be what you’re looking for if hosting more than four players is what you have in mind. All Squad Hero blasters (that’s what they call their laser tag guns) offer a variety of blast settings, but just as with Adventure Guys, remember, the higher the blasting power you use, the sooner your blaster will run out of juice!
A perfect laser tag set for beginners and young players, Squad Hero offers a lot of bonuses — and for the low price of just $150, you’ll love the extra cash you save on never having to buy batteries again!
Nerf Laser Ops Pro
If you have been looking for an at-home laser tag set that brings your smartphones into the action, then Nerf Laser Ops Pro is the perfect kit for you. With that said, you don’t have to engage smartphones to use Nerf Laser Ops Pro, but if you want to, you’re sure to enjoy the added bonuses. By downloading the Nerf Laser Ops Pro app onto all the phones you plan to use during your game, you’ll have the ability to wear your phone using one of the included armbands, allowing you to “get blasted” without having to wear an ill-fitting or uncomfortable vest while you run around your yard or obstacle course.
Using smartphones also enables players to choose the color they wish to be, team up, and see where their teammates are on the battlefield. But the laser tag guns themselves are pretty high-tech, too — shooting infrared laser beams directly from their barrels means you won’t be able to see them with the naked eye, but your phone, once equipped with the app, will register the blast and deduct points accordingly.
Nerf Laser Ops Pro blasters also keep you informed about exactly how much ammo you have left simply by checking the indicator at the top of the barrel. What most players love most of all about Nerf Laser Ops Pro is that it has two fun settings: select team colors and play against each other with partners or select the purple setting and it’s every player for him or herself — a thrilling free-for-all that everyone will love! With loads of extras, including tons of fun sounds, smartphone engagement, and the added killer chaos of the purple setting, Nerf Laser Ops Pro is an awesome option for true laser tag aficionados of every age. The total cost for a complete set suitable for four players will run you about $115 — not too bad for all that added versatility!
Enjoy the Real Deal in a Safe Environment Outside the Home
If you have tried out some of the laser tag sets mentioned above or others for at-home use but still find yourself itching for the real deal, there are some truly safe and secure options available to you, even today.
Main Event maintains one of the most entertaining, captivating, and all-around exciting laser tag courses you’ll find anywhere today. With fully interactive laser tag games for kids of all ages as well as adults, their laser tag course ensures that every player leaves it all out on the field!
Another downside of at-home laser tag is that you generally can’t play with more than four to eight people at a time. At Main Event, you can team up with as many as 15 people per team! What’s more, you’ll have to use every ounce of strategy and sweat you can muster as you make your way around our laser tag arena, fully equipped with fog machines, black lights, all manner of obstacles, upper and lower levels, and tons of places to hide from the enemy!
You’re sure to have all the fun you came for when you indulge in an intense game of laser tag at Main Event. And after all that exercise, you’re sure to have worked up an appetite, so head on over to the Main Event restaurant for a burger, some pizza, a fizzy soda, or even a signature cocktail while the kids enjoy other attractions, including virtual reality games, the ropes course, a rock-climbing wall, and so much more!