What is Quasar?

What is Quasar? No, we are not talking about quasi-stellar radio sources associated with the super-massive black holes at the centre of distant galaxies, but we are talking about the game which has provided excellent fun for all the family ever since its introduction in the 1980s.

The game is playing in indoor arenas between teams of players. Each player wears a body vest and is equipped with a laser gun. The vest has a number of sensors that detect when it has been hit by a laser beam and in response it vibrates and makes the noise of a simulated explosion.

Each team has a base and points are scored by shooting a member of the opposing team and by sensors that surround the opponent’s base. Teams are differentiated by the colour of their vests and guns and every player has a personal score chart that counts the number of hits they make on members of the opposing team. At the end of the game the team with the highest points aggregate is declared the winner.

Do not be concerned about the dangers of the laser; the lasers used are low power infra-red lasers and are quite harmless to humans. Even young children can play the game without coming to any harm.

There are also a number of Quasar variants all of which can be played under normal lighting or more spectacularly with black UV lighting.  One version called Solo Mission does not have teams. Instead it is a complete free for all and everybody tries to shoot everybody else.

Another popular variant is called infiltration. This involves one team defending a base whilst it is attacked by the opposition and at half time the roles of the teams are reversed. Again the team with the most hits overall is the winner.

In “Last Man Standing” (or Energise) each player has a limited number of lives which are depleted as hits are sustained. Once all lives have been lost the player is eliminated and the final player surviving is the winner.

There are many places all over the country where you can enjoy Quasar and many of them can be found at entertainment centres that include tenpin bowling alleys, so you can combine both activities. They are not expensive to play, even less so if you use discount bowling vouchers that are available on the web.